A retired nurse in Calvert County, Maryland, told the local school board she had reported a Turning Point USA (TPUSA)-affiliated student group to Child Protective Services after objecting to a student event that did not allow non-volunteer adults to attend.
The dispute unfolded at a Calvert County Board of Education meeting, where a student leader and a critic of the group offered sharply contrasting views of the TPUSA-linked Calvert County Club America, according to the Daily Caller. The controversy reflects a broader pattern in which conservative student organizations, particularly TPUSA, face institutional and activist resistance even when operating outside formal school structures and within the bounds of parental consent.
The student, who serves as president of Calvert County Club America and is enrolled in Calvert County Public Schools, addressed the board first, stressing that the group is independent of the school system and nonpartisan in its activities. Good evening, yall. Im a student in Calvert County Public Schools, and also the president of Calvert County Club America, which is affiliated with turning point USA chapter. Its not affiliated with the Calvert County Public Schools, it is separate, and not politically involved in a partisan manner, and we cannot endorse any candidates nor parties, the chapter president for the organization told the board prior to Krauses screed.
The student leader further explained that the Dec. 17 event, which featured two members of the Calvert County Board of Education, was fully transparent and conducted with parental knowledge and approval. We invited the board to discuss what they do, and what their policies are. All students that were there were in attendance with parental permission, and all publicly advertised. However, we received much hate, and we posted online that we would not be allowing any adults that are not volunteers nor parents.
Immediately afterward, Nancy Krause, identified at the meeting as a retired nurse, delivered remarks that appeared to disregard the students explanation and instead framed the event as a potential threat to student welfare and parental rights. Turning Point USA had an event for students. While community-building opportunities for students are important, this event raises serious concerns related to student safety, parental rights, and governance oversight. The materials indicated that parents or guardians were not permitted to attend, Krause said.
Krause went on to argue that the exclusion of non-volunteer adults from the gathering represented a lack of transparency and raised ethical issues for the school board members who participated. Excluding parents or guardians from a student focused event lacks transparency, and school affiliated joint activities should have supervision standards, background check requirements, and accountability structures. Im also concerned about a potential conflict of interest involving board of education members serving as guest speakers at this event. They have responsibilities, and participation events targeting students particularly when parental access is restricted warrants careful review to ensure compliance with district policies, ethics guidelines, and public trust obligations.
She then escalated her criticism by invoking mandatory reporting laws and revealing that she had already taken the step of contacting child welfare authorities over the student-led event. Students are widely recognized as vulnerable population. They are in critical developmental stages, and susceptible to influence, and transparency is essential, Krause continued. All board members in this room are [mandatory reporters] under state law, as I am. Based upon the circumstances surrounding this event, a report was made to Child Protective Services. All of this was provided.
Her decision to involve Child Protective Services over a voluntary, parent-approved civic event underscores how far some opponents are willing to go to stigmatize conservative student organizing. It also raises concerns among advocates of limited government about the use of state power and child welfare mechanisms as political weapons against lawful, constitutionally protected association and speech.
The clash in Calvert County comes amid a surge of interest in TPUSA chapters nationwide following the Sept. 10 assassination of the organizations founder, Charlie Kirk. Since that attack, the conservative student group has reportedly received more than 100,000 inquiries from students seeking to start chapters in high schools and colleges, yet efforts to establish these chapters have repeatedly run into resistance from school officials and left-leaning activists.
In Royal Oak, Michigan, left-wing students and allied groups staged a walkout and used a Nov. 13 school board meeting to protest the creation of a TPUSA chapter, signaling a coordinated effort to keep conservative viewpoints off campus. Officials in Prince William County, Virginia, similarly faced backlash after attempting to block a TPUSA chapter at a local high school, a move critics saw as a direct affront to viewpoint diversity and students First Amendment rights.
TPUSA Chief Operating Officer Tyler Bowyer responded to Krauses remarks by reposting video of her comments and placing them in the context of a broader campaign against the organization. Turning Point is the singular most attacked independent organization in America, Bowyer said. Weve had the government weaponized against us, radicals try to villainize us, all kinds of disgusting name calling since Charlie was murdered. We know its because our work is so impactful.
For conservatives concerned about parental authority, free association, and ideological balance in education, the Calvert County episode illustrates how even student-led, parent-approved civic engagement can be recast as a child-protection issue when it comes from the right. As TPUSA continues to expand in the wake of Kirks killing, the question is not whether opposition will persist, but whether school systems and public officials will respect students constitutional freedoms or allow bureaucratic tools and activist pressure to silence one side of the political spectrum.
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