On July 20, 2023, Moms for Liberty co-hosted a book-banning workshop. Their flyer welcomed “residents from all school districts” to attend. However, some parents were refused entry along with the press. The hosts of this workshop were adamant that NO video or audio recordings be taken. Why would this be? Regardless, recordings have been leaked.

Below is an audio clip from this workshop. After listening to it, we understood why the audience was hand-picked. Listen to Linda’s real views on Nebraska schools and educators:

We think it’s important that voters know who Linda aligns with. Linda was endorsed by a known extremist group, Moms for Liberty, and signed their pledge:

Southern Poverty Law Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to monitoring and exposing hate groups, has identified Moms for Liberty as an extremist group.

How do Linda and Moms for Liberty align?

Linda also accepted an endorsement and award from Nebraskans for Founders’ Values (NFFV).

NFFV’s banner carried a quote by Hitler about owning the youth. Is this one of those “foundations of excellence” that Linda is promoting?

Equally important as who endorsed Linda is who did not. The Nebraska State Education Association (NSEA) chose NOT to endorse Linda, opting instead to support her opponent, Maggie Douglas. NSEA is a member-directed teachers’ association representing 26,000 public school teachers in Nebraska.

Sometimes, who endorses which candidates speaks volumes. Which of these organizations are most likely to have the students’ best interests at heart?

Linda spent the summer of 2023 traveling to Cass and Sarpy school board meetings to speak in favor of book bans and advocated for the criminal prosecution of librarians, baselessly claiming they’ve been distributing pornographic material.

Linda would like everybody to believe that the books she wants to ban are all “pornographic” and are available at all grade levels, but that’s not the case. Most of the books she targets are found in high school libraries and contain a variety of topics and themes, such as LGBTQ, race, addiction, and mental health. Some books have been targeted for merely including a character a few people didn’t personally approve of. One book on a list she references is simply a book about book bans.

It should be noted that many books have already been challenged in the districts mentioned below, which triggered a formal review process. Review committees have soundly disagreed with Linda’s assertions.

May 8, 2023 – Linda spoke at the Plattsmouth School Board meeting in favor of banning books. She asked if the community was “ready for a tsunami of pornographic addiction.”

June 12, 2023 – Linda again attends the Plattsmouth School Board meeting to speak in favor of banning books, targeting books containing a variety of different topics and themes.

June 26, 2023 – Linda travels north and attends the Papillion-La Vista School Board meeting to speak in favor of banning books and repeats the lie that our librarians are pornographers.

July 10, 2023 – Linda attends the Papillion-La Vista School Board meeting to speak again in favor of banning books, claiming our librarians are criminally liable for “distributing pornography.” She conjures up an absurd hypothetical crafted to fuel her war on books, telling PLCS board members that, “If I take any one of these books, and I hand them to any one of you board members, I’m arrested on the spot for the distribution of pornography.” This of course is an outright lie. Tsk tsk, Linda!

September 28, 2023 – Linda spoke in support of Terri Cunningham-Swanson’s book banning town hall at Plattsmouth. Terri was a Plattsmouth school board member who was successfully recalled by an overwhelming number of voters due to her book banning efforts that incited student protests and the resignation of their school’s librarian.

Linda regularly reduces library books with literary value down to being the equivalent of online pornography, which is defined as material “intended to cause sexual excitement.” During the town hall, she refers to an unpublished anecdote about an observation of juveniles and their experience with viewing online pornography — nothing about books. We can all agree that a minor’s consumption of actual pornography is harmful and linked to negative emotional, psychological, sociological, and physical health outcomes, but the books she targets aren’t what she claims they are. Every parent wants to protect their children from that type of exposure, but the vast majority of parents aren’t recklessly accusing our librarians of being criminals because most of us know that isn’t the truth.

So, why are library books suddenly being linked to pornography by politicians like Linda? For the shock factor, because that’s not how minors are being exposed to pornography. Several studies have indicated that nearly half of minors first encounter graphic pornography through pop-up images or links on social media. While there’s plenty of research supporting the correlation of harmful effects to minors who view online porn, there is no data showing similar effects from school library books. If Linda is truly committed to protecting our children, where are the town halls educating parents and guardians about internet filtering and monitoring software?

We ask that Linda keep her accusations of peddling pornography to the actual pornographers. Our teachers and librarians face enough; they don’t need to face sweeping accusations of distributing pornography on top of everything else.

Linda is a proponent of Senator Linehan’s legislation that would effectively REMOVE funding from public schools. She advocates for tax-funded voucher schemes despite Nebraskans rejecting public dollars for private schools THREE times at the ballot box.

Did you know Senator Linehan’s daughter, Katie, works for the American Federation for Children, an out-of-state lobbyist organization that advocates for these private school voucher schemes? It forces us to question the true motivation behind voucher schemes in Nebraska and why a powerful lobbyist group cares so much about Nebraska education. Furthermore, if Linda Vermooten wishes to defund our public schools, why does she want to be on the NE State Board of Education?

Read more about Linehan’s voucher scheme and how to keep public tax dollars in public schools here.

Linda has made public testimony at numerous legislative hearings, book banning town halls and school board meetings. She often starts by sharing her counseling experience in attempt to add credibility her implications and false claims, however, we’ve learned that she received her degree from an institution that lost its full accreditation status and closed abruptly due to bankruptcy. This makes us question the legitimacy of her claims on a number of topics she’s spoken about.

Listen to a clip of Linda repeating some of her false claims to KFAB on June 14, 2023 about SEL (social emotional learning).

We believe it’s important for voters to understand what SEL is so they can separate fact from fiction when they hear politicians and State Board of Education members talk about SEL.

What is SEL?

SEL programs help students develop the knowledge and skills necessary to recognize and manage their own emotions, empathize with others, and achieve personal goals. SEL can help them build positive relationships, make responsible decisions, and express themselves more effectively.

What does SEL have to do with learning?

SEL improves education outcomes. Research has found that SEL “significantly raises test scores while it lowers levels of emotional distress; disruptive behavior; and alcohol, tobacco, or other drug use.” We believe State Board of Education members should be able to recognize the positive impact SEL has on public education and strive to support those types of outcomes, not spread myths or attempt to invoke fear about what it is or isn’t.

What does this look like in a classroom?

Students might:

• practice setting goals and working through how they might achieve those goals
• build friendships with classmates
• learn how to manage conflict among peers

Linda wrongfully claims, “SEL is not proven.”

Linda is ignoring vast amounts of research in her own field showing the wide-ranging benefits of SEL (Social Emotional Learning). According to the American Psychological Association:

• Meta-analysis of hundreds of studies show that SEL programs improve academic achievement, student well-being, peer relationships, and overall school functioning (Durlak, J. A., et al., Child Development, Vol. 82, No. 1, 2011; Cipriano, C., et al., OSF Preprints, 2023).
• SEL can also help address major risk factors for suicide among youth, including hopelessness, anxiety, substance use, and sexual abuse (Posamentier, J., et al., Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, Vol. 24, No. 2, 2022).
• Longitudinal research suggests that benefits can persist for at least 18 years, predicting better social relationships, increased high school graduation and college attendance, and fewer arrests and health problems (Taylor, R. D., et al., Child Development, Vol. 88, No. 4, 2017).

Linda grew up in South Africa so we are not sure what she was taught, but she has no experience or expertise to make such claims about elementary curriculum in Nebraska. As parents from different districts in Linda’s counties, we can assure you our kindergarteners have NEVER been taught about sex.