BATON ROUGE - State Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley will be the featured speaker when the East Baton Rouge chapter of "Moms for Liberty" meets next week, the group has confirmed.

The appearance has prompted push-back from some advocacy groups, many of them citing the inclusion of Moms for Liberty on lists of extremist organizations.

But on Wednesday, Brumley defended the scheduled appearance, telling the non-profit website "The Illuminator" that "it is wrong to characterize Baton Rouge moms as a hate group as they seek to be involved in their child’s education... and I’m appreciative of their interest in the school system.” 

According to a digital flyer, Brumley will provide "an update on K-12 education for this upcoming school year" and will take questions at the appearance, set for 6 p.m. on July 24 at the JoNes Creek Regional Branch Library.

On its national website, Moms for Liberty says it was formed to "stand up for parental rights at all levels of government" and its mission is centered on putting power in the hands of families.

The Southern Poverty Law Center is among those who characterize the group as extremist, describing it as "a far-right organization that engages in anti-student inclusion activities and self-identifies as part of the modern parental rights movement. The group grew out of opposition to public health regulations for COVID-19, opposes LGBTQ+ and racially inclusive school curriculum, and has advocated books bans."

Brumley has served as superintendent since May 2020, when the Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education appointed him to that post in an 8-3 vote.

He is the former superintendent of the Jefferson Parish School System, the state's largest school district.