Teachers union reveals true colors behind closed doors at annual convention

The National Education Association (NEA), the nation’s largest teachers union, just held its annual convention in Portland, Oregon, and laid bare its transformation into a brazenly political organization. Far from prioritizing the education of America’s children, the NEA’s agenda was a parade of partisan resolutions, misspelled attacks on political opponents, and a clear alignment with the far-left wing of the Democratic Party.

The tone was set by Ashlie Crosson, the NEA’s 2025 Teacher of the Year, who declared on July 4th that her job is "deeply political" and always has been. "Once I realized how deeply political our profession had always been, I knew I could no longer stay on the sidelines," Crosson said. The irony of this statement on Independence Day was not lost, as the NEA proved itself anything but independent. Instead, it revealed itself as a loyal foot soldier for progressive causes, far removed from the needs of students or the concerns of parents.

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The convention’s resolutions – which were leaked to me by an NEA conference attendee – were a masterclass in political overreach. One business item called for the NEA to "defend against Trump’s embrace of fascism by using the term facism [sic] in NEA materials to correctly characterize Donald Trump’s program and actions." Yes, the union that claims to represent educators couldn’t even spell "fascism" correctly in its official resolution attacking the president. The irony is almost too rich to parody.

The NEA didn’t stop there. Another resolution labeled any move to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education as an "illegal, anti-democratic, and racist attempt to destroy public education and privatize it in the interests of the billionaires." Calling the abolition of a federal bureaucracy "racist" is absurd, especially when the Department of Education’s track record has failed low-income minority students for decades. If anything, the department’s one-size-fits-all approach has entrenched disparities, trapping kids in failing schools based on their ZIP codes.

Immigration policy, another topic far afield from teaching math or reading, also took center stage. The NEA adopted a resolution to "defend birthright citizenship and oppose the attempt to revert to pre-civil rights movement – Jim Crow – legal concepts of ‘states rights’ in order to deny citizenship to the children of immigrants." The union went further, supporting students’ "right to dissent and organize against Trump’s policies" and "against ICE raids and deportations."

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The NEA’s resolutions also took aim at parental rights. In response to the Supreme Court’s Mahmoud v. Taylor ruling, which allows parents to opt their children out of gender ideology instruction, the NEA adopted a business item signaling its intent to keep pushing such content in classrooms. This defiance of parental choice shows a union more interested in indoctrination than education. Similarly, the NEA passed a resolution supporting "the mass democratic movement against Trump’s authoritarianism and violations of human rights," further cementing its role as a political activist group rather than an advocate for teachers or students.

Perhaps most puzzling was the NEA’s decision to "not use, endorse, or publicize any materials from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL)," an organization founded to combat antisemitism. Why single out a group dedicated to fighting hate? This move raises serious questions about the union’s priorities and sends a troubling message at a time when antisemitism is on the rise.

The NEA’s political bias is not new. Nearly all its political contributions go to Democrats every election cycle, making it less a union and more a money-laundering operation for the Democratic Party. With over $380 million in annual revenue, the NEA has plenty of resources to push its agenda. This one-sided partisanship is particularly galling given the NEA’s unique status as the only union in the nation with a federal charter, granted over a century ago. This special privilege, bestowed by Congress, is no longer justified for an organization so blatantly partisan. Lawmakers should revoke this charter immediately.

The NEA’s priorities are so misaligned that in 2019, it rejected a resolution to "rededicate itself to the pursuit of increased student learning in every public school in America." Let that sink in: a teachers union explicitly refused to prioritize student learning. Instead, it has quadrupled down on its war on education, turning classrooms into activist training grounds.

The NEA’s actions echo the words of Horace Mann, the father of public education, who said, "We who are engaged in the sacred cause of education are entitled to look upon all parents as having given hostages to our cause." The NEA seems to agree, treating children as tools for its political projects rather than individuals deserving a quality education.

The consequences of this politicization are clear. Only about a quarter of American eighth graders are proficient in math, and reading scores are similarly dismal. Yet the NEA remains focused on partisan crusades rather than addressing these failures.

The union went further, supporting students’ "right to dissent and organize against Trump’s policies" and "against ICE raids and deportations."

This radical agenda is free advertising for school choice and homeschooling. Parents are rightly alarmed by a union that sees their children as "hostages" to its cause. Since 2019, there has been a mass exodus from union-controlled public schools, over a million families opting for charter schools, private schools or homeschooling. The NEA’s Portland convention only accelerates this trend, as parents seek educational options that prioritize learning over politics.

Teachers deserve a union that fights for their professional interests, not one that uses their dues to fund partisan agendas. Parents deserve schools that focus on reading, writing, and arithmetic, not activism. And students deserve an education that prepares them for life, not one that conscripts them into ideological battles.

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Until the NEA returns to its core mission, it will continue to lose members, credibility and public trust. Lawmakers should start by voting to revoke its federal charter, and parents should keep voting with their feet.