The Tennessee School Board Association (TSBA) terminated its affiliation with the National School Boards Association (NSBA) in June, TSBA staff members said Tuesday.  TSBA Assistant Executive Director Ben Torres explained his group’s departure in an email to The Tennessee Star.

“Our board decided to leave NSBA because NSBA’s advocacy efforts are focused more on contentious issues that divide the membership instead of educational issues that should further the mission of our state associations,” Torres (pictured above) said.

The Ohio School Boards Association (OSBA) on Tuesday terminated its affiliation with the NSBA. OSBA members said the NSBA’s recent letter to President Joe Biden requesting federal intervention at local school board meetings prompted them to leave the larger organization.

The Star asked TSBA Executive Director Tammy Grissom to discuss why her organization left the NSBA. “TSBA believes that parental and family involvement in the education of each child is essential to academic success,” Grissom said via email.  “Local boards of education should make every effort to enhance communication between parents and schools and remove any barriers that prevent them from teaming with school boards, administrators, and teachers to improve student achievement,” Grissom said via email.”

Recently, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) would investigate parents who spoke out against Critical Race Theory (CRT), transgender bathrooms, and other cultural issues at school board meetings.

Vaguely citing “threats” made against school board members, Garland admitted last week during congressional testimony that his memorandum directing the FBI to investigate parents was only based on the letter sent to the White House by the NSBA, which only cited nonviolent disruptions from parents as its cause for concern.

To many, Garland’s heavy-handed response was viewed as an intimidation tactic, meant to send a message to conservative parents who protest their local school boards.