U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) has introduced new legislation, the Terminating Education Association Congressional Handouts (TEACH) Act, aimed at restricting the National Education Association (NEA) from influencing federal government decisions. The proposal would also require the NEA to submit an annual certification to the Secretary of Education confirming that it has not attempted to influence such decisions.
This legislative effort follows a previous bill by Senator Blackburn seeking to revoke the congressional charter of the NEA, which is currently the only labor union with a federal charter in the United States.
“The National Education Association has abandoned its mission of supporting America’s teachers and students in the name of pushing its far-left political agenda,” said Senator Blackburn. “The NEA has become nothing more than a radical-left activist group, and it has no business using its status as a congressionally chartered entity to push woke gender ideology, antisemitism, and propaganda on America’s students.”
The background provided by Senator Blackburn’s office points to several actions by the NEA as evidence for this legislative move. According to her office, in recent years, 98 percent of NEA political donations during the 2024 election cycle were directed toward Democratic candidates. In 2023, the NEA partnered with organizations like GLSEN and was involved in initiatives that some critics described as radical. The association also adopted measures supporting critical race theory in July 2021.
Additionally, during efforts to reopen schools amid the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, the NEA threatened strikes and played a role in influencing CDC guidance on school reopening policies. There have also been allegations that references to Jewish victims were removed from Holocaust-related materials on their website.
Senator Blackburn is joined by U.S. Representative Mark Harris (R-N.C.) in introducing related legislation targeting the NEA’s congressional charter.
If enacted, the TEACH Act would formally prohibit any attempts by the NEA to influence federal policy decisions and establish oversight through required annual reporting to federal authorities.
