Thousands of educators will dive into the national debate on what should be taught in history class this week as the nation鈥檚 largest teachers鈥� union holds its annual gathering.
The National 91制片厂视频 Association will host its 100th Representative Assembly to determine its policy and initiatives for the next fiscal year. The annual convention is the world鈥檚 largest democratic deliberative body鈥攏early 8,000 delegates will debate and vote on where to direct the NEA鈥檚 money and attention.
For the second year, the convention will be fully virtual due to the pandemic. But unlike last year, which had a bare-bones agenda, the union鈥檚 delegates will conduct regular business, including voting on new business items, which are delegate-proposed directives for the union to pursue for one year.
In a break from a nearly 40-year tradition, however, the NEA has closed much of its representative assembly to the press. An NEA spokesman said the decision to restrict access was made due to security concerns with the virtual platform that will be used for voting, and that the 2022 representative assembly would once again be open to the press.
The representative assembly will take place from June 30 to July 3. Here鈥檚 what to expect:
1. There will be a lot of discussion about critical race theory in the classroom.
Several of the proposed new business items ask the NEA to oppose efforts to regulate what students learn about the history of race in America and to support the teachers who are doing anti-racist work. Half of states have taken steps to restrict teaching critical race theory鈥攚hich is an academic framework that says racism is embedded in legal systems and policies and is not just the product of individual bias or prejudice鈥攐r limit how teachers can discuss racism and sexism. Nine states have enacted these bans, according to an 91制片厂视频 Week analysis.
Kumar Rashad, an NEA delegate from Louisville, Ky., that calls on the union to publicly express its 鈥渟upport for the accurate and honest teaching of social studies topics, including truthful and age-appropriate accountings of unpleasant aspects of American history, such as slavery and the oppression and discrimination of Indigenous, Black, brown, and other peoples of color, as well as the continued impact this history has on our current society.鈥�
The measure also says that the NEA should publicly say it鈥檚 appropriate for curriculum to be informed by critical race theory. Rashad said he feels like so far, the union has only been 鈥渓oosely associated鈥� with the battle over how to teach the racist aspects of United States history.
鈥淭he NEA has to take that explicit stance, because then that protects those of us who are doing the real work in the field,鈥� said Rashad, who teaches a course on developing Black historical consciousness at an alternative high school. 鈥淚 want to know that my union has my back when I鈥檓 doing nothing but spreading the truth, which is empowering a group of people to be independent鈥攚hich is our ultimate goal of education.鈥�
NEA President Becky Pringle educators are 鈥渄oing a disservice鈥� to students by not teaching them about systemic racism. In , Pringle also wrote that the efforts to restrict discussions of racism in the classroom were 鈥渟enseless fearmongering,鈥� and that teachers must 鈥減resent to students the good, bad, and ugly of our past so that they can build a better, brighter future.鈥�
The NEA has to stand behind its members who are doing anti-racist work in schools, said Stephen Siegel, a delegate and a high school special education teacher in the Reynolds school district near Portland, Ore. He that would have the NEA research the organizations 鈥渁ttacking educators doing anti-racist work鈥� and then put together a list of resources and recommendations for school districts and individual educators to use if they find themselves under the spotlight.
Earlier this year, the national grassroots group Parents Defending 91制片厂视频, which is critical of anti-racism efforts in schools, on anti-bias and anti-racism that was held by educators at the Beaverton school district in Oregon. During the training, a teacher said, 鈥淚f you鈥檙e not evolving into an anti-racist educator, you鈥檙e making yourself obsolete in this field of profession. 鈥� If you鈥檙e going to come with those old views of colonialism, it鈥檚 going to lead to being fired, because you鈥檙e going to be doing damage to our children鈥攖rauma.鈥�
Parents Defending 91制片厂视频 criticized the training as 鈥渟haming鈥� teachers 鈥渋nto accepting ideas rooted in the controversial ideology of critical race theory.鈥� The story was then picked up by conservative news outlets, like Fox News and the Daily Caller.
鈥淥ne of the things that [the experience] highlighted for me 鈥� is that our school districts didn鈥檛 seem particularly prepared for the kinds of attacks that were coming from these right-wing media, and also our unions seemed [caught] a little off-guard鈥攏ot quite sure how to best respond,鈥� Siegel said. 鈥淭hese attacks are going to keep happening.鈥�
2. Delegates will vote on a nearly $371 million budget that anticipates $13 million in new revenue.
Last year, the NEA had projected a 125,000-member loss due to anticipated layoffs stemming from COVID-19 budget shortfalls. But that large of a loss did not materialize. Many districts were able to rehire teachers who had been laid off last spring, and teachers have not yet left the profession en masse, despite survey results that say they鈥檙e thinking of quitting.
The NEA 2.34 million full-time equivalent members, up from its projected 2.29 million members last year. However, this year鈥檚 projected membership is still down from the 2019-20 tally of 2.42 million. (This membership count includes teachers, education support professionals, retirees, and community allies.) The NEA is proposing a $2 dues increase for teachers, in which case they would pay $202 for the year.
Here are some of the key areas where the membership dues will go in the coming year:
- $5.8 million to increase member capacity as leaders and activists, which includes recruiting and training educators to run for local office and school boards;
- $7.5 million to create and provide training, resources, and programming for members on racial and social justice and how to implement those practices in the classroom;
- $36.2 million to 鈥減rotect and defend鈥� against legal attacks directed at the union and to support the nomination of pro-labor judges;
- $6.9 million to recruit more new and early-career teachers to join the union; and
- $32.9 million to elect union-friendly candidates, engage members ahead of the 2022 midterms, and 鈥渄evelop and utilize strategic research to shape debate in states about education funding, taxes, and revenue.鈥�
The president, vice president, and secretary-treasurer will also each get a 3.1 percent raise. Pringle will make $320,783 this fiscal year.
3. Delegates will discuss the role of police in schools.
The NEA board of directors鈥攖he union鈥檚 top decision-making body鈥攈as that would establish a task force to explore the role of law enforcement in education. The task force would consult with leaders of police-free school movements to provide recommendations to amend the union鈥檚 existing policies and language around school discipline. The task force would also collect data on school discipline and compare 鈥渢he impact of on-site or community-based programs and personnel with the use of law enforcement on campuses.鈥�
The board of directors has also recommended that the NEA amend its legislative program鈥攚hich represents the union鈥檚 agenda and priorities for federal action鈥攖o say that the NEA opposes 鈥渢he use of law enforcement personnel or private security in the school discipline process; criminalizing school-age behaviors; 鈥� [and] the hiring of private security in the place of school resource officers or sworn law enforcement officers.鈥�
These proposals represent the latest in the national union鈥檚 evolution in how it views school police. For years, the NEA published positive features on school police officers, with headlines like 鈥淢ore Than 鈥楥ampus Cops:鈥� School resource officers are also role models for students and staff鈥� and 鈥淧romoting School Safety With a Badge and a Smile.鈥� (These articles are no longer on the NEA鈥檚 website.) And in 2013, the NEA .
But after George Floyd, a Black man, was murdered at the hands of a white Minneapolis police officer last summer, then-NEA President Lily Eskelsen Garc铆a said she had 鈥済rave concerns about armed police officers in schools.鈥� Since Floyd鈥檚 death, at least 33 school districts have eliminated their school police officers, according to an 91制片厂视频 Week analysis.
In an address to delegates, Theresa Mitchell Dudley, a member of the NEA board of directors and the president of the Prince George鈥檚 County, Md., teachers鈥� union, said the union鈥檚 legislative committee held a listening session in February to hear from educators.
She said people asked questions like, 鈥淲hy do 14 million students have a law enforcement presence on campus but no counselor, nurse, school psychologist, or social worker? Why are simple childhood behaviors being criminalized? Why do we have zero-tolerance policies?鈥�
The resulting proposals will help the NEA fulfill its duty to protect students, Dudley said. 鈥淭ime and time again, research shows that students of color are disproportionately impacted by law enforcement presence in schools, and at the same time, are sitting in underfunded schools,鈥� she said.
