I fought for my son. The school board told Biden's Justice Department to investigate me.

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National School Boards Association reportedly called for military help at meetings

Fox News contributor Leo Terrell argues the NSBA was trying to intimidate concerned parents at school board meetings. 

What happens when you try to protect your special needs son? What happens when you confront the life-destroying policies that school boards passed during the pandemic? 

I’ll tell you what happens. 

The school board ignores you, insults you and attacks you. 

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A board member basically tries to get you fired, while accusing you of racism. 

Michigan mom Sandra Hernden complained because her special needs son had his GPA drop from 3.5 to 1.5 during the lockdown. Photo: Courtesy Mackinac Center for Public Policy 

And the school board president complains about you to the Department of Justice – as if you’re some kind of criminal or terrorist. 

All of this happened to me over the past two years. I’m a Michigan mom of three boys, one of whom has a learning disability and a stutter. He desperately needed his school to help him during COVID-19, but instead, it hurt him while attacking me. Now I’m suing the district to protect my rights and the rights of every parent in America. 

I’ve been fighting this battle for more than two years straight. It all started after the summer of 2020, when the Chippewa Valley School Board refused to bring students back to class for the 2020-21 school year. Like other parents, I dealt with the forced shutdowns the previous spring. We didn’t have a choice: COVID-19 was new and there were so many things we didn’t know. 

But after three months of virtual learning, I did know this: My son couldn’t afford to be out of the classroom any longer. Given his learning disability, he needs one-on-one time with teachers. As soon as the school board closed schools indefinitely, I worried my son would fall behind and never catch up. 

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So, I did what any good mom would do. I emailed the school board with my urgent concerns. I showed up at meetings and spoke out, with all the passion and frustration I felt. Month after month, I begged for help, but the board did nothing except cut me off and dismiss my pleas. 

I never stopped trying because my son and his future were counting on me. After a while, I could tell the board members didn’t like me. They clearly felt uncomfortable when I took the mic. But I never imagined they’d do what they did next. 

One day in December 2020, I showed up at the police station where I worked at the time as an officer. My deputy chief came up to my desk and told me he’d gotten an email from a school board member. He read it to me, and I was shocked at what I heard. 

The board member accused me – a decorated police officer – of "veiled racism." She sent that email right after the George Floyd incident, when calling an officer a racist was basically the same thing as saying they should be fired. The message was clear: We’re going to destroy you. 

Rather than return students to school, the Chippewa Valley School Board is accused of complaining about a parent to the Department of Justice. (Xinhua/Liu Jie via Getty Images)

That only made me fight even harder. But the school board wasn’t done – not by a long shot. Last October, the board president admitted to submitting a complaint about me to the Biden Department of Justice. It was filled with falsehoods and accused me of "threatening comments." 

I couldn’t believe it. It happened one day – one day! – after Attorney General Merrick Garland wrote his infamous memo about investigating parents who speak out at school boards. But the Department of Justice is supposed to go after criminals and terrorists, not parents who want their kids to learn. 

While all this happened, my son cratered. Before COVID-19, he had a 3.5 GPA and was about to be inducted into the junior national honor society. A year later, he had a 1.5 GPA. All I wanted was to help him learn and succeed in life. It got so bad, I moved my son to a school in another district. But I shouldn’t have had to. The school board should have looked out for him instead of attacking me. 

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I refuse to let this stand. On September 29, with the help of the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation, I’m suing my school board in federal court. Here’s what I want the courts to make clear to my school board, and to every school board in America. 

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You can’t do this to parents. 

You can’t go after our jobs and our livelihoods. 

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You can’t tattle on us to the Department of Justice. 

You can’t try to silence or frighten us because we use our First Amendment right to free speech. 

I have every right to fight for my son. Now I’m fighting to make sure that what happened to me never happens to any parent, ever again.