We must end this nightmare in American education once and for all and reclaim our position as the world’s leader in innovation and opportunity.
The National Education Association (NEA) was once a humble professional body for educators dedicated to elevating teaching standards and uniting schools across the nation. In 1906, Congress awarded a charter to the NEA to promote the dignity of teaching and to advance unity and quality in schooling. Today, that same organization uses its power, not to lift young minds, but to push divisive ideology, undermine parental authority, and bankroll political agendas that have nothing to do with reading, writing, or arithmetic.
The downward spiral began subtly in the mid-20th century but accelerated in the 1960s and 1970s as the NEA shifted its focus from professional development to aggressive unionism and political activism. What started with advocacy for civil rights and better working conditions morphed into a full-throated embrace of far-left ideologies. By the 1970s, the NEA was lobbying hard for the creation of the Department of Education to centralize power in Washington, paving the way for federal overreach that has since strangled local innovation.
Today, the NEA funnels over 95% of its political contributions—totaling more than $22 million in the 2024 cycle alone—to Democrats and progressive causes, turning teachers’ dues into a slush fund for radical agendas. The NEA is wielding its power to reshape society in the image of socialist dystopias, prioritizing political warfare over student success. Delegates at NEA conventions have even voted to label ideological adversaries as “fascists” and divert resources to fighting figures like President Trump instead of addressing core academic failures.
And what has this achieved for America’s students? A national decline. Since the Department of Education’s inception, academic performance has flatlined or worsened. Long-term National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) data show stagnant reading scores and falling math proficiency among 17-year-olds. We’ve plummeted in global education rankings. All while the NEA promotes policies that prioritize “equity” over excellence, defends ineffective teachers, and opposes school choice for families in need.
They’ve aggressively promoted critical race theory (CRT), adopting resolutions to integrate it into curricula, framing America as systemically racist, and teaching kids to see division everywhere. This isn’t honest history; it’s divisive propaganda that breeds resentment and erodes national pride.
On gender ideology, the NEA champions lessons on fluid identities and LGBTQ+ topics starting in early grades, without age-appropriate safeguards or parental input. And they’ve helped craft sex-ed standards that push these concepts while opposing protections for biological reality and traditional values.
They’ve fought tooth and nail against the Parents’ Bill of Rights Act, urging lawmakers to reject it because it would empower families to oversee curricula and demand transparency, things the NEA views as threats to their control.
During the COVID-19 nightmare, the NEA lobbied relentlessly to prolong school closures. They prioritized union demands over children’s mental health and learning, forcing parents into chaos and widening achievement gaps.
These aren’t isolated missteps. They’re a calculated Marxist strategy to supplant family authority with state indoctrination, viewing parents as obstacles to their collective vision.
We can’t stand by while this tyranny destroys another generation. That’s why the National Education Association Charter Repeal Act is a bold and necessary step. This straightforward bill would revoke the NEA’s outdated congressional charter and strip away its federal stamp of approval.
Congress must pass this legislation immediately for several critical reasons: First, it will dismantle the NEA’s veneer of legitimacy, reducing its influence over policy and forcing it to operate like any other private entity without taxpayer-backed prestige. Second, it empowers parents by signaling that education belongs to families and states, not radical unions. Third, it addresses the root of our educational decline by curbing the leftist policies that have prioritized activism over academics, allowing innovation and accountability to flourish as they did before 1979. Fourth, it protects vulnerable students from indoctrination, ensuring schools focus on skills that build futures, not ideologies that divide. Finally, it restores fiscal sanity, as the NEA’s political spending spree—overwhelmingly on Democrats—won’t carry the implicit endorsement of Congress anymore.
We must end this nightmare in American education once and for all and reclaim our position as the world’s leader in innovation and opportunity. The only way to do that is to REPEAL the NEA charter and make education great again—putting power back in the hands of parents, states, and dedicated teachers who care about authentic learning, not radical agendas.
Congress can empower families and crush the tyranny of leftist teachers’ unions by issuing this vote of no confidence to an organization that has utterly failed our most precious resource in America. Our children’s future demands it!
Congressman Mark Harris represents the people of North Carolina’s 8th Congressional District. A native North Carolinian, Mark brings a lifetime of serving others to the US House of Representatives. Mark served as the senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Charlotte for over a decade, navigating multiple economic downturns and challenges.
Allen Mashburn has contributed to several national publications, including The Blaze. He serves as an Ambassador of the NC Faith & Freedom Coalition, Chairman of the Montgomery County Republican Party (NC), and former candidate for NC Lieutenant Governor. He can be reached at [email protected].
