National Education Association 2026 Convention
Investigations
SUMMARY
At the National Education Association’s (NEA) 2026 Representative Assembly (RA), members proposed and adopted a number of Constitutional Amendments, bylaws, and resolutions, including a $10 per year increase in member dues to fund pro-union ballot measures and anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement measures, use funds to train and support political candidates, and promote antisemitic curricula and resources on the NEA website.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The NEA RA elected Princess Moss as the organization’s new president; United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) president and Democratic Socialist of America (DSA) member Cecily Myart-Cruz was elected to the NEA Executive Committee. Recently exposed UTLA planning documents revealed that the teachers union appeared to advocate for the use of school resources as a “form of resistance” against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and promoted “engaging students in community self-defense.”
- The RA approved a $10.00 increase in active member dues to be “allocated to the Ballot Measure/Legislative Crises and Media Campaign Fund,” which would result in an additional $20+ million per year to the Fund.
- An adopted New Business Item charges the NEA with developing and publishing a “resource outlining the harms of conversion therapy on queer individuals, particularly youth, highlighting how such practices infringe upon their rights and, according to leading medical and psychological organizations, contribute to increased risks of depression, anxiety, substance use, homelessness, and suicide.”
- The RA adopted a New Business Item that states that the NEA will “publish information via existing digital platforms to educate members about 287(g) agreements between local law enforcement agencies and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement” and “share resources from partner organizations on identifying local agencies with 287(g) agreements and strategies for educating local elected officials on the destructive impact these agreements have on all students, educators, and families.”
- A defeated New Business Item called for the publishing of an article focused on “socially responsible investment campaigns for state pensions” that outlines the “statewide rank-and-file efforts of affiliate members to advocate for their state public pensions to reconsider investments with companies linked to international and domestic human rights abuses, including but not limited to the environment, detention centers, and the military-industrial complex.”
- An adopted New Business Item calls for using NEA funds to “expand the NEA See Educators Run program, establishing regional training academies for educator candidates for school board, municipal, and state levels, and developing a comprehensive candidate support toolkit covering campaign planning, messaging, and fundraising.”
- A New Business Item that was “referred to the appropriate committee” states that the NEA will “add educational curricula and resources to its website from organizations who see the fight against antisemitism as part of the overall struggle for collective liberation.” Specifically, the NEA will include “curricula and resources from PARCEO, Rethinking Schools, Bend the Arch, Diaspora Alliance, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, Jewish Voice for Peace and Zinn Education Project to its website.”
- A defeated New Business Item would have required the NEA to publish an “explanation of the school-to-military pipeline as the systematic institutional pathway pushing middle and high school students directly to careers in the US Armed Forces, often disproportionately targeting low-income youth and normalizing militarization in public education;” and “ideas and other alternative resources to counter military recruitment in schools, such as peace clubs and other resources suggested by organizations like the National Network Opposing the Militarization of Youth (NNOMY.org).”
- A defeated Legislative Amendment would have required the NEA to support the investigation of “fires for evidence of microwave energy attacks, on sovereign land, otherwise known as ‘direct energy weapons,’ leaving vehicles melted, and pulverized,” and claims that the “fires in Lahaina Maui, Palisades, Malibu, Altadena, Northern California, Southern Georgia, Florida, & Nebraska display evidence of DEWs possibly playing a part in these devastating fires.”
- Convention workshops include topics such as political organizing and Political Action Committee (PAC) fundraising, mobilization against school choice, advocating for anti-immigration enforcement policies, and expanding protests and street activism beyond May Day 2026.
AMENDMENTS, BYLAWS, STANDING RULES, AND RESOLUTIONS
The following Constitutional Amendments, Bylaws, Standing Rules and Resolutions were either adopted or proposed by the Representative Assembly.
Adopted Constitutional Amendments
Constitutional Amendment 11 – Adopted
The RA approved additional language to “Section 6. Committees” that states that not only will committees contain a “minimum of twenty (20) percent ethnic minority representation” but the committees will “reflect the diversity of the United States population in terms of those categories protected under federal and state civil rights laws.”
Adopted Bylaws
Bylaw Amendment 2 – Adopted
The RA adopted Bylaw Amendment 2 which increases membership dues by $10.00 for all active members and $7.00 for active members who are education support professional positions. The due increase will “be allocated to the Ballot Measure/Legislative Crises and Media Campaign Fund.”
The Bylaw states that “sixty percent (60%) of the money allocated to the Ballot Measure/Legislative Crises and Media Campaign Fund during each membership year shall be available to assist state affiliates in dealing with ballot measures and legislative crises, and forty percent (40%) shall be available for national and state media campaigns to advance the cause of public education and publicize the role of the Association and its affiliates in improving the quality of public education.”
According to the NEA’s most recent federal reporting, the teachers union had 2,846,104 active members. Since 2016, the NEA has spent $307,930,359 on ballot measures, school board races, and leftwing activist groups.
Resolutions
Resolution Amendment 2 – Not Considered Pursuant to Standing Rule 7.D
The recognition of “ethical veganism as a protected philosophical belief.”
Resolution Amendment 3 – Adopted
Resolution Amendment 3 supports a holiday focusing on “Immigrant and Migrant Farm Workers” and “encourages the observance to promote reflection and action for social justice.” The resolution “replaces Cesar E. Chavez Day with acknowledgement of immigrant and migrant farm workers.”
Legislative Amendments
Legislative Amendment 2 – Adopted
The RA adopted a “bell-to-bell prohibition on student use of personal cell phones and personal electronic communication devices during the school day in public schools.”
Legislative Amendment 15 – Withdrawn
Legislative Amendment 15 calls to “end all animal agriculture, and grow regenerative veganically, meaning combing plant-based (veganic) farming with soil-restoring (regenerative) practices.”
Legislative Amendment 17 – Defeated
A proposed Legislative Amendment states the NEA “supports investigating fires for evidence of microwave energy attacks, on sovereign land, otherwise known as ‘direct energy weapons,’ leaving vehicles melted, and pulverized.” The rationale claims that the “fires in Lahaina Maui, Palisades, Malibu, Altadena, Northern California, Southern Georgia, Florida, & Nebraska display evidence of DEWs possibly playing a part in these devastating fires.”
NEW BUSINESS ITEMS
New Business Item 6 – Adopted
The RA adopted “New Business Item 6” which states that the NEA “shall develop and publish a resource outlining the harms of conversion therapy on queer individuals, particularly youth, highlighting how such practices infringe upon their rights and, according to leading medical and psychological organizations, contribute to increased risks of depression, anxiety, substance use, homelessness, and suicide.”
New Business Item 8 – Adopted
New Business Item 8 proposes using NEA funds to “expand the NEA See Educators Run program, establishing regional training academies for educator candidates for school board, municipal, and state levels, and developing a comprehensive candidate support toolkit covering campaign planning, messaging, and fundraising.”
New Business Item 9 – Adopted
The RA adopted New Business Item 9 which states that the NEA will publish an article “regarding the impact of recent DEI budget cuts to federal funding on Black/African American educators, Black/African American educational support professionals, Black/African American students, and HBCUs.”
New Business Item 10 – Object to Consideration
New Business Item 10 calls for the “impeachment, conviction, and removal of Donald Trump from the US Presidency” and also calls for a “National March on Washington D.C. to remove Trump before the November 2026 midterm elections.”
New Business Item 17 – Adopted
Adopted Business Item 17 states that the NEA “shall include the published article Advocating for LGBTQ+ Students with Disabilities in the LGBTQ+ Toolbox to ensure educators have access to resources that deepen their understanding of the intersection of queer identity and disability, and provide strategies to effectively support, protect, and advocate for these students.”
New Business Item 20 – Adopted
The RA adopted New Business Item 20 which states that the NEA “shall adapt the existing Family Preparedness Plan resource to include guidance and considerations relevant to transgender individuals and families, including legal documentation, access to affirming healthcare, and state-specific safety planning.”
New Business Item 27 – Adopted
The RA adopted New Business Item 27 which states that the NEA will “publish information via existing digital platforms to educate members about 287(g) agreements between local law enforcement agencies and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement” and “share resources from partner organizations on identifying local agencies with 287(g) agreements and strategies for educating local elected officials on the destructive impact these agreements have on all students, educators, and families.”
New Business Item 44 – Defeated
Proposed New Business Item 44 calls for the publishing of an article focused on “socially responsible investment campaigns for state pensions” that outlines the “statewide rank-and-file efforts of affiliate members to advocate for their state public pensions to reconsider investments with companies linked to international and domestic human rights abuses, including but not limited to the environment, detention centers, and the military-industrial complex.”
New Business Item 54 – Defeated
Proposed New Business Item 54 calls for the NEA to “publish an article, through digital channels, about the impact of the military draft on our students that include the rights of conscientious objectors and information about other war resistors.” Additional content in the article “will include” an “explanation of the school-to-military pipeline as the systematic institutional pathway pushing middle and high school students directly to careers in the US Armed Forces, often disproportionately targeting low-income youth and normalizing militarization in public education;” and “ideas and other alternative resources to counter military recruitment in schools, such as peace clubs and other resource suggested by organizations like the National Network Opposing the Militarization of Youth (NNOMY.org).”
New Business Item 64 – Referred to the Appropriate Committee
Proposed New Business Item 64 calls for the creation of a “grant program for local affiliates in states with Public School Strong (PSS) campaign community anchor organizations.” The grants will “fund full or part time organizer positions to partner with PSS anchor organizations in building strong local PSS teams, with the goal of strengthening support for public schools and organizing against attacks on public education at the state and local levels.”
The NEA has joined with Public School Strong, part of Race Forward’s Honest Education, Action & Leadership (HEAL) Together initiative to “mobilize for public education.” The campaign aims to “mobilize everyday folks to support equity in our nation’s public schools and protect schools from the rising tide of extremist attacks against public education.” The lead organizer of the HEAL Together Initiative has a long history of antisemitism and anti-Israel activism.
New Business Item 87 – Referred to the Appropriate Committee
According to proposed New Business Item 87, the NEA will “add educational curricula and resources to its website from organizations who see the fight against antisemitism as part of the overall struggle for collective liberation.” Specifically, the NEA will include “curricula and resources from PARCEO, Rethinking Schools, Bend the Arch, Diaspora Alliance, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, Jewish Voice for Peace and Zinn Education Project to its website.”
New Business Item 89 – Referred to the Appropriate Committee
New Business Item 89 calls for the “shut down of GEO Group & CoreCivic private detention centers and demands no more public tax dollars be used to pay for immigrant slave labor camps.” It also expresses support for the “ongoing hunger and labor strikes by detainees and la Union de Secuestrados por ICE (USI)/Union of People Kidnapped by ICE, the union of migrants coordinating these actions.”
New Business Item 90 – Object to Consideration
New Business Item 90 states that the NEA will “publicize our opposition to the $1.8 billion fund created by Donald Trump to finance the next ‘January 6th’ fascist insurrection to overturn democracy and create an American Gestapo.” The proposed business item calls for the NEA to use “existing electronic media platforms” to “inform members of the ongoing threat posed by the plan according to the order of Federal Judge Leonie Brinkman and will consider submitting legal briefs to communicate our opposition to the public and the court.”
New Business Item 91 – Object to Consideration
The proposed New Business Item would require the NEA to call for “an end to the war on Iran” and opposition to “Israel’s invasion of Lebanon.” It would include a “withdrawal of US forces mobilized for this war, and the withdrawal of all Israeli troops from Lebanon.”
WORKSHOPS: DAYS OF LEARNING & ORGANIZING FOR POWER
The 2026 RA Convention included a host of “Workshops” including political campaign training, how to influence school boards, activism and protesting, organizing based on race and identity, pro-teachers union messaging strategies, how to attack school choice measures, and advocating for anti-immigration enforcement policies.
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