The organization began by campaigning against
COVID-19 related health safety restrictions in schools, challenging mask mandates and associated local policies. Members of Moms for Liberty broadened their agenda to encompass other school-related items, focusing on the way issues such as
racism and religion are addressed in reading materials provided to students. The leaders of the group have accused educators of seeking to indoctrinate students with "secret
Marxist" beliefs, and the group has targeted the use of
social–emotional learning in schools.
Curriculum complaints and legal action In June 2021, the chair of the
Williamson County Moms for Liberty chapter told Tennessee's
Department of Education in a letter that the district's curriculum was in violation of a recently enacted state law banning the teaching of ideas related to
critical race theory. Specific complaints were made about texts featuring
Martin Luther King Jr.,
Ruby Bridges,
Civil Rights Movement protests, and
school segregation. In November 2021, the Brevard County Moms for Liberty chapter filed a lawsuit against the
Brevard County School Board over its public participation policy, saying that the board has used the policy to limit speech and access of opposing viewpoints during meetings. Jenkins, who replaced Descovich on the Brevard County school board, said that she was harassed by members of Moms for Liberty. According to Jenkins, a member of the group filed a false child abuse report with the county department of
Child and Family Services against her. Moms for Liberty was criticized for offering a bounty to members of the public who "caught" teachers introducing texts or lessons in violation of
New Hampshire's new law restricting discussions of race in school classrooms. On November 10, 2021, the
New Hampshire Department of Education announced a website questionnaire to make it easier for the public to help enforce the law. A couple of days later, the New Hampshire Moms for Liberty chapter offered a monetary reward for doing so, tweeting: "We've got $500 for the person that first successfully catches a public school teacher breaking this law". Republican
Governor of New Hampshire Chris Sununu's spokesman said "The Governor condemns the tweet referencing 'bounties' and any sort of financial incentive is wholly inappropriate and has no place". Larry Leaven, a gay man in a same-sex marriage, became superintendent of the
Florida Union Free School District in 2021. He immediately began receiving homophobic harassment from community members, with members of the
Orange County, New York chapter of Moms for Liberty being the most persistent. Of the three board members elected in May 2022 on a platform opposing "
critical race theory", one was a Moms for Liberty member, one was married to a Moms for Liberty member, and one received funding from Moms for Liberty members. Leaven resigned his position in November 2022, though Leaven's supporters say he was forced out by the board. In December 2021, Descovich and Justice denied that Moms for Liberty members have threatened school boards, and denounced inappropriate behavior by members of the organization. In March 2023, a South Carolina Moms for Liberty member that served on a local school board was asked to resign after allegedly making violent threats towards local teachers.
Book banning efforts According to
The Daily Beast, a spreadsheet accompanying the Williamson County letter of complaint contained several other stated concerns about the county's curriculum. An article about
police brutality against civil rights demonstrators in the 1960s was criticized for its "negative view of Firemen and police." In 2021, the
Indian River County, Florida, chapter requested the local school board remove from school libraries 51 books the group "deem(ed) to be pornographic or sexually explicit." The
Hernando chapter objected to
Looking for Alaska,
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, and two books by
National Book Award winner
Alex Gino. In December 2021, the
Wake County, North Carolina chapter filed a criminal complaint against the
Wake County Public School System over the books
Lawn Boy,
Gender Queer: a Memoir, and
George. According to
WFTS-TV, as of December 2021, "several schools" had removed books from shelves due to the efforts of various Moms for Liberty chapters. In 2023, the Miami-Dade chapter of Moms for Liberty claimed credit for the removal of
The Hill We Climb from a school library; the book was an adaptation of the poem of the same name by poet
Amanda Gorman. The activist whose complaint prompted the removal of the poetry also has links to the Proud Boys.
Media Matters for America alleges Moms for Liberty has partnered with several conservative organizations to introduce conservative books into public school libraries while engaged in censorship efforts.
Opposition to LGBTQ rights In early 2022, a Texas mother ended her child's access to counseling sessions with the Rainbow Youth Project after reading posts by Moms for Liberty. Her child attempted to commit suicide that day. The mother has since said that she believes their efforts were "to indoctrinate me to be a foot soldier for their cause, to hold bake sales and raise money, go to the school boards and stand up and fight against them. Looking back, it was never about [her child]. It was about them." In July 2022, the Moms for Liberty Twitter account was suspended for criticizing a California
gender-affirming health care bill. In August 2022, a Florida Moms for Liberty activist advocated for separating
LGBTQ students into "specialized" classes "like for example children with
autism,
Down Syndrome". ==Reception==