Education Secretary Cardona solicited National School Board's 'domestic terrorists' letter, report

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona reportedly solicited the controversial letter from the National School Boards Association last fall that conflated the actions of discontent parents at local school board meetings to those of domestic terrorists.

An email exchange reviewed by Fox News indicates Cardona, previously Connecticut's education secretary, played a larger-than-previously-understood role in the creation of the letter. 

The NSBA letter became national news upon revelations it called on President Biden to use the Justice Department, Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies to stop "threats and acts of violence" on school officials during school board meetings.

In an Oct. 5, 2021, email chain, Kristi Swett, the NSBA secretary-treasurer, recounted that the group's interim CEO, Chip Slaven, "told the officers he was writing a letter to provide information to the White House, from a request by Secretary Cardona."

The Education Department has denied that Cardona solicited the letter.

"While the Secretary did not solicit a letter from NSBA, to understand the views and concerns of stakeholders, the Department routinely engages with students, teachers, parents, district leaders and education associations," a department spokesperson told Fox.

The emails were initially obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request by the group Parents Defending Education.

Grop President Nicole Neily told Fox: "Should this allegation be true, it would reveal that this administration's pre-textual war on parents came from the highest levels ... If Secretary Cardona was truly involved in this ugly episode, it is a significant breach of public trust, and he should be held accountable."