‘Moms for Liberty’ Expands Efforts To Take Over School Boards, Other Education Posts

"Moms for Liberty," a “parental rights” group that the Southern Poverty Law Center has labeled extremist for its attacks on inclusion in schools, is looking to take over more school boards and get involved in other education races in 2024 and beyond.

The effort is setting up a clash with teachers' unions and others on the left who view the group as a toxic presence in public schools.

The group’s co-founder, Tiffany Justice, said during its annual summit in Philadelphia that Moms for Liberty will use its political action committee next year to engage in school board races nationwide. It also will “start endorsing at the state board level and elected superintendents."

Her comments confirm that Moms for Liberty, which has spent its first two years inflaming school board meetings with aggressive complaints about instruction on systemic racism and gender identity in the classroom, is developing a larger strategy to overhaul education infrastructure across the country.

So far, the group has had mixed success at getting its preferred candidates elected. In 2022, slightly more than half of the 500 school board candidates it endorsed across the country won. In the spring of 2023, fewer than one-third of the nearly 30 candidates it endorsed in Wisconsin were elected.

The group's close partnerships with powerful conservative organizations and lawmakers have helped it grow. But it will also likely face pushback from a building counter-movement made up of teachers unions, grassroots activists and parents who oppose its vision of public education.

In the photo:  Moms for Liberty co-founders Tina Descovich and Tiffany Justice speak during the Moms for Liberty Joyful Warriors national summit at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown on June 30, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The self-labeled "parental rights" summit is bringing school board hopefuls from across the country where attendees will receive training and hear from Republican presidential candidates which includes former U.S. President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. The summit, which is being held in an overwhelmingly Democratic Philadelphia, have drawn protestors since the event was announced due to their pushing of book bans accusing schools of ideological overreach, including teaching about race, gender, and sexuality. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)