Since Moms for Liberty’s launch in 2021, the conservative activist group has demonized teachers’ unions as an “education mafia” that parents “can’t trust,” blamed them for closing schools during the pandemic, and called teachers who give children LGBTQ-themed books “groomers.” Moms for Liberty called the coalition “radical”, “doesn’t care about children” and “prioritizes power over students”.
But this year, Moms for Liberty has teamed up with some of its former adversaries after identifying a common cause: fighting education technology, or ed tech, in public schools. Across the country, Moms for Liberty chapters and other conservative parent groups have teamed up with local teachers unions and liberal-leaning parents to try to push school districts and state lawmakers to limit the amount of time children spend on screens in schools.
In Iowa, a teachers union is backing a bill co-sponsored by a Republican lawmaker who is a Moms for Liberty chapter leader that would restrict elementary students’ use of computers and allow parents to keep their children off the devices at school.
“We don’t want to immediately tune out someone because of our perceptions of their institution,” said Melissa Peterson, a lobbyist for the Iowa State Education Association. “If they want to use their power for good,” she welcomes Moms for Liberty to the table.
To the teachers union, Moms for Liberty CEO Tina Deskovich said, “Welcome to the fight.”
Deskovich said he still thinks national teachers unions are “despicable” but is happy to work with state groups. “If they are willing to put the rights of the children’s parents first and protect the rights of the parents, we will stand with them every time,” he said.
Moms for Liberty’s new focus on how students use technology after years of activism on race and gender issues in schools marks a significant shift in the growing debate over ed tech. Conservative and liberal parent groups from Los Angeles to the Washington, DC, suburbs recently began pushing back on school districts to provide every student with a laptop or tablet or use them less in the classroom, citing concerns including behavior problems and access to inappropriate content online.
The movement has sparked a wave of bipartisan state legislation seeking limits on ed tech, with support from Moms for Liberty and other conservative parent groups such as Defending Education and members of Utah Parents United.
Growing concern about technology in schools
“It really cuts across partisan lines in a way that I haven’t seen in a long time,” said Corey DeAngelis, a research fellow at The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. “A lot of other issues clearly divide people in partisan ways, but this doesn’t seem to be the case.”
He sees this as an opportunity for conservatives — especially those who support subsidizing private education — to “get in with people on the ground and everyday parents who haven’t previously supported right-wing groups.”
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, the national teachers union, said she’s happy to see Moms for Liberty join teachers in the battle on ed tech.
“This shows that we are not enemies,” he said. “It shows that we may differ on an issue or two, but at the end of the day, teachers, their unions and families really want what’s best for our kids.”
Teachers unions are divided over ed tech restrictions. National organizations, including the American Federation of Teachers, have championed technology in schools, though Weingarten believes it sometimes goes too far. The Kansas branch of the National Education Association opposed the law, which would have banned elementary students from using computers or tablets.
But in Missouri, the state chapter of the National Education Association joined Defending Education in supporting a bill to study and determine limits on school-issued devices. And in Iowa, after the state’s House of Representatives passed a union-backed proposal to limit screen time, Moms for Liberty celebrated a “bipartisan victory for Iowa students,” posting a clip on Facebook praising Rep. Heather Mattson, a Democrat who co-sponsored the bill.
“It’s really what’s best for our kids, their mental health, their learning, and it transcends any ideological boundaries,” said Teri Patrick, education chair of the Polk County, Iowa, chapter of Moms for Liberty and Representative Samantha Fett, a Republican co-sponsor of the bill.
University of California, Los Angeles education policy professor John Rogers, who has tracked Moms for Liberty since its inception, said fights over books and content often became personal a few years ago, when teachers and librarians were accused of grooming children or left-wing activists. Attacking ed tech allows Moms for Liberty to tap into popular energy with broad appeal by directing criticism toward companies and devices.
“It opens up space for other strange alliances,” he said.
