Old Dominion News

A recent Old Dominion News poll of 501 Virginia residents found that 74.2% of Virginians support parents’ rights to have a say in their child’s education.

That majority increased when only parents who participated in the poll were examined; 89.5% of parents said they supported having a say in their kids’ education, while 69.7% of non-parents agreed.

The poll came after U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Oct. 4 issued a memorandum vowing to launch a collaboration between the FBI, U.S. Attorneys and state/local leaders to discuss strategies in addressing, detecting and mitigating threats and violence against school board members. 

"Threats against public servants are not only illegal, they run counter to our nation’s core values,” Garland wrote of the "increase in harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence against school board members, teachers and workers in our nation’s public schools." 

Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans responded to Garland’s memo expressing concerns that the Department of Justice message may appear to signal the policing of speech of parents and concerned citizens.

"We urge you to make very clear to the American public that the Department of Justice will not interfere with the rights of parents to come before school boards and speak with educators about their concerns, whether regarding coronavirus-related measures, the teaching of critical race theory in schools, sexually explicit books in schools, or any other topic,” the GOP letter to Garland read. “Furthermore, we urge you to instruct the FBI and the various United States Attorneys to make clear in the meetings discussed above that speech and democratic processes, like those that occur at a local school board meeting, must be respected."

In a recent Senate hearing, Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) quizzed Kristin Clark about Garland's memo. 

“I’m aware of the memorandum from the attorney general, which speaks to threats and intimidation that some school officials have experienced in our country. That’s not activity protected by the First Amendment,” Clarke, the assistant attorney general for civil rights, replied. "The attorney general said threats against public servants are not only illegal, they run counter to our nation’s core values.”

Former Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz recently shared his thoughts on the matter with Newsmax.

"If I were a parent, I would object to propagandizing my students in school. And they have a perfect right to do that. What they don't have the right to do, is threaten to hurt, or do violence to teachers or to administrators, and that's a line that I would hope the Justice Department would keep clearly in mind," Dershowitz said. "(While) at the same time, always erring on the side of permitting freedom of expression, even if it's unruly."

Old Dominion News previously reported that in a recent debate, Gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe said he doesn't think "parents should be telling schools what they should teach.”