July 20, 2023
Dear Members of Congress,
Independent Women’s Voice, which fights to enhance people’s freedom, opportunities, and well-being, supports H.R.4595, revoking the congressional charter for the National Education Association (NEA), the largest teachers union in the country.
A federal charter, sometimes known as a congressional charter, recognizes an organization’s authority and purpose. The NEA is a politically-motivated labor union with a budget of over $379 million that gives the vast majority (at least 94%) of its political dollars to left-wing candidates and causes. It should come as no surprise, then, that the policies adopted by this partisan organization run counter to the interests of students, classroom teachers, and parents of school-aged children. Thus, the NEA does not belong on the list of federal charters.
As evidenced by this year’s NEA annual meeting, the NEA prioritizes ideology over the educational success of children. For example, the NEA approved an amendment that further encourages the use of gender activist-drafted curricula in public schools. Additionally, the NEA released a recommended summer reading list that includes sexually-explicit books such as Maia Kobabe’s “Gender Queer: A Memoir,” which presents graphic depictions of oral sex, dildos, and sexting, and “Ready Player One,” which features profanity and a sex robot.
Missing from the agenda were crucial education issues, such as declining academic scores, learning loss caused by COVID-19, the effects of smartphones and social media on learning, teacher shortages, and true educational freedom.
The union’s misplaced priorities aren’t new. In 2021, the NEA approved a resolution to assemble a staff to “research” organizations that oppose Critical Race Theory (CRT) and has even supported calling parents who dare to voice their concerns potential “domestic terrorists.” Also of concern: the union refuses to commit to student learning. Remarkably, the NEA voted in 2019 against re-dedicating “itself to the pursuit of increased student learning in every public school in America by putting a renewed emphasis on quality education.”
And let’s not forget, the NEA was one of the loudest voices calling for prolonged school closures, leading to learning loss and other harms, and the continued universal masking of schoolchildren despite a lack of evidence that mandatory masking in schools protects others. Not only was mandatory masking unfair to kids, it was purely political.
We cannot sit idly by while our students are ignored and mistreated. We thank Representative Bob Good for his leadership on this important issue and urge all Members of Congress to support this proposed legislation if it comes to the floor for a vote.
Respectfully,
Virginia Gentles
Director
Education Freedom Center
Independent Women’s Voice