<mediadc-video-embed data-state="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"00000161-3486-d333-a9e9-76c6fbf30000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b93390000"},"cms.content.publishDate":1655242464236,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"0000017c-b7e3-d26e-affc-fff3c2490000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"cms.content.updateDate":1655242464236,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"0000017c-b7e3-d26e-affc-fff3c2490000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"rawHtml":"
var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_55242339", "obj": {"id":"27789","width":"16","height":"9","video":"1030173"} }); ","_id":"00000181-6423-dd13-a9fb-7c2f94930000","_type":"2f5a8339-a89a-3738-9cd2-3ddf0c8da574"}”>Video Embed
A new parent engagement council announced by the Department of Education has drawn skepticism from an outspoken parent activist who said the agency is creating a council of “yes men.”
The department announced the formation of the National Parents and Families Engagement Council on Tuesday with the stated goal of fostering “strong and effective relationships between schools and parents, families and caregivers.”
EDUCATION DEPARTMENT GIVES UVALDE SCHOOLS $1.5 MILLION IN EMERGENCY FUNDS
“The National Parents and Families Engagement Council will serve as an important link between families and caregivers, education advocates and their school communities,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a press release. “The Council will help foster a collaborative environment where we can work together to serve the best interest of students and ensure they have the academic and mental health support they need to recover from the pandemic and thrive in the future.”
The council includes representatives from several education organizations including the National Parent Teacher Association, the National Parents Union, the League of United Latin American Citizens, and the National Association for Family, School, and Community Engagement.
But the formation of the council did not impress Nicole Neily, the president of the parent activist organization Parents Defending Education, who told the Washington Examiner that the groups invited to participate represented an ideological monolith and that given the administration’s track record, the council was “little more than window dressing.”
“Quite obviously, the White House was looking for a group of yes men who would rubber-stamp their agenda because the lack of viewpoint diversity of the groups who were invited is astonishing,” Neily said. “Actions speak louder than words, and American parents still remember how this administration coordinated with the NSBA to silence well-founded concerns about the state of our schools.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The National School Boards Association infamously sent a letter to the Biden administration in September 2021 asking the Department of Justice to investigate parents protesting at school board meetings under the Patriot Act and other domestic terrorism laws.
After widespread backlash, the association withdrew the letter and apologized for sending it — but not until after Attorney General Merrick Garland had formed an FBI-DOJ task force to investigate threats against school board members. Emails from the NSBA later indicated that Cardona had solicited the letter, a charge the Department of Education denies.
The Department of Education said the new council will discuss the “different ways schools are providing academic, mental health and social and emotional support; and how they can best constructively engage with schools.” In the coming months, the department and the council plan to hold listening sessions “with parents, families, principals, educators, and school community members to better understand the needs of students as they start the 2022-23 school year.”
