Following the National School Boards Association’s letter comparing parents protesting school policies to “domestic terrorism,” multiple state school board associations withdrew their membership or their dues from the NSBA. However, the Texas Association of School Boards has not withdrawn either membership or dues.
Since TASB refuses to resign from the national association, many Texans are asking why.
One answer may be Viola Garcia, the Texan who runs the NSBA.
Garcia, a former TASB president and current Aldine ISD school board member of 29 years, was selected as the NSBA president in April of this year.
In September, Garcia co-signed the letter to President Joe Biden and U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland that called for federal authorities to investigate parents as domestic terrorists, following weeks of talks with the White House.
Garcia was then promptly appointed to the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB), which “oversees the only ongoing, nationally representative assessment of what American students know and can do in various subjects.”
The NAGB sets policy for the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP), also referred to as the nation’s report card.
Both the NAGB and the NAEP have a major influence on curriculum development in public schools, since they are responsible for setting national standards by which students’ performance will be measured.
The America First Legal Foundation is “calling for an investigation into Garcia’s potential quid pro quo appointment to the NAGB.”
Now, TASB—which takes taxpayer funding via local ISD membership dues—is refusing to remove itself from the NSBA.
The Texas Freedom Caucus wrote an open letter to all Texas Independent School Districts, calling on them to resign from TASB if TASB won’t resign from the NSBA. The Republican Party of Texas has echoed this call for local districts to resign from TASB.
