The National Education Association further embraced progressive politics at its annual meeting last weekend.
The largest teachers’ union in the nation further embraced progressive politics at its annual meeting last weekend, pledging to openly resist President Trump’s policies and distance itself from a pro-Israel organization.
The National Education Association held a conference July 3–6, where its Representative Assembly adopted numerous politically charged resolutions. The RA is the 7,000-member policymaking body of the NEA that has the authority to set the union’s agenda, adopt the annual budget, and vote on proposed amendments to the constitution.
Some of the passed resolutions were rather innocuous. For example, the NEA will better educate members about pension plans and work on understanding how AI will impact K–12 education. However, many more of the resolutions were focused on left-wing activism.
According to documents obtained by school choice activist Corey DeAngelis, the NEA “will use existing media channels to oppose any move to eliminate the Department of Education as an illegal, anti-democratic, and racist attempt to destroy public education and privatize it in the interests of billionaires.” Another resolution “pledges to defend democracy against Trump’s embrace of fascism by using the term fascism in NEA materials to correctly characterize Donald Trump’s program and actions.”
The organization also vowed to support “students’ right to organize against ICE raids and deportations” and “defend their right to dissent and organize against Trump’s policies.”
Moreover, the NEA will no longer “use, endorse, or publicize any materials from the Anti-Defamation League” nor will it “participate in ADL programs or publicize ADL professional development offerings.” According to Mondoweiss, this is because of increasing anti-Israel sentiment in the NEA. One member said, “These are educators who believe in antiracist and social justice unionism. They’re beginning to understand Palestine in that context. They’re intolerant of the justification of violence.”
The NEA’s resolutions are worrying because its 3 million members have direct access to students five days a week. Its priorities have nothing to do with bettering students’ outcomes, nor do they help teachers do their jobs. By encouraging educators to become activists, the NEA merely seeks to reinforce its progressive credentials and political power.