WASHINGTON >> The Justice Department, in response to pleas from national groups representing school administrators, is deploying federal law enforcement officials around the country to help address instances in which people have threatened and harassed educators over divisive policy issues such as mask mandates and teaching about racism, and possibly pursue prosecutions.

Citing a “disturbing spike” in harassment against school personnel in recent months, Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a memo Monday directing the FBI and U.S. attorneys’ offices to meet with local officials over the next month to coordinate a response to the threats, which he said “are not only illegal, they run counter to our nation’s core values.”

“While spirited debate about policy matters is protected under our Constitution,” Garland wrote, “that protection does not extend to threats of violence or efforts to intimidate individuals based on their views.”

The department also announced that it would form a task force with members from its criminal, national security and civil rights divisions to determine how to address attacks that rise to criminal offenses federally and locally. The department said it planned to create “specialized training and guidance” for local school boards and school administrators on how to report threats and collect evidence for possible prosecution.

The measures come after the heads of the National School Boards Association made a direct plea to the White House last week. In a letter to President Joe Biden, the organization’s leaders outlined instances of school board meetings disrupted, board members threatened and, in one case, a protester arrested.

The attacks faced by educators, the organization wrote, include verbal attacks for approving COVID-19 safety policies, as well as physical threats stemming from false allegations that schools are teaching “critical race theory,” a legal framework primarily taught in graduate school that examines racism as a social construct embedded in policies and institutions.

The Justice Department’s announcement was met with widespread praise. But one parent group criticized the federal intervention. “It is shameful that activists are weaponizing the U.S. Department of Justice against parents,” Nicole Neily, president of Parents Defending Education, said in a statement.

And Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, a Republican, responded on Twitter that “Florida will defend the free speech rights of its citizens and will not allow federal agents to squelch dissent.”