Republicans subpoena former school board officials over parent protests

WASHINGTON — House Republicans issued another series of subpoenas Monday as part of an ongoing investigation into what they contend is the mistreatment of parents who protested “woke” school board policies. Rep. Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, demanded documents and testimony from three individuals, including the former heads of the National School Boards Association, for “requesting federal law enforcement assistance to target parents voicing concerns at local school board meetings.” The Ohio Republican is flexing his newly appointed subpoena power to probe a September 2021 letter that the nonprofit representing U.S. school boards sent to the Biden administration. Jordan, who also chairs a new subcommittee dedicated to what Republicans assert is the “weaponization” of government, has said that as a result of the letter, the Justice Department designated “a specific threat tag” for school board-related threats and opened investigations “into parents simply for speaking out on behalf of their children.” Those allegation are outlined in a GOP report released in November. In the subpoena letter, Jordan said the committee is seeking testimony from Jankowicz regarding how the board planned to approach countering misinformation and “how it proposed to protect First Amendment rights.” In response, Jankowicz said that she will “happily testify” about her time on the board but criticized the subpoena, saying Jordan’s “abuse of congressional oversight powers is about to get wildly out of control.” “His ‘weaponization’ committee is the entity that is actually weaponizing our government, and the American people deserve better,” Jankowicz said in a statement to The Associated Press.