An organization representing tens of thousands of school officials across the U.S. has appealed to the federal government for help in protecting school staffers under “immediate threat.” In a letter sent Wednesday, National School Boards Association President Viola Garcia and Interim Executive Director and CEO Chip Slaven appeal directly to President Joe Biden, asking him to step in amid rising threats to school officials due to the right-wing furor surrounding mask mandates and critical race theory. “As these acts of malice, violence, and threats against public school officials have increased, the classification of these heinous actions could be the equivalent to a form of domestic terrorism and hate crimes,” the letter says.

It goes on to detail several recent incidents of “threats or actual acts of violence” against school officials, including “angry mobs” derailing school board meetings and at least one instance of alleged aggravated battery during a meeting. The group is asking for assistance from the FBI and U.S. Secret Service in assessing and monitoring threats to school officials, and for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service to help filter out threatening letters targeting staffers, board members, and students.