The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“School Board Violence (Executive Session)” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the in the Senate section section on pages S8923-S8924 on Dec. 6.
The Department is one of the oldest in the US, focused primarily on law enforcement and the federal prison system. Downsizing the Federal Government, a project aimed at lowering taxes and boosting federal efficiency, detailed wasteful expenses such as $16 muffins at conferences and board meetings.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
School Board Violence
Madam President, it was about 2 months ago there was an uproar in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Hardly a day would pass, hardly a Republican Senator would take the committee dais and speak and not raise their mock horror and outrage over a decision by the Department of Justice under President Biden to notify school boards and school board members and teachers across the United States that we would not tolerate violence against them for their public duties.
Merrick Garland, as Attorney General, volunteered to work with State and local law enforcement to make certain that members of the school board, teachers, administrators--all of them--would be safe in the execution of their duties, and none of them should fear violence.
You wouldn't have believed the reaction from the Republican side of the dais in the Judiciary Committee. They came in and said that this is just an effort by the Biden administration to suppress free speech, to stop people who show up at school board meetings from expressing themselves. Well, we repeated over and over again it wasn't expression of speech we were worried about, it was violence and every form of it that the Department of Justice was responding to, they wouldn't hear of it. They refused to acknowledge the very real reality across the United States, and even in our State of Illinois, when it comes to violence against school board members.
The Members of this Senate share something in common. At some point in our lives, we heard the call to public service. It may have come in the form of a law we wanted to change or a passion for serving our communities back home. But for some, the greatest call to public service is to help children, the desire to do what you can, inch by inch, day by day, to leave a better world for the kids.
That is one of the reasons that Carolyn Waibel, a mother from my home State of Illinois, decided to put her name on the ballot to run in a local school board election. She wanted to serve her community and advocate for the safety and well-being of every child in St. Charles, IL, a suburb near Chicago. Sadly, Carolyn Waibel's career as a public servant was cut short. And it is not because she had any change of heart. It was because she feared for her family's safety.
Trouble began last summer. Carolyn started receiving threatening emails because of her views on mask requirements and in-person learning. At first, she brushed them off and said she would ignore them. She figured harsh feedback was just part of being a public servant. But then she started receiving messages that read: ``Your days are numbered.''
This mother, school board member--a non-paying job--was having her life threatened.
Then she started to receive other messages, and other events occurred. Soon enough, her personal information was spread out online, and her home became a target. Carolyn started discovering dead rodents thrown in her driveway. At one point, a trespasser cut the wires on the air-conditioning unit to her home.
Then came the final straw: Carolyn actually heard someone sneak onto her property, cut the cord to her refrigerator, and open the door to her laundry room.
Following months of harassment, Carolyn resigned from her district's school board in October. In explaining her decision to one news outlet, she said: ``I had to put the safety of myself and [my] family first.''
She said: Even though I have resigned, I am still receiving threats.
Carolyn is far from the only school official who has feared for her safety in recent months. I commend her situation to my Republican colleagues who were so critical of the Attorney General for even raising the possibility of violence against school board members.
All throughout the country, school board members, teachers, and other officials have reported harassment, intimidation, and even assaults.
In Pennsylvania, one school board president received a deluge of threatening emails, voice mails, and social media posts because of the district's COVID policies. Some of the messages threatened her life, while others threatened to share her personal information with the world.
Down in Florida, a school board member received death threats because she chaperoned a parent-approved field trip to an LGBTQ-friendly restaurant. She received threatening letters and phone calls from all over the United States.
In Ohio, a school board member received a letter that read: ``We're coming after you.''
After she shared the letter online, a public school official in a neighboring district said the members of his board had received similar threats.
The list goes on and on. Just type ``school board violence'' into your favorite search engine and look for yourself.
These threats against school officials are widespread and serious. A recent report from EdWeek Research Center found that 60 percent of the principals and district leaders they surveyed said ``someone in their district had been verbally or physical threatened in the past year'' because of the district's response to COVID-19. One in three of the officials surveyed said the school board members, even their nurses, had faced similar threats.
Now, I understand the pandemic has caused great concern and confusion for parents, especially parents of young kids. It is a new challenge for all of us, and there are no simple or straightforward answers in keeping our schools open and safe.
It is every parent's right to voice their disagreements with the members of their school board. And it is only natural that at times, emotions may run high, that is part of open debate in a free society. But there is a difference--a clear difference--which we should never overlook between free speech and threats of violence. We need to be unequivocal in drawing that line.
I salute the Attorney General for making it clear that he was willing to stand up and defend those school board members who were subjected to harassment, intimidation, and even violence. These people work for no pay. Many of them are parents themselves. They are not part of some shadowy organization or conspiracy. They are our neighbors. They deserve to be safe, just as we all do.
The unprecedented rise in threats against school board members and public school officials should not be taken lightly or politicized. There have already been too many instances of officials being assaulted. Law enforcement agencies have a responsibility to take these reports seriously, and that is exactly what the FBI is doing by tracking reports of violence and threats of violence against school officials. Keeping track of those incidents and those involved in them will save lives. It will enable State and local law enforcement to develop tailored strategies to keep communities safe.
As part of these efforts, Attorney General Garland issued a memo on October 4 encouraging Justice Department officials to reach out to members of law enforcement to see if we could assist. This outreach is an integral part of the Department of Justice's responsibility. I am thankful these conversations are underway.
Instead of condemning violence, some of our Republican colleagues have been railing against the Justice Department for even suggesting there is a possibility. Why? Do they believe these incidents of violence and threats are acceptable, that they shouldn't be taken seriously? I don't believe that.
During the pandemic, there has been a troubling and growing trend of violent behavior in all spheres of public life. Everyone from flight attendants to election workers and--yes--school board officials has been harassed and assaulted.
More than four in five flight attendants report they have had to deal with an unruly passenger during the first half of the year. As a frequent passenger on airlines, I have heard the announcements they make to try to let people know how serious this issue is and that it is going to be taken seriously.
In a moment of danger, these workers and public servants are vulnerable. That is why the Department of Justice has to do its job.
Here in the Senate, we should be united as well in saying violence and the threat of violence have no place in public life, whether in a Federal building, on an airplane, or in a school board meeting in St. Charles, IL. When parents like Carolyn Waibel are harassed to the point of fearing for their family's safety, we need to at least have the common sense and common courage to speak up. We need to support members of law enforcement who are doing everything they can to protect all of our families. Among our many freedoms as Americans is the freedom to live without fear. Let's defend that right together.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kansas.
