Moms for Liberty and teachers unions are unlikely allies fighting tech in schools

Moms for Liberty often attacks teachers unions, but now the conservative group is aligned with them on limiting screen time and laptops in public schools.

Since Moms for Liberty launched in 2021, the conservative activist group has demonized teachers unions as an “education mafia” that parents “cannot trust,” blaming them for school closures in the pandemic and calling educators who offer children LGBTQ-themed books “groomers.” Moms for Liberty has said the unions are “radical,” “don’t care about kids” and “prioritize power over students.”

But this year, Moms for Liberty is teaming up with some of its former adversaries after identifying a common cause: fighting back against education technology, or ed tech, in public schools. Across the country, Moms for Liberty chapters and other conservative parent groups are uniting with local teachers unions and liberal-leaning parents to push school districts and state lawmakers to limit the time children spend on screens in schools.

In Iowa, the teachers union is backing a bill co-sponsored by a Republican lawmaker, who is also a Moms for Liberty chapter leader, that would restrict elementary students’ use of computers and let parents opt their children out of devices at school.

“We don’t want to immediately tune someone out just because of our perceptions about their organization,” said Melissa Peterson, lobbyist for the Iowa State Education Association. She welcomes Moms for Liberty to the table, “if they want to use their powers for good.”

To the teachers union, Moms for Liberty CEO Tina Descovich said, “Welcome to the fight.”