"Parental Rights Movement Faces Defeat in School Board Elections"

Conservative activists advocating for parental rights in education faced setbacks in state and school board elections, indicating limits to the potency of these issues for Republicans leading into the 2024 presidential race. Progressive groups celebrated wins in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, Iowa, Connecticut, and Virginia, with the American Federation of Teachers reporting that 80% of its preferred candidates were successful. The modest results for conservatives suggest that parents are seeking a return to normalcy, and Republicans may have fared better by focusing on expanding access to school choice. Democrats won new school board majorities in swing regions, such as the suburbs of Philadelphia, where debates over Republican policies restricting books and banning pride flags had been contentious. The unions and progressive groups also celebrated the new Democratic control of the Virginia state legislature, despite Republican governor Glenn Youngkin's support for parental rights. While there were scattered successes for the parental rights movement, the conservative push to restrict books and shape the history curriculum was criticized as a strategy to create fear and division.