Decoding the NEA Resolutions — August 1999

Affirmative action: preferential hiring of designated minorities, including gays and lesbians.

Bilingual education: keeping immigrant children speaking their native language instead of learning English.

Censorship: any criticism of curriculum by parents.

Comparable worth: the feminists’ demand for government wage control, using a subjective system that raises the pay of women while freezing the pay of men.

Comprehensive health education: explicit sex ed, including teaching about sex of all types including “diversity of sexual orientation,” and demonstrating all sex devices (disregarding moral teachings, children’s natural modesty about sex, the child’s latency period, and parental consent).

Confidential: without parental knowledge.

Counseling: the practice of psychological testing and treatment by non-licensed psychologists who have had minimal training; often done in class as group therapy without parental consent.

Diverse role models: openly gay teachers.

Diversity: teaching the gay/lesbian agenda.

Early childhood education: the public schools’ demand for control over all children “from birth to age eight,” and teaching them “diversity-based curricula.”

Equal Rights Amendment: the feminists’ amendment that died in 1982; designed to put abortion funding and gay rights in the U.S. Constitution.

Environmental education: teaching that humans must serve the earth instead of vice versa; making Americans feel guilty that our system has produced such prosperity; indoctrinating children to support more government regulation and more foreign handouts; sometimes teaching earth worship and often teaching population control.

Extremist: any activity that opposes the NEA agenda.

Global education: teaching that patriotism and sovereignty are bad while global governance is good, that Americans should subordinate their customs and country to foreign control, and that we should distribute U.S. wealth and resources around the world.

Integrated or integral part: concealing counseling and controversial teaching (such as demonstrations of “safe-sex” devices, AIDS education, and suicide education) within various other courses so that parents can’t discover it, object to it, or remove their children from it.

Interdependence: teaching that Americans should give away our resources to other countries and replace American sovereignty with global governance.

Interventions and referrals: giving minors health treatment and counseling, and referring them to outside clinics and abortion services, without parental consent.

Multiculturalism: teaching that every other culture is superior to Western Judeo-Christian civilization.

On-site child care: providing daycare at public schools for children who have babies.

Politically involved: teachers using their position to work for NEA candidates and legislative goals.

Reproductive freedom: abortion with taxpayer funding.

School-based clinics: offices within public schools that dispense contraceptives and “intensive counseling” and do “referrals” without parental knowledge, and also accustom students to the notion that they should get their health care from the government.

Self-esteem: teaching students to feel they are A-OK even when they don’t learn anything.

Sequential, pre-K to 12: teaching NEA-style sex education for 14 years (the only subject that is taught so redundantly).

Sexual orientation: teaching the gay/lesbian agenda.

Single-payer health plan: forcing all Americans to get health care through Medicaid.

Stereotyping: the expectation that children should be reared by mothers and fathers who are married to each other.

Undocumented immigrants: illegal aliens and their children.

Universal precautions: teaching “safe-sex” with demonstrations of devices and explicit descriptions of all sex practices that do not result in a live baby.

Excerpts from Resolutions Passed at the 1999 NEA Convention

A-10. Public School Buildings. The National Education Association believes that closed public school buildings should be sold or leased only to those organizations that are not in direct competition with public schools.

A-13. Federal Financial Support for Education. The Association believes that funding for federal programs should be substantially increased, not merely redistributed among states.

A-15. Financial Support of Public Education. Funds must be provided for programs to alleviate race, gender, and sexual orientation discrimination and to eliminate portrayal of race, gender, and sexual orientation stereotypes in the public schools. The Association opposes the use of public revenues for private, parochial, or other nonpublic pre-K through 12 schools.

A-19. Undocumented Immigrants. The National Education Association believes that, regardless of the immigration status of students or their parents, every student has the right to a free public education in an environment free from harassment.

A-26. Charter and Nontraditional Public School Options. The Association believes that when concepts such as charter schools and other nontraditional school options are proposed, all affected public education employees must be directly involved in the design, implementation, and governance of these programs.

A-27. Deleterious Programs. The National Education Association believes that the following programs and practices are detrimental to public education and must be eliminated: privatization, performance contracting, tax credits for tuition to private and parochial schools, voucher plans (or funding formulas that have the same effect as vouchers), planned program budgeting systems (PPBS), and evaluations by private, profit-making groups.

A-29. Voucher Plans and Tuition Tax Credits. The National Education Association believes that voucher plans and tuition tax credits or funding formulas that have the same effect undermine public education, reduce the support needed to adequately fund public education, and have the potential for racial, economic, and social segregation of children. The Association opposes all attempts to establish and/or implement such plans.

B-1. Early Childhood Education. The National Education Association supports early childhood education programs in the public schools for children from birth through age eight. The Association further believes that early childhood education programs should include a full continuum of services for parents/guardians/caregivers, and children, including child care, child development, developmentally appropriate and diversity-based curricula, special education, and appropriate bias-free screening devices. These programs must be available to all children on an equal basis and should include mandatory kindergarten with compulsory attendance.

B-7. Diversity. The National Education Association believes that a diverse society enriches all individuals. Similarities and differences among races, ethnicity, color, national origin, language, geographic location, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, physical ability, size, occupation, and marital, parental, or economic status form the fabric of a society. The Association further believes in the importance of observances, programs and curricula that accurately portray and recognize the roles, contributions, cultures, and history of these diverse groups and individuals.

B-8. Racism, Sexism, and Sexual Orientation Discrimination. The National Education Association believes in the equality of all individuals. Discrimination and stereotyping based on such factors as race, gender, immigration status, physical disabilities, ethnicity, occupation, and sexual orientation must be eliminated. Plans, activities, and programs must —

• Eliminate discrimination and stereotyping in the curriculum, textbooks, resource and instructional materials, activities, etc.
• Integrate an accurate portrayal of the roles and contributions of all groups throughout history across the curriculum, particularly groups who have been underrepresented historically
• Eliminate subtle practices that favor the education of one student over another on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, physical disabilities, or sexual orientation
• Offer positive and diverse role models in our society including the recruitment, hiring, and promotion of diverse education employees in our public schools.The Association encourages its affiliates to develop and implement training programs on these matters.

B-20. Educational Programs for Limited English Proficiency Students. The Association believes that LEP students should be placed in bilingual education programs to receive instruction in their native language from qualified teachers until such time as English proficiency is achieved.

B-29. Multicultural Education. Multicultural education should promote the recognition of individual and group differences and similarities in order to reduce racism, ethnic prejudices, and discrimination. Multicultural education encompasses an idea or concept, an educational reform movement, and a process.

B-30. Global Education. The Association believes that global education increases respect for and awareness of the earth and its people, and an appreciation of our interdependency in sharing the world’s resources to meet mutual human needs.

B-36. Family Life Education. The Association believes that programs should be established for both students and parents/guardians/caregivers and supported at all educational levels to promote the development of self-esteem.

B-37. Sex Education. The Association recognizes that the public school must assume an increasingly important role in providing the instruction. Teachers and health professionals must be legally protected from censorship and lawsuits. The Association also believes that, to facilitate the realization of human potential, it is the right of every individual to live in an environment of freely available information and knowledge about sexuality and encourages affiliates and members to support appropriately established sex education programs. Such programs should include information on sexual abstinence, birth control and family planning, diversity of culture, diversity of sexual orientation, parenting skills, prenatal care, sexually transmitted diseases, incest, sexual abuse, sexual harassment.

B-38. AIDS Education. The National Education Association believes that educational institutions should establish comprehensive acquired human immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) education programs as an integral part of the school curriculum.

B-40. Environmental Education. The Association supports educational programs that promote the concept of the interdependence of humanity and nature.

B-53. Standardized Testing of Students. The Association opposes the use of standardized tests when

• Used as the criterion for the reduction or withholding of any educational funding
• Results are used inappropriately to compare students, teachers, programs, schools, communities, and states.

B-65. Home Schooling. The National Education Association believes that home schooling programs cannot provide the student with a comprehensive education experience. When home schooling occurs, students enrolled must meet all state requirements. Home schooling should be limited to the children of the immediate family, with all expenses being borne by the parents/guardians/caregivers. Instruction should be by persons who are licensed by the appropriate state education licensure agency, and a curriculum approved by the state department of education should be used. The Association also believes that home-schooled students should not participate in any extracurricular activities in the public schools.

C-1. Health Care for All Children. The National Education Association believes that legislation should be adopted to provide comprehensive health care to all children.

C-7. Child Care. The Association encourages school districts and educational institutions to establish on-site child care for preschoolers, students, the children of students, and the children of staff members.

C-14. Extremist Groups. The National Education Association condemns the philosophy and practices of extremist groups and urges active opposition to all such movements that are inimical to the ideals of the Association.

C-22. Comprehensive School Health Programs and Services. The National Education Association believes that every child should have direct and confidential access to comprehensive health, social, and psychological programs and services. The Association believes that schools should provide:

• A planned sequential, pre-K through 12 health education curriculum that integrates various health topics (such as drug abuse, violence, universal precautions, and HIV education).

The Association believes that services in the schools should include:

• Counseling programs that provide developmental guidance and broad-based interventions and referrals
• Comprehensive school-based, community-funded student health care clinics that provide basic health care services (which may include diagnosis and treatment)
• If deemed appropriate by local choice, family-planning counseling and access to birth control methods with instruction in their use.

C-23. School Counseling Programs. The National Education Association believes that guidance and counseling programs should be integrated into the entire education system, pre-K through college.

C-31. Suicide Prevention Programs. The National Education Association believes that suicide prevention programs including prevention, intervention, and postvention must be developed and implemented. The Association urges its affiliates to ensure that these programs are an integral part of the school program.

D-20. Testing/Assessment and Teacher Evaluation. The National Education Association believes that competency testing must not be used as a condition of employment, license retention, evaluation, placement, ranking, or promotion of licensed teachers.

E-3. Selection and Challenges of Materials and Teaching Techniques. The Association deplores prepublishing censorship, book-burning crusades, and attempts to ban books from school libraries/media centers and school curricula.

F-1. Nondiscriminatory Personnel Policies/ Affirmative Action. The National Education Association believes that personnel policies and practices must guarantee that no person be employed, retained, paid, dismissed, suspended, demoted, transferred, or retired because of race, color, national origin, cultural diversity, accent, religious beliefs, residence, physical disability, political activities, professional association activity, age, size, marital status, family relationship, gender, or sexual orientation.

H-1. The Education Employee as a Citizen. The Association urges its members to become politically involved and to support the political action committees of the Association and its affiliates.

H-7. National Health Care Policy. The Association supports the adoption of a single-payer health care plan for all residents of the United States, its territories, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The Association will support health care reform measures that move the United States closer to this goal.

I-13. Family Planning. The National Education Association supports family planning, including the right to reproductive freedom. The Association further urges the implementation of community-operated, school-based family planning clinics that will provide intensive counseling by trained personnel.

I-27. Freedom of Religion. The Association opposes any federal legislation or mandate that would require school districts to schedule a moment of silence.

I-29. Gun-free Schools and the Regulation of Deadly Weapons. The Association believes that strict proscriptive regulations are necessary for the manufacture, importation, distribution, sale and resale of handguns and ammunition magazines.

I-47. English as the Official Language. The Association believes that efforts to legislate English as the official language disregard cultural pluralism; deprive those in need of education, social services, and employment; and must be challenged.

I-50. Equal Opportunity for Women. The Association believes in equal pay for comparable worth. The Association supports an amendment to the U.S. Constitution (such as the Equal Rights Amendment) that guarantees that equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state because of gender.

The NEA’s 1999 Lobbying Goals

• Creation of a national database on early childhood care and education programs.
• Federal programs to assist parents in gaining parenting skills and in understanding child growth and development.
• Federal resources to enhance the availability and quality of public school child care programs, including preschool and before- and after-school programs.
• Development and implementation of comprehensive, community-based drug and violence prevention programs that link community resources with schools and integrate services involving education, vocational and job skills training and placement, law enforcement, health, mental health, community service, mentoring, and other appropriate services.
• Effective School-to-Work initiatives.

The NEA Will Work to —

• Oppose proposals for Title I funds portability or super Ed-Flex.
• Continue to align state and local academic standards with assessments, and provide educators with the tools to develop curricula aligned to standards and assessments.
• Support an FY 2000 class-size reduction appropriation at least equal to President Clinton’s request, or preferably, a larger increase of $400 million to hire 15,000 new teachers.
• Support key provisions in the Children’s Gun Violence Protection Act (S.735/H.R.1342), to protect children from firearm violence.
• Oppose tax-free IRA withdrawals for private and religious school and home-schooling expenses.
• Oppose all voucher plans.
• Support an increase in the minimum wage for all employees, including youth.

NEA Political Activity

At its annual July convention, the NEA claimed that the 1998 elections “affirmed [voters’] strong support for maintaining the federal role in public education.” The NEA took credit for the “critical victories” of many NEA-backed candidates.

NEA officials pressed the convention delegates to contribute to NEA-PAC. At this year’s convention, members responded by donating $797,000 to NEA’s PAC, an average of $83 per delegate.

In his keynote address, NEA President Bob Chase praised Bill Clinton as “the best education president in history” and listed what the union considers its “biggest election victories” in 1998. He commended the NEA’s New York affiliate for “helping to defeat Sen. Al D’Amato and replace him with Chuck Schumer, and the North Carolina affiliate for defeating Sen. Lauch Faircloth and replacing him with John Edwards.” He vowed that “Jesse Helms is next.” He told his audience to “forget the media hype coming out of Minnesota,” and bragged that Lieutenant Governor Mae Schunk was “having no trouble handling [Governor] Jesse Ventura.”

At a Democratic Caucus breakfast, NEA Government Relations staffer Jerry Caruthers appealed to delegates to “dig deep to support the NEA Political Action Committee,” which has been renamed the “NEA Fund for Children and Public Education.” Caruthers told delegates: “I know that you want to give to the Democratic party, but you have a party also, and that is the NEA.”

The two-year fundraising goal for NEA-PAC is $7.7 million.

The Gay & Lesbian Caucus (GLC) is a powerful pressure group within the NEA. Caucus membership has increased from 200+ in 1993 to more than 700 in 1999. Its annual dinner attracts the union’s top leaders, including President Bob Chase. Its GLC buttons are worn by hundreds of convention delegates. The caucus works to introduce public school curricula supportive of gay and lesbian lifestyles, but its agenda is advanced under the guise of teaching safety, tolerance, and nondiscrimination.