A woman who sued over Duval County schools’ pandemic masking policies is taking a national organizing role in the conservative education activist group Moms for Liberty.

“My goal is to bring our message to all 50 states,” Clay County resident Tia Bess said after being tapped as national director of outreach for the 2-year-old group.

The role will make Bess a key figure in work to expand the organization, which boasts about 275 chapters and is advocating for parental “bill of rights” measures in 13 states. The group’s political clout was reinforced last year, when Gov. Ron DeSantis appeared at a national Moms for Liberty summit in Tampa and separately endorsed a number of School Board candidates backed by the group.

Read the rest of this story at the Florida Times-Union, a Jacksonville Today news partner.