NJ teachers union ad attacking parents as 'extremists' a 'pull from the playbook': School board candidates
A New Jersey teachers union condemned parents who confront school officials at school board meetings as 'extremist'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A New Jersey teachers union ad labeling parents "extremists" for speaking out against progressive curriculums. has sparked outrage.
"We're 12 weeks out from the November election, and they continue on the wrong path. It's almost sad," Medford Township Board of Education candidate Kristen Sinclair told "Fox & Friends First" on Friday. "I don't know who's doing the messaging, but it's just going to fire up parents to come to the polls, if they wanted to be able to go back to their normal lives. But it's clear the NRA is not going to let their grip go on our kids."
The New Jersey chapter of the National Education Association (NEA), the largest teachers union in America, posted the short ad on YouTube. The ad flips back and forth between colorful photos of teachers with students and black-and-white photos of parents, arguing that the latter are trying to fuse politics with education.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"When extremists start attacking our schools, that’s not who we are," the video says. "People who only want to fight to score political points should take that somewhere else."
Parents and community members attend a Loudoun County School Board meeting, just 40 minutes from Fairfax. (REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein)
The ad comes amid a nationwide movement from conservatives to allow parents to be more directly involved in their children's education. Republican governors in states like Virginia and Florida have signed legislation aimed at empowering parents to prevent the teaching of critical race theory and gender theory, especially for young students.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Biden administration specifically drew the ire of parents in May when the National School Board Association (NSBA) sent a letter to the Justice Department that requested parents' actions at school board meetings be examined under the Patriot Act as "domestic terrorists." Attorney General Merrick Garland announced a task group to investigate threats of violence against school boards after the NSBA letter. Critics called the move an attack on parents.
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Camden County school board candidate Eric Simkin said he doesn't trust teachers to talk about sex with his child.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I'm here fighting for all the kids in New Jersey and all around the world. I mean, it's in every state. The rules follow from the top all the way down," Simkin said.
"And we are facing it at our local board of education. Our complaints, our issues are falling on deaf ears. No action is taken. And that's why we're running for the Board of Education in our local communities."
Fox News' Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.