A congressional member from Texas ripped the Biden administration over the Department of Education’s targeting of one of the Lone Star State’s leading school districts with a probe following allegations of gender and racial discrimination that smack of political retribution.
In a tweet, Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R-Texas) wrote, “The Biden administration’s @usedgov has deemed it necessary to go after one of Texas’ top school districts. I am not going to sit back while this authoritarian administration conducts overreaching investigations in the shadows.”
The Biden administration’s @usedgov has deemed it necessary to go after one of Texas' top school districts.
I am not going to sit back while this authoritarian administration conducts overreaching investigations in the shadows.
Read my letter to the Dept. of Education below⬇️ pic.twitter.com/RMxlqbUAFx
— Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne (@RepBethVanDuyne) November 19, 2021
Sheh has also signed on to a letter with Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, both Texas Republicans, as well as Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, stating:
Based on recent actions by the Biden administration, we fear your department will weaponize federal resources to intimidate parents who disagree with the policies of this administration and voiced their objections overwhelmingly and lawfully though local elections held in May of this year.
Furthermore, given Carroll’s ISD achievements in education, we are concerned the Department will conduct an authoritarian-style retaliation against the community.
In her own statement, the Texas congresswoman added:
The Department of Education has decided to launch an investigation into one of our highest performing school districts. Carroll ISD has an exceptional record, boasting a zero percent drop out rate, is one of the largest districts in the state of Texas to earn the top rating of ‘Exemplary’ by the Texas Education Agency and has won the coveted UIL Lone Star Cup for four years running. At a time when students in major urban school districts are suffering from crippling learning loss, the Department of Education should be more concerned about the students who have fallen behind due to Democrat and union forced lockdowns than a thriving district whose parents disagree with this administration.
Parents invested in the education of their children is a reflection of a vibrant community not a terror threat. It is now undeniably clear President Biden’s administration is actively circumventing the will and the rights of parents and the community in our children’s education.
Biden’s Attorney General has already been caught in a lie — testifying under oath that the Department of Justice was not targeting concerned parents, when evidence is clear he has done just that. And now, the Department of Education is attempting to overturn local decisions and undermine and intimidate local elected leaders to instill federal policies at a suburban school district in North Texas.
We cannot allow this administration to operate in the shadows, refusing to answer questions or provide details of their investigations. Recently the Southlake community made their stance on the pressure to enforce CRT policies in schools clear with an over 70% vote in favor of an anti CRT candidate. Voting against Democrats and liberal policies is not illegal and does not warrant a federal investigation, and I stand with parents, students, and local leaders to shine a light on this overreach.
I am conducting my own investigation into this egregious weaponization of federal resources designed to intimidate and punish parents.
The letter and Van Duyne’s statement come as the Biden Justice Department is also targeting parents who have been showing up to local school board meetings complaining about far-left curriculum they find offensive and divisive including critical race theory.
Last month, Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a memo to the Justice Department and FBI ordering U.S. attorneys and the bureau to assist local law enforcement investigations into whether parent conduct amounted to “domestic terrorism” or rose to the level of a federal crime.
Earlier this week, he was called out by GOP lawmakers after Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) published an internal FBI counterterrorism division memo sent him by a whistleblower asking agents to “apply” a “threat tag” and “track” threats against school officials.
The whistleblower’s e-mail “provides specific evidence that federal law enforcement operationalized counterterrorism tools” against parents, Jordan noted in a letter to Garland asking him to explain why he testified last month that no such counterterrorism tools would actually be employed against parents.
