Reports from the recent annual meeting of the National Education Association, the nation’s largest teacher’s union, are shocking. The new projects approved by delegates from schools all over the country, added to the collective policies endorsed by this organization over many years, are heartbreaking and portend disaster for our country and our schools.
The reality is that, with almost 3 million members and scads of money, whatever the NEA supports is often where America goes. The Democratic Party jumps to the NEA’s tune. And the union’s actions certainly impact the education our children are receiving—or not receiving.
Providentially, many Americans are waking up and rejecting what this corrupt organization is selling.
At this year’s meeting, delegates rallied outside the Orlando convention center, waving rainbow signs and placards proclaiming “Freedom to Teach” and “Freedom to Learn.” They are predictably enraged at parent concerns over outright pornography, inaccurately labeled book “banning.” The NEA majority despises Florida’s parental rights’ bills and anti-woke limits on child indoctrination.
During the floor proceedings, NEA delegates adopted two amendments endorsing “reproductive rights” for women. One supports state affiliates (like in Ohio, the Ohio Education Association) to “codify full reproductive rights” in their respective states. Another pro-abortion amendment stated that limits on so-called “reproductive rights” is a violation of the rights of women. “Forced motherhood is female enslavement,” the amendment states.
No limits on abortion—you know, the killing of future students. Given this level of wisdom, do you trust these folks to teach your children?
The NEA and the Ohio Education Association together contributed over $2.3 million to oppose Ohio’s Issue 1 in August 2023. That measure was defeated, possibly paving the way for a full abortion-on-demand measure to win in November.
The union also doubled down on its longstanding actions to push “LGBTQ” behaviors, and not just at school. New Business Item 1, submitted by 50 delegates, would lobby and campaign in favor of these sexual/gender preferences. The resolution expressed outrage at “anti-LGBTQ” measures, and wants in-service training for teachers on all the new invented pronouns, how teachers can support “transitioning” students, and ensuring access to “gender-affirming care” for students ( i.e., medical mutilation).
The resolution states, “We must act to stop the hate.” It’s actually quite the opposite. These proposed actions themselves are tremendously hateful, discriminatory and destructive toward impressionable children and their parents. This agenda item had the highest price tag of any proposal for the meeting-- $583,400.
The NEA also discussed the pressing matter of pronoun identifiers in signatures and introductions. On name badges, delegates’ chosen pronouns should be in the same size type as their names. This monumental decision was referred to the executive committee, where hopefully they will say “no.” But don’t count on it.
This is what the NEA spends time on. Is your school sending one or more delegates to this meeting of mostly lunatic radicals?
Religion in schools is deeply threatening to many NEA members, so they will design a toolkit for educators on religious expression and non-expression in public schools. They seem frantic about “...aggressive moves to push certain religious viewpoints into public schools.” It sounds like the NEA wants to encourage First Amendment discrimination, limiting or undermining any Christian voice in schools and counteracting worthy groups like the Good News Clubs or Lifewise Academy.
The union displayed gigantic graphics proclaiming, “Read Banned Books!” with lists available for teachers recommending some of the most controversial titles, including Gender Queer, well-known to contain pornographic cartoon images, e.g., two teens engaging in oral sex.
Another grooming measure was defeated, but apparently only because of staffing limitations and costs. NBI 76 proposed this: “NEA will encourage and provide guidance to locals in organizing response demonstrations, pickets, and other actions to defend LGBTQ+ youth events, and Drag Queen Story Hour programs from far right and fascist attempts to shut them down.”
Only fascists, you see, want to limit the access by men in lingerie to small children.
An NEA committee has been directed to consider a “Day of Action” in 2024 for educators to lobby/demonstrate in favor of gun control, promote “LGBTQ” matters, stop the “bans” on books in schools, and advocate teaching the “truth” on civil rights and slavery in America. We know what the NEA believes is the “truth” on this latter point because the union passed a 2021 resolution (even though they scrubbed it from their website within days) advocating that critical race theory concepts be defended in school lessons wherever possible.
And the convention also voted to endorse Joe Biden for president in the 2024 election.
The single most effective thing you can do for your local school is to get the NEA and its state affiliates out. Please check out what your local teachers are doing.
A former long-time delegate to the NEA and OEA sent this statement to me:
“Any teachers who remain in the NEA are only adding to the downfall of our education system AND to the moral corruption of our nation’s children. Educators can turn to the Association of American Educators or to the Christian Educators Association, International (or possibly even to their home insurance) for liability coverage on the job---and for a fraction of what it costs to belong to the NEA.”
She’s totally correct. Because of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Janus decision, no state or school district can force a teacher to join the union. There’s freedom for everyone. A terrific resource to find out more about leaving the unions is Freedom Foundation.
So please spread the word to teachers and school staff that they can stop paying dues to the union and help return America to actual education, instead of socially engineered immorality and outright Marxism.
With the power they hold, the NEA doesn’t merely threaten our schools. They are a threat to the stability of America.
