The president of the radical National Education Association (NEA) recently praised the Alabama Education Association's (AEA) work in the 2023 legislative session that included killing an education savings account bill.
In a mass email, NEA president Becky Pringle offered recipients a series of "wins" for education across the nation.
"Across our nation, from Portland, Oregon to Montgomery, Alabama—and everywhere in between—we won things like paid family leave, more instructional time, free school meals, gun violence prevention measures, and, of course, the pay raises that help educators stay in the jobs we love," Pringle said.
The message contained a link to a "wins in 2023" map that showed perceived victories for the NEA across the nation through its state affiliates like the AEA.
In addition to praising the AEA for securing pay raises for nurses, teachers and education support professionals (ESP), the NEA also boasted of the AEA's defeat of a proposed school choice measure. The NEA lauded the AEA's efforts through meeting with lawmakers to accomplish the goals of the education union.
The Parental Rights in Children's Education (PRICE) Act, sponsored by State Sen. Larry Stutts (R-Tuscumbia) and State Rep. Ernie Yarbrough (R-Trinity), did not get consideration on the floor by either chamber of the legislature in 2023.
"This year, the Alabama legislature welcomed a significant number of new legislators (one-third of the total body) and was sitting on a budget surplus," the NEA said. "Alabama Education Association (AEA) saw the tremendous opportunity to move their agenda. They held legislative contact team meetings with members and legislators throughout the session and concluded with an ESP Day at the Capitol with more than 400 ESPs in attendance."
The NEA is the most prominent teachers' union in the U.S. Its affiliate, the AEA, has been operating in the state for over 165 years and has existed in its current form since 1969.
The NEA has been under scrutiny for decades, particularly in the past few years, for its actions during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as supporting vaccinating elementary school students against COVID in November 2021.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email craig.monger@1819news.com.
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