Republican Tennesse Sen. Marsha Blackburn introduced legislation Thursday that would end the federal charter for the National Education Association (NEA), the country’s largest teachers union.
The legislation, first obtained by the Daily Caller, states that the NEA can no longer be considered worthy of its federal charter because it has “drifted substantially from its core mission and has become a massive political operation dedicated to imposing a radical progressive agenda on schools in the United States.”
A federal charter lends an organization the legitimacy of being sanctioned by the U.S. federal government. There are approximately 100 organizations operating under a federal charter, including such groups as the American Gold Star Mothers, the American Legion, and the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.
NEA is the nation’s largest labor union and the only labor union operating under a federal charter. More than a quarter of the NEA’s yearly expenditures are spent on political activities which overwhelmingly favor Democrats.
The union’s communications also reveal its progressive bias. The NEA suggested a book about kneeling for the national anthem for its August 2022 summer reading list. The NEA also put out an ad calling parents who speak out at school board meetings against Critical Race Theory (CRT) extremists.
READ THE LETTER HERE:
(DAILY CALLER OBTAINED) — … by Henry Rodgers
“Over the past few years, teachers’ unions have demonstrated they will put their political priorities ahead of student wellbeing every chance they get,” Blackburn told the Caller before introducing the legislation. “The NEA is by all accounts a political organization and should not be rewarded for their left-wing activism with a federal charter.” (RELATED: Teachers’ Union Suggests Summer Reading About Kneeling For The National Anthem)
The bill was co-sponsored by Republican Wyoming Sen. Cynthia Lummis. Wisconsin Rep. Scott Fitzgerald and Indiana Rep. Jim Banks introduced a version of this bill in the House of Representatives. (RELATED: Teachers Union Runs Ad Calling Conservative Parents ‘Extremists’)
The NEA did not immediately respond to the Caller’s inquiry about the legislation.