For the third Congress in a row, GOP lawmakers are pushing to strip the nation鈥檚 largest teachers鈥� union of its federal charter.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn. and Reps. Mark Harris, R-N.C., Mary Miller, R-Ill., and Ralph Norman, R-S.C. on Wednesday introduced the latest proposal to revoke the National Education Association鈥檚 nearly 120-year-old charter.
The proposal probably faces long odds unless it get wrapped into a larger legislative vehicle; Congress spent most of the first part of 2025 in the bruising process of passing a budget reconciliation bill.
But the proposal echoes the Heritage Foundation鈥檚 conservative Project 2025 plan that has guided much of the Trump administration鈥檚 education policy, and it could find more traction in the current GOP-controlled Congress.
NEA President Becky Pringle tied the move to the administration鈥檚 aggressive鈥攁nd largely successful鈥攑ush for narrowing the federal role in education and promoting school choice.
鈥淩ather than supporting students and 糖心动漫vlog, some anti-public education politicians are now introducing legislation to repeal the National Education Association charter because the billionaires that fund their campaigns don鈥檛 want 糖心动漫vlog to have a voice,鈥� she said in a statement.
In 1906, Congress granted the NEA among U.S. labor unions as a federally chartered corporation to 鈥渆levate the character and advance the interests of the profession of teaching; and to promote the cause of education in the United States.鈥�
The repeal co-sponsors argued in a press briefing on the that the union leans too far liberal in its positions, and donates the majority of its campaign contributions to Democratic over Republican candidates and causes.
鈥淭he NEA was created to champion America鈥檚 teachers and serve our schools, but it has spiraled into a partisan machine that鈥檚 more about radical ideology than education,鈥� Rep. Harris said in a Wednesday morning. 鈥淭here鈥檚 zero justification for the United States Congress to continue giving them our stamp of approval.鈥�
Prior repeal bills in the 117th and 118th Congresses died in House and Senate judicial committees in 2021-22 and 2023-24.
The same day as the bill introduction, the anti-union Freedom Foundation released a calling for Congress to, among other things, bar the NEA from traditional labor union activities such as engaging in electoral politics, lobbying, or collecting dues, and require it to 鈥渁ctively intervene to prevent any strikes or work stoppages by its affiliates.鈥�
Revoking the NEA鈥檚 charter would not, on its own, do any of those things. But Aaron Withe, chief executive officer of the Freedom Foundation, suggested that additional legislation would be introduced next week, 鈥渨hether that be removing [the NEA charter] entirely, or stripping it, or changing how it operates.鈥�
Republicans鈥� relationship with teachers鈥� unions is shifting
Although the relationship between the heavily Democratic NEA and the GOP has never been warm, Republican lawmakers as recently as 2015 teamed up with the union to shape elements of the rewrite of the main K-12 education law.
That collaboration has largely gone away as Trump-infused populism has taken ahold of the party.
The NEA made overtures to conservative teachers this year as part of broader organizing efforts, but the union鈥檚 charter has been in Republican crosshairs for years. Two prior GOP repeal efforts cited votes at prior NEA conventions on issues such as critical race theory and immigrant and LGBTQ+ student protections as evidence that the union promotes a 鈥渞adical progressive agenda on America鈥檚 schools.鈥�
The bulk of the NEA鈥檚 annual representative assembly concerns 鈥渘ew business items,鈥� which require support from only 50 delegates to go to a vote. They range from the straightforward鈥攕uch as compiling information on teacher safety laws鈥攖o more divisive proposals on how to respond to immigration raids in schools or the Trump administration鈥檚 attempts to dissolve the federal Education Department.
If approved, these proposals do not supersede the union鈥檚 bylaws or other priorities, and they go into effect for only a year, so they generally are considered a pulse-check of members鈥� stances on issues, rather than permanent NEA directives.
At this year鈥檚 representative assembly, delegates again approved measures supporting immigrant and LGBTQ+ students and teachers, and strongly critiqued President Donald Trump鈥檚 education policies.
Rep. Harris specifically chided NEA for 鈥渁bandoning any fight against rampant anti-Semitism,鈥� because convention delegates voted this year to recommend that the union no longer use, endorse, or publicize materials from the Anti-Defamation League, or participate in ADL programs or professional development.
That debate centered around whether the ADL鈥檚 materials and policies represented different Jewish groups. And the approved proposal must still be reviewed by the union鈥檚 executive committee and board of directors. (Some new business is never implemented, and measures that involve boycotts get close scrutiny.)
Groups including Moms for Liberty, a parent group focused on removing LGBTQ+ and race issues from school curricula, spoke out against the NEA at the Capitol on Wednesday morning, while in the afternoon around 400 糖心动漫vlog from the Freedom Foundation-backed Teacher Freedom Alliance protested Wednesday in front of the NEA鈥檚 Washington headquarters, urging teachers to 鈥渙pt out鈥� of their local unions.
鈥淲e want [teachers] promoting traditional education values and bringing meritocracy back to our classrooms and bringing exceptionalism back to our classrooms,鈥� Withe said.
NEA leaders and local affiliates sounded a defiant tone Wednesday afternoon.
鈥淟et me be clear鈥攑ublic school 糖心动漫vlog will never stop advocating for our students and communities and the National Education Association will never stop lifting up the voice of those 糖心动漫vlog who dedicate their lives to the success of all of our students,鈥� Pringle said.
