NEA: Welcoming Tired, Poor & Huddled Masses— As They Sneak Across the Border
On June 30, to start off their annual convention, representatives attending the assembly, as well as leadership in charge of the National Education Association (NEA) teachers union participated in an anti-Trump demonstration in Minneapolis. Their intent was to draw attention to immigration issues.
The online announcement said, “NEA will be standing in solidarity with our partner activists and joining Minneapolis-based organizations this Saturday for a rally and march. We will gather at the Minneapolis Convention Center at 2:00 pm for a short rally followed by a 1.5 mile march and return to the Convention Center for a closing rally.”
Who were those “partner activists”? The teachers union protested alongside MoveOn.org, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Women’s March Minnesota, and others including the AFL-CIO and SEIU unions. The NEA website linked directly to the MoveOn.org event page. The Minneapolis turnout coincided with nationwide protests that Saturday, in what CNN called “Coast to coast protests denounc[ing] Trump’s immigration policy.”
In addition to the march and rally, there was indoor drama at the NEA convention a few days later. On the first official day of the Representational Assembly (RA), the first New Business Item presented dealt with immigration.
Here is the first paragraph of New Business ItemA, as adopted by delegates at the 2018 union RA:
“The National Education Association will respond thoughtfully, swiftly, and forcefully in support of and in solidarity with immigrant families who are separated, incarcerated, or refused their legal right to request asylum due to the heartless, racist, and discriminatory zero-tolerance policies of the Trump administration.”
Six numbered sections indicate what the NEA intends to do about immigration issues. The full list can be seen at NEA.org under New Business Items (NBI). The union action plan includes things such as “Proactively seek opportunities to coordinate and partner with immigration advocates and activists to add our voice”; “Inform our members of this racist policy”; “Closely monitor legislation on immigration and analyze bills, regulations, and executive orders”; “Call for a complete accounting of the children already taken from their families and those who may still be taken”; “Fight for reunification of children and parents and the immediate placement of families in the least-restrictive environments, including access to free and appropriate public education while awaiting processing”; and “Provide appropriate legal support.”
Perhaps the most relevant insight into the union action came after all the rhetoric, and it is not available to read online. It is in the NEA RA Today newspaper that is distributed to delegates each morning of the convention. The daily newspaper for July 4th, which shows that NBI A was passed by delegates, has a section titled “Cost Implications.” About NBI A, it says:
“This item can be accomplished with current staff and resources under the proposed 2018-2020 Strategic Plan and Budget at no additional cost.”
No extra expense will be incurred in order for the NEA to participate in bashing the Trump administration; to encourage members at the local and state levels to “take action” and “effect positive changes in their schools and communities”; and to partner with others to provide “legal support” that will include amicus briefs, legal analysis, and consultation with partners on “legal strategy….” The NEA has already been part of the gang that continues to thwart any attempt to curb illegal border crossings by any federal, state, or local governments or law enforcement agencies. So, not a penny more will need to be spent. It will just be more of the same, with some dramatic photos of activist social-justice warrior union members added to an already overflowing scrapbook.
The NEA, and its bedfellows on the left, protest enforcement of laws already on the books, passed by Congress. They protest restricted immigration from a few nations known to be hotbeds of terrorism (and call it a “Muslim ban”). The union isn’t angry at parents and others (coyotes) who endanger children by hauling them through the very dangerous desert to cross the border. During the rally, many union members carries signs saying that ICE, the agency that enforces immigration law, should be abolished.
The NEA wants, encourages, and promotes illegal immigration. Why do they support the entry into the U.S. of a flood of people who are breaking laws by crossing our borders and who have neither been vetted nor gone through the legal immigration process?
NEA Losing Members: Sad!
The Supreme Court decision in Janus v. AFSCME means that teachers unions can no longer force those who are not union members to pay a sort of dues called agency fees. Justices ruled that collection of those fees was unconstitutional. The National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers have been extracting monetary rewards from unwilling educators in 22 states, but that gravy train has ended.
At the 2018 National Education Association (NEA) Representational Assembly in Minneapolis, Minnesota, leadership put on brave faces and used hopeful language about membership stability and even growth. But they are also cutting costs.
How steep the cuts and how large the membership losses will be was hard to determine fromdata released at the NEA convention. But earlier estimates say that the NEA expects a decline of over 300,000 members over the two years following the Janus ruling. NEA spending cuts over those two years are estimated to be $50 million. Cash grants to its state and local affiliates will be cut by 9%. While layoffs at NEA headquarters aren’t planned, staff positions that are currently vacant won’t be filled, amounting to a 16% decrease in the compensation column. Other expected cuts include: travel – 4%; publications – 27%; and office expenses – 15%.
One line item that increased was executive compensation; it is apparent that those at the top of the NEA union food chain won’t be forced to suffer. The union’s executive officers are looking forward to larger salaries.
According to union watchdog Mike Antonucci:
“The base salary for NEA president Lily Eskelsen García will increase to $293,434. NEA’s vice president and secretary-treasurer will each receive $257,954. Additionally, all three executive officers receive cash allowances equal to 40% of their base salary — at least $103,182 each — to cover benefits and living expenses.”
Adding irony on top of irony, workers who are employed by both national and local unions might strike when faced with budget cuts. Employees at NEA headquarters almost walked out earlier this year. After their contract expired on May 31, more than 80% of members of the National Education Association Staff Organization union, who are employed by the NEA, voted to strike. The NEA executive board might earn some of those hefty salaries trying to keep their own employees at work.
In a speech, Eskelsen García lauded teachers who went on strike in several states. Will she feel the same thrill about teachers failing to show up for students when it’s her own employees who fail to show up for work?
While Janus was a huge win for the nation, there should be no celebrating because teachers unions are still powerful social justice organizations that are closely aligned with the Democratic
Party and many radical left-wing groups— and they are still wreaking havoc on schoolchildren and families. (TheHill.com, 5-22-18) (the74million.org) (EIAonline.com, 7-12-18)
Is the USA a Terrible Place?
If a foreigner unfamiliar with our nation read the 2018 NEA Resolutions and New Business Items, they surely would want to avoid it as a country where they’d choose to relocate.
It seems the NEA believes Americans hate immigrants, and that white Americans are pulling all kinds of White Privilege power plays. If the union delegates are to be believed (and they cannot be), civil rights are being eroded and it’s dangerous to be an American minority or woman.
But have no fear because the NEA is here to set it all straight, to change the nation for the better, and to right this ship.
Union President Lily Eskelsen García said, “These are dark days….” She continued, “We have seen the people march and speak up and refuse to be silent and refuse to pretend; we have seen the resistance rise.” Eskelsen García yielded her podium to recent high school graduate David Hogg, who is known for having survived the Parkland High School massacre, and who has aligned himself with the anti-NRA, anti-Second Amendment, “common-sense gun control” crowd. (In this case, common sense means registration followed by confiscation.)
After delegates were lectured by the 18-year-old kid, whom they welcomed wildly, they moved on to adopt New Business Item 19. It “commends and supports the courageous students fighting for safe schools” and promises all sorts of things that will fail to make schools safer, including “Opposition to arming teachers in schools.”
Then delegates addressed other societal ills beyond those pesky guns that spontaneously and independently shoot people. The purpose of New Business Item 36 is to identify and launch attacks on ordinary religious people such as bakers and florists who do not choose to participate in events such as weddings with two brides or two grooms, or the sex-change party of a 12-year-old boy as he announces that “they” are now a girl.
NBI 36 says:
“NEA shall, using existing digital media, post a list of known individuals with businesses who are committed to refusing services to same-sex couples and/or LGBTQ individuals. NEA can access a list of these individuals and their businesses from organizations such as ThinkProgress, Southern Poverty Law Center, and Human Rights Campaign, and share it with all state and local affiliates on nea.org.”
Those with which it associates tells everything about an organization. That the NEA is associated with the hate group called the Southern Poverty Law Center, the child-abuse promoting Human Rights Campaign, and the so-far-left-it-isn’t-even-believable ThinkProgress says it all. According to those organizations, Americans who don’t vote a strict Democrat or socialist ticket are the enemy.
It’s a wonder anyone tries to come to this nation with such terrible people running around refusing to bake cakes, hoping their teenage daughters don’t have to share a bathroom with adult men, etc.
New Business Item (NBI) 70 states, “NEA will contact equalrightsamendment.org and have NEA added to the list of organizations supporting the Equal Rights Amendment as it is published on the website.” Do any women try to immigrate to the United States? Surely not, because it’s such a terrible place, where more than 55% of those attending college are female; where women are guaranteed the same rights as men, while they can choose to remain safe from fighting in a war unless they choose to, where they can remain at home with their children or take a job outside the home. The Equal Rights Amendment was a bad idea the first time it was tried, yet the NEA and others are again trying to bamboozle the public.
Many, many of the 2018 NEA NBIs and Resolutions have to do with civil rights, particularly those involving African Americans. The NEA talks about the erosion of civil rights. It is disturbing that so much race baiting is going on, with oganizations like the NEA trying to mainstream Black Lives Matter and promote the notion of White Privilege. Many years ago Americans determined that dividing people was a bad idea — teaching hate and fear among races — yet the NEA is promoting exactly the sort of fear mongering that leads to segregation.
Education Briefs
New Business Item 4 adopted by the NEA states: “NEA will promote the Black Lives Matter Week of Action in schools during Black History month in 2019, using existing communication resources, specifically calling for clear efforts to demonstrate support for the three demands of the BLM Week of Action in schools.” Those demands are: “Ending zero-tolerance policies and replacing them with restorative justice practices; Hiring and mentoring Black educators; and Mandating that ethnic studies be taught in PreK-12 schools in age-appropriate ways.” Many believe the Black Lives Matter movement is not conducive to a cohesive society and that some in leadership positions are themselves anti-white racists who encourage violence, particularly against those who work in law enforcement.
NEA New Business Item 9 says, “The NEA RA directs NEA to support, in ways it finds appropriate and within the budget, the removal of the names of Confederate leaders from public schools.”
New Business Item 11 adopted by the NEA states that the union will encourage states and local affiliates to be certain teachers see a series of films called Creating Gender Inclusive Schools. The union also wants teachers to use the study guide created by the Youth and Gender Media Project in order “to create inclusive communities for all youth, regardless of where they fall on the spectrum of gender identity and expression.” According to the film, the Project, and the NEA, there is a “spectrum,” not just male and female. In addition, biology doesn’t determine sex: Sexual identity is instead whatever one believes or feels.
NBI 73 says, “NEA condemns the Supreme Court decision upholding Trump’s Muslim ban and demands its reversal as soon as possible.” Calling it a “Muslim ban” is inaccurate. Is the union purposely lying in order to incite hatred or do they actually not know the truth?
Book of the Month
The Deplorables’ Guide to Making America Great Again, Todd Starnes, 2017, Frontline, $16.99
Todd Starnes wants Americans to fix what has gone wrong. He accurately identifies problems in education, saying:
“Our public schools have been turned into radical indoctrination centers for the social justice crowd, leading the charge in a massive assault on the family. Sexual revolutionaries have been given carte blanche to sow seeds of confusion in our children, poisoning their minds with their desire for a genderless society.”
The book includes stories about just the sort of craziness the NEA is trying, often successfully, to main-stream. In the chapter titled “Boys and Girls and Zi and Zir,” Starnes says teachers in Kittery, Maine, read inappropriate books to five-year-olds. He asks, “In what world do people think it’s okay for teachers to discuss transgenderism with a bunch of children?” He suggests teachers should teach children to read, not get involved in “deconstructing their God-given gender identity.”
In that chapter’s Marching Orders section, he suggests that parents might need to “get loud, get noisy.” He says, “Don’t let anyone sell our kids’ privacy and sexual safety for some crazy notion.”
Starnes says, “Much of the radical LGBT agenda is subtly inserted into the public school curriculum.” To combat this and to remain informed, parents should insist on seeing school-children’s curriculum and should not take no for an answer. If the school says books can’t leave school or that curriculum is online only, make an appointment at the school to fully review that curriculum.
Some things the author suggests in Marching Orders sections that were once commonplace but may currently be falling by the wayside include, “Show your patriotism proudly,” and “Honor the generations that went before.”
Addressing the fact that “Christians have tended to swing back and forth between engagement and passivity when it comes to government participation,” Starnes states that no one should trust that “it will all be okay.”
Teachers unions and their fellow travelers, LGBTQ zealots and fake watchdogs, combined with the influence of universities and liberal schools of education, have made gigantic in-roads in making the nation inhospitable to Christians and to families. The time to become vocal, to become involved, and to take action is now.
Some NEA Resolutions Passed at the 2018 Convention in Minneapolis, Minnesota
A-14. Financial Support of Public Education. The Association opposes providing any public revenues to preK through 12 schools for sectarian instruction.
A-24. Voucher Plans and Tuition Tax Credits. The National Education Association believes that voucher plans, tuition tax credits, or other funding/financial arrangements that use tax monies to subsidize preK through 12 private school education can undermine public education; reduce the support needed to adequately fund public education; cause racial, economic, and social segregation of students; and threaten the constitutional separation of church and state that has been a cornerstone of American democracy.
B-1. Early Childhood Education. The Association believes that federal legislation should be enacted to assist in organizing the implementation of fully funded early childhood education programs offered through the public schools. These programs must be available to all children on an equal basis and should include mandatory kindergarten with compulsory attendance.
B-14. Racial Diversity. The Association believes that, to achieve or maintain racial diversity, it may be necessary for elementary/secondary schools, colleges, and universities to take race into account in making decisions as to student admissions.
B-26. Education of Refugee and Undocumented Children and Children of 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. The Association opposes Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations on school property. The Association supports access to higher education for undocumented students and access to financial aid and in-state tuition to state colleges and universities in the states where they reside.
The Association further believes that students who have resided in the United States for at least five years at the time of high school graduation should not be held responsible for decisions they were not legally able to make but rather should be granted legal residency status, and allowed to apply for U.S. citizenship.
B-31. Educational Programs in Support of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Students. The Association supports appropriate and inclusive educational programs that address the unique needs and concerns of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) students.
B-42. Multicultural Education. Multicultural education should promote the recognition of individual and group differences and similarities in order to reduce racism, homophobia, ethnic and all other forms of prejudice and discrimination and to develop self-esteem as well as respect for others.
B-51. Physical Education. Physical education programs and curricula should be culturally and gender sensitive; and should provide staff training on policies and procedures that address issues of sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.
B-54. Sex Education. The National Education Association believes that the developing child’s sexuality is continually and inevitably influenced by daily contacts, including experiences in the school environment. The Association recognizes that sensitive sex education can be a positive force in promoting physical, mental, emotional, and social health and that the public school must assume an increasingly important role in providing the instruction.
Sex education programs should include information on—
– Sexual abstinence, birth control, family planning, prenatal care, parenting skills, the effects of substance abuse during pregnancy, and the issues associated with pre-teen and teenage pregnancy
– Diversity of culture and diversity of sexual orientation and gender identity
– Age-appropriate, medically accurate information including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) issues. This should include but not be limited to information on sexuality, sexual orientation, and gender expression.
B-67. Social Emotional Learning. The National Education Association believes students must learn the social emotional skills of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, decision-making, and relationship management.
B-82. Home Schooling. The National Education Association believes home schooling programs based on parental choice cannot provide the student with a comprehensive education experience.
When home schooling occurs, students enrolled must meet all state curricular requirements, including the taking and passing of assessments to ensure adequate academic progress. Home schooling should be limited to the children of the immediate family, with all expenses being borne by the parents/guardians. 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-8. Comprehensive School Health, Social, and Psychological Programs and Services. The Association believes that, to provide effective physical and mental health services in the school setting, the following are essential:
– School social work services providing crisis intervention, individual and group counseling, behavior management, and coordination with student families and community resources
– Family-planning counseling and access to birth control methods with instruction in their use, if deemed appropriate by local choice
C-12. Student Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. The National Education Association believes that all persons, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, should be afforded equal opportunity and guaranteed a safe and inclusive environment within the public education system. The Association also believes that, for students who are struggling with their sexual orientation or gender identity, every school district and educational institution should provide counseling services and programs—staffed by trained personnel—that deal with high suicide and dropout rates and the high incidence of teen prostitution.
The Association further believes that therapies designed to alter a student’s orientation or identity are harmful to the emotional development of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) students.
The Association believes all transgender students should be able to use the bathroom or locker room of their choice.
C-13. Safe Schools and Communities. The Association believes that training qualified school mental health professionals, law enforcement officers, and other personnel in restorative justice practices will also foster a safe school community.
C-15. Discipline. The Association believes corporal punishment, or the threat of it, has no place in public education.
The Association believes that policies promoting educational processes which emphasize prevention, effective interventions, and rehabilitation will decrease the use of out-of-school suspensions, expulsions, in-school arrests, and the practice that is commonly called the “school-to-prison pipeline” that can lead to future incarcerations.
C-18. Drug or Alcohol Testing of Students. The National Education Association believes that mandatory drug or alcohol testing of students without probable cause is an unwarranted and unconstitutional invasion of privacy and opposes such testing.
C-22. Extremist Groups. The National Education Association condemns the philosophy and practices of extremist groups and their efforts to recruit young people and urges active opposition to all such movements that are inimical to the ideals of the Association.
C-41. Student Rights and Responsibilities. The Association believes that randomly searching students without reasonable suspicion is a violation of their constitutional freedoms and is detrimental to school safety, restorative justice, student morale, instructional time, and nurturing learning environments.
C-46. Gender Equity in Athletic Programs. The National Education Association believes that at all educational levels female and male students must have equal opportunity to participate in athletic programs. The Association urges that athletic funds for facilities, equipment, and remuneration of staff be allocated equally between female and male programs.
D-22. Competency Testing of Licensed Teachers. 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-14. Impact of Federal and State Legislative Mandates. The National Education Association believes that federal and state mandates regarding school programs should be broad guidelines and be fully funded without basing funding on student achievement and/or educator evaluation.
F-1. Nondiscriminatory Personnel Policies/Affirmative Action. The National Education Association believes that, except as otherwise provided below, personnel policies and practices must guarantee that no person be employed, retained, paid, dismissed, suspended, demoted, transferred, retired, or harassed 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, sexual orientation, gender identity, or perceived gender identity.
Affirmative action plans and procedures that encourage active recruitment and employment of ethnic minorities, women, persons with disabilities, and persons in under-represented education categories should be developed and implemented.
F-2. Pay Equity/Comparable Worth. The “market value’’ means of establishing pay cannot be the final determinant of pay scales since it too frequently reflects the race and sex bias in our society.
F-6. Strikes. The National Education Association denounces the practice of keeping schools open during a strike. The Association believes that when a picket line is established by the authorized bargaining unit, crossing it, whether physically or electronically, is strikebreaking and jeopardizes the welfare of education employees and the educational process.
F-44. HIV/AIDS Testing of Education Employees. The National Education Association opposes mandatory/involuntary HIV/AIDS testing of education employees or education employment applicants. The Association also affirms that the current ban on blood donations from individuals solely based on a history of same gender sexual activity should be lifted.
H-8. Economic Fairness in a Democracy. The National Education Association believes that basic economic fairness is vital for a fully functioning democracy. The Association also believes that measures such as progressive taxation, estate taxes, a higher minimum wage, affordable higher education, and a strong social safety net are appropriate tools to reduce extreme income inequality and improve economic fairness.
H-9. National Health Care Policy. The National Education Association believes that affordable, comprehensive health care, including prescription drug coverage, is the right of every resident. The Association supports the adoption of a single-payer health care plan in the United States.
I-1. Peace and International Relations. The Association urges all nations to develop treaties and disarmament agreements that reduce the possibility of war, provide for the peaceful resolution of conflicts, and guarantee the rights of nations to exist within safe and secure borders, free from the threat of pre-emptive attacks. The Association also believes that such treaties and agreements should prevent the placement of weapons in outer space.
The Association supports the principles stated in the United Nations (UN) Charter and believes that the UN furthers world peace and promotes the rights of all people by preventing war, racism, and genocide.
I-2. International Court of Justice. The National Education Association believes all people, including lawmakers themselves, are subject to the rule of law and recognizes that the International Court of Justice is one instrument to resolve international disputes peacefully. The Association urges participation by the United States in deliberations before the court.
I-5. Nuclear Freeze/Cessation. The Association believes the United States and all other nations should adopt a verifiable freeze on the testing, development, production, upgrading, emplacement, sale, distribution, and deployment of nuclear weapons, materials, and all systems designed to deliver nuclear weapons. The Association also supports the development of treaties to eliminate the world’s nuclear weapons arsenals.
I-10. Global Climate Change. The National Education Association recognizes the scientific consensus that global climate change is largely caused by human activity, resulting in significant, measurable damage to earth and its inhabitants.
I-12. Human Rights. The National Education Association believes that the governments of all nations must respect and protect the basic human and civil rights of every individual, including equal access to education as embodied in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The Association urges countries—including the United States—to provide a safe haven for greater numbers of refugees who have fled devastation in their native countries during times of increased conflict, and condemns the stereotyping of refugee groups.
The Association supports international judicial systems that hold accountable those who violate human rights.
The Association also expresses concern that the practice of capital punishment in the United States impacts individuals disproportionately on the basis of social class, race, ethnicity, and gender.
The Association supports ongoing efforts to review the practice of capital punishment for inequities based on these and other factors.
The Association opposes any federal, state, or local law; executive order or presidential signing statement; and/or amendment to the U.S. Constitution that curtails or infringes on basic human rights.
The Association also opposes harsh sentencing measures, such as mandatory minimums and other local, state, and national laws which have contributed to mass incarceration.
I-13. Civil Rights. The Association calls upon Americans to create—by statute and practice—a country free from barriers of race, color, national origin, religion, philosophical beliefs, political beliefs, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, size, marital status, and economic status that prevent some individuals, adult or juvenile, from exercising rights enjoyed by others, including liberties decreed in common law, the Constitution, and statutes of the United States.
The Association believes that any federal, state, or local law; executive order or presidential signing statement; or amendment to the U.S. or state constitutions or interpretation thereof that curtails basic civil rights is detrimental to a free and democratic society.
I-21. Freedom of Religion. The Association further believes that schools should teach the rights and responsibilities associated with the freedom of religion, the religious heritage and diversity of the United States, respect for the beliefs of others, and the historical and cultural influences of various world religions.
The Association also believes that the constitutional provisions on the establishment of and the free exercise of religion in the First Amendment require that there be no sectarian practices in the public school program.
The Association opposes the imposition of sectarian practices in the public school program and urges its affiliates to do the same. The Association also opposes any federal legislation or mandate that would require school districts to schedule a moment of silence.
I-22. Marriage Equality. The National Education Association believes in marriage equality for all individuals. Discrimination and stereotyping based on such factors as race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, ethnicity, immigration status, occupation, and religion must be eliminated. The Association further believes that these factors should never be used to deny any individual or couple the full rights of marriage equality.
I-24. FamilyPlanning. The National Education Association believes in family planning, including the right to reproductive freedom.
The Association further believes in the implementation of community-operated, school-based family planning clinics that will provide intensive counseling by trained personnel.
The Association believes that continued funding of these facilities at both the federal and state levels is necessary to provide access to care for people who cannot afford, or travel to, private facilities.
I-26. Immigration. The National Education Association supports efforts to improve the immigration process, including the provision of due process, equal protection, and access to status without regard to ethnicity, religion, or national origin. The Association also supports policies that protect the integrity of the family unit and deplores the hardships imposed on families when family members, especially parents, guardians, or caretakers, are detained and/or deported for immigration status offenses and thereby separated from their children, many of whom are U.S. citizens. The Association supports equal access to educational opportunities for immigrants.
The Association opposes any immigration policy that denies human and/or civil rights or educational opportunities to immigrants and their children, hinders workers’ abilities to organize, imposes excessive fees and fines on those seeking legalization, or criminalizes individuals or groups who support or assist them.
Children who qualify for international protection must have their educational needs met while being given the time and resources to have their cases fairly heard. In addition, the best placement for these children is in a family setting and not in detention facilities.
I-31. Gun-Free Schools and the Regulation of Deadly Weapons. The Association believes that our communities, schools, and students are safer when common sense gun regulations are in place. The Association supports banning assault weapons, limiting the capacity of ammunition magazines, requiring background checks and a waiting period for all gun purchases, creating a national database of gun sales, and preventing people with mental illness and/or a documented history of violence from purchasing firearms. The Association believes that minors shall not be allowed to buy, own, or sell firearms.
The Association also believes that scientific and medical research on the causes and prevention of firearm violence should be extensive and ongoing and that gun owners should participate in
educational programs that stress responsible ownership, including safe use and storage of guns.
I-47. Institutional Discrimination. The Association recognizes that institutional and public policies and practices sometimes discriminate against some segments of the population and encourages its affiliates, in concert with community organizations, to educate the public to bring about an awareness of such policies and practices and to actively work to eliminate them.
I-49. Racial Justice. The National Education Association believes in the necessity of racial healing to strengthen our society as a whole. Racial justice in education and throughout the United States will be realized when we ensure systematic fair treatment resulting in equitable opportunities and outcomes for people of all races. The Association acknowledges that both historical and current practices have systematically advantaged and privileged people of white European ancestry while disadvantaging and denying rights, opportunities, and equality for people of color. Implemented through both policies and laws, these biased practices have been manifested in the conditions our students and educators face in their schools and communities.
I-50. Hate-Motivated Violence. The National Education Association believes that acts or threats of hate-motivated violence, including, but not limited to, physical and verbal violence against individuals or groups because of their race, color, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, size, marital status, or economic condition are deplorable. The Association also believes that federal, state, and local governments and community groups must oppose and eliminate hate-motivated violence and that current events and/or economic conditions should not diminish such opposition.
The Association recognizes the danger of White supremacist groups and all media sources that promote hateful speech and actions, and the continuation of institutional racism. Further, the Association recognizes the danger of any group that marginalizes anyone based on race, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, size, marital status, or economic condition. Therefore, educators must take a significant role in countering the effects of such speech, actions, and racism on our students, families, and communities.
I-53. Right of Redress for Descendants of Slaves. The Association believes that the descendants of those subjected to slavery in the U.S. have the right to redress for the injustices inflicted upon their ancestors.
I-64. Integration in the Public Schools. The Association opposes any governmental attempts to resegregate public schools through any means, including vouchers, charters, and other school choice initiatives.
New I. White Supremacy Culture. The National Education Association believes that, in order to achieve racial and social justice, educators must acknowledge the existence of White supremacy culture as a primary root cause of institutional racism, structural racism, and White privilege. Additionally, the Association believes that the norms, standards, and organizational structures manifested in White supremacy culture perpetually exploit and oppress people of color and serve as detriments to racial justice. Further, the invisible racial benefits of White privilege, which are automatically conferred irrespective of wealth, gender, and other factors, severely limit opportunities for people of color and impede full achievement of racial and social justice. Therefore, the Association will actively advocate for social and educational strategies fostering the eradication of institutional racism and White privilege perpetuated by White supremacy culture.
The above text is excerpted from NEA Resolutions adopted at the 2018 National Education Association Convention. Much language has been omitted, but no words have been added or changed.
