A teachers’ union member was reportedly told that fighting against President Donald Trump was more important than teaching reading and writing at the National Education Association (NEA) meeting. The convention delegate from Texas summarized the NEA’s ‘new business items’ as having more political motives, with one member stating, ‘We don’t have time for that. We’ve got to fight Trump.’ The NEA has defended its stance by emphasizing the need to protect democracy against Trump’s alleged embrace of fascism.
The business items the teachers union approved include defending ‘democracy against Trump’s embrace of fascism by using the term facism [sic] in NEA materials to correctly characterize Donald Trump’s program and actions’ and opposing Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s ‘kidnapping of student leaders’ and support for ‘students’ right to organize against ICE raids and deportations.’
Another item was to support the nationwide ‘No Kings’ protests in participation of ‘the mass democratic movement against Trump’s authoritarianism and violations of human rights.’
In January, the National Education Association released guidelines to help schools prepare for immigration authorities after Trump rescinded the law that prohibited Immigration and Customs Enforcement from entering sensitive areas such as schools and hospitals.
Pringle has always been vocal in her criticism of the Trump administration and previously disavowed Trump’s immigration crackdown and endorsed former Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in the 2024 election.
The Free Press report also claimed that union members who asked about standing up for Jewish teachers received an unfriendly response at the meeting.
The person from Texas who was at this year’s meeting told The Free Press the focus was ‘politics, sex and gender.’
‘When delegates get up on stage, they tell you that they’re political,’ the delegate told The Free Press. ‘These things did not just happen overnight. People just haven’t been paying attention.’