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Fox News
6 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
We can't abolish America's largest teachers union. But Congress can do something else
For decades, the National Education Association (NEA) – the country's largest teachers union – has amassed nearly unrivaled political power with which to pursue its own narrow self-interest and impose its radical social and economic agenda. COVID-19 placed the NEA under the microscope as never before, offering the union an opportunity for some much-needed introspection. In 2021, the Wall Street Journal editorial board proclaimed what informed conservatives have long known and what, by that time, had become obvious to the public at large: The NEA is "the ideological and institutional vanguard of progressive politics," a "powerful wing of the Democratic Party," and intent on "invading" public schools with "progressive politics." But instead of abandoning its partisan special interests and returning to its early mission of "[promoting] the cause of education in the United States," the NEA emerged from the pandemic determined to double down on every one of its harmful, misguided beliefs and ideologies. The NEA's annual Representative Assembly, held this month in Portland, generated headlines and mockery as copies of the controversial resolutions approved by the union's delegates were leaked to the public, including everything from attacking democratically elected President Donald Trump as a "fascist" to undermining the enforcement of our immigration laws and, in a brazen display of the union's antisemitism, cutting ties with the pro-Jewish Anti-Defamation League. While the growing public outcry over their extremism led the NEA to stop making its convention resolutions publicly available, the dizzying array of woke material freely available on the union's website is even more shocking. For instance, some of the "important" documents posted online for attendees at the NEA's Portland convention included: a "Pronoun Guide" claiming that people who do not habitually share their pronouns are "unsafe"; a byzantine "Land Acknowledgement Guide" directing readers to fight "colonization" by reminding attendees at any event of the "dispossession of Indigenous land and people"; and a form to submit complaints to the NEA's "Committee on Equity & Ethnic Harmony" should any conference attendee breach social justice protocols. More concerning was the NEA's nine-page "report" for convention delegates highlighting the union's priorities and activities in the first half of the year. Among other things, the union boasted about: "taking the lead in filing lawsuits" against the Trump administration; fighting efforts to defund DEI in public schools; shuttering schools with strikes; fighting "authoritarianism" and engaging in "resistance" by supporting the "No Kings" rally and similar protests; backing "World Pride and LGBTQ+ Pride Month"; organizing "labor opposition" to immigration enforcement; and working to "flip" the U.S. House of Representatives to Democrats in 2026. Notably absent from the union's achievements? Improving student learning, promoting family values or using tax dollars efficiently. If this is what happens when NEA completely controls an event and its programming, the union's tremendous influence over classrooms is a five-alarm fire not just for public education, but the future of our country. Congressional action addressing the pernicious influence of the teachers unions is long overdue. That's why I (Mr. Fitzgerald) and Sen. Cynthia Lummis from Wyoming have introduced the Stopping Teachers Unions from Damaging Education Needs Today (STUDENT) Act, which would overhaul the NEA's federal charter to make the union more accountable and less partisan. The NEA received a federal charter by act of Congress in 1906, granting it special recognition shared by only 95 organizations, including such storied American institutions as the Boy Scouts, the U.S. Olympic Committee and the VFW – company which the NEA no longer deserves to keep. Congressional Republicans have long proposed addressing the NEA's ideological extremism by repealing its federal charter. But as the Freedom Foundation explained in a 2023 report, the NEA incorporated under the laws of the District of Columbia long before receiving its federal charter, meaning it would continue to exist and operate as it does now even if stripped of its special federal recognition. The STUDENT Act takes a different approach, rewriting the union's charter rather than repealing it. According to the Freedom Foundation's analysis, the NEA's charter lacks many of the safeguards and accountability mechanisms common in other federal charters intended to ensure the chartered organizations remain uncontroversial, patriotic and deserving of federal recognition. Under the STUDENT Act, the NEA would have to abide by the same rules as other federally chartered entities, such as refraining from partisan political advocacy and abiding by corporate transparency requirements. The legislation also addresses some of the worst NEA practices unique to its status as a labor union, requiring it to respect teachers' First Amendment right to refrain from union membership, prohibiting it from closing schools with damaging strikes, barring the union from advocating for the core concepts of critical race theory, and more. Perhaps most importantly, the STUDENT Act would end direct and indirect taxpayer subsidies for the NEA and its affiliates around the country. Conservatives recognize that the time for action is now, with more than 30 organizations around the country endorsing the STUDENT Act. Republicans in Congress scored a huge win for education freedom with the recent passage of school choice tax credits in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. But the next step in making public education great again should be taking on the NEA.
Axios
19-07-2025
- Politics
- Axios
America's largest teachers' union rejects proposal to ban ADL materials
An executive committee of the nation's largest teachers' union rejected a member-approved proposal to sever ties with the civil rights group Anti-Defamation League (ADL) over the war in Gaza. Why it matters: The rejection comes after nearly 400 Jewish groups urged the National Education Association (NEA) committee to reject a plan to no longer to use ADL material on antisemitism or Holocaust education. Driving the news: NEA President Becky Pringle said in a statement late Friday that the executive committee voted not to adopt the proposal "following the culmination of a thorough review process" under union rules. "It was determined that this proposal would not further NEA's commitment to academic freedom," she said. Pringle said rejecting the proposal wasn't an endorsement of the ADL's "full body of work" but acknowledged the rise of antisemitism. Catch up quick: NEA members voted last week to cut ties with the ADL at the 2025 Representative Assembly in Portland, Oregon. "NEA will not use, endorse, or publicize any materials from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), such as its curricular materials or its statistics," according to the proposal text. "NEA will not participate in ADL programs or publicize ADL professional development offerings." The members brought the proposal following criticism of the ADL for categorizing campus protests over the war in Gaza as antisemitic. Zoom out: After the vote, the proposal was sent to NEA's executive committee and met with strong opposition from Jewish groups. The groups wanted the NEA to issue a strong statement against antisemitism, which the organizations say is behind the proposal. Pringle then met with ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt "to clarify NEA's process and restate our commitment to combating the rise of antisemitism in our society." State of play: The ADL has also come under criticism from progressive-leaning and Reform Jewish leaders over the accuracy of its annual antisemitic incidents report. They say ADL unfairly lists criticizing the Israeli government's treatment of Palestinians as antisemitic. The ADL defends its report and has pointed to antisemitic verbal attacks on some Jewish students during campus demonstrations. What they're saying: ""We welcome the NEA Executive Committee and Board of Directors' decision to reject this misguided resolution that is rooted in exclusion and othering, and promoted for political reasons," Greenblatt said in a joint statement with the leaders of other Jewish organizations.
Fox News
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Washington athletics org's proposals to change trans-athlete policy would violate state law, official says
Washington appears to be the latest state that is getting set for a showdown over its decision to allow biological males to play in girls' and women's sports despite President Donald Trump's executive order in February. The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA)'s Representative Assembly proposed two amendments to its policies that would keep girls' sports to biological females only and potentially offer an open division if student-athletes were interested. However, WIAA commutations director Sean Bessette said in a statement to The Seattle Times on Tuesday that the proposals would violate state law. "The WIAA has been told by the Attorney General's office, the Office for Civil Rights, and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction that proposed amendments ML/HS #7 and ML/HS #8 would be a violation under current Washington state law, affirming our attorney's legal review," Bessette told the paper. "The WIAA remains committed to following state law, and those amendments focused on gender-identity participation would not be implemented on August 1 if they were to pass under current state law. "If state law were to change, the WIAA's Executive Board has the authority and would need to alter the Association's rules accordingly." The proposals will be voted on by the 53-person representative assembly but no changes will be made to the rules. The proposals titled ML/HS #7 and ML/HS #8 are strictly advisory votes only. "Amendment would not be implemented under current State Law. Participation in girls' sports would be limited to biological females," the ML/HS #7 proposal read on the athletics organization's website. "Amendment would not be implemented under current State Law. Athletic programs would be offered separately for boys, girls, and an open division for all students interested," ML/HS #8 read. Washington state law requires local educational agencies to allow transgender students to participate in interscholastic sports "that most closely aligns with their gender identity," according to the WIAA. The Kennewick School Board filed a Title IX complaint with the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights against Washington state's Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal this week. The complaint included a plea for "urgent" federal intervention against the state's ongoing policies that defy Trump's order. Reykdal previously claimed it was "inaccurate" to say there are only two genders during a video address in late February. "It is quite simply inaccurate to say, biologically, that there are only boys and there are only girls," Reykdal said. "There's a continuum. There's a science to this. There are children who are born intersex. There are children whose hormones and whose chromosomes are not consistent with their sex at birth. "Our state laws make clear that children get to identify and participate based on the gender in which they identify. We're going to uphold that law." Reykdal also insisted in that address that Trump does not have the authority as president to issue a ban on trans athletes in girls' sports but conceded the U.S. Congress does. Another school district in Washington opted to take matters into its own hands and defy the state government in late February. The Tumwater School District's board of directors voted 3-1 Feb. 27 to ban trans athletes from playing for girls sports teams after a nationally publicized controversy involving one of its school's girls basketball teams. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
