The nation’s largest teachers union failed at its recent annual meeting to approve a resolution in favor of student learning and another item that would make "every educator a great educator," moves that puzzle some observers.

The National Education Association voted on a number of resolutions, called “business items,” at the meeting. One question called on the union to “re-dedicate itself to the pursuit of increased student learning in every public school in America by putting a renewed emphasis on quality education.”

A second item that delegates failed to ratify resolved the union work “towards the goal of making every educator a great educator” by adopting principles of National Board Certification, a recognition given by a separate organization.

Some free-market organizations and opponents of compulsory unionization observed that the teachers union appears to have “voted down student learning.”

Tammy Smith, the NEA’s state director in Alaska, proposed both business items at the NEA conference. She didn’t respond to an email seeking an explanation for why the union wouldn’t pass such business items.

Larry Sand, president of the California Teachers Empowerment Network, is a frequent critic of the NEA. Sand mentioned in an article on his organization’s website that the NEA failed to pass a business item on “putting a renewed emphasis on quality education.”

“You would think that they would vote yes, if for no other reason than to pretend they really give a flip about kids. Really stupid IMO,” Sand said.

Sand wasn’t sure why the NEA wouldn’t pass the business item with the goal of “making every educator a great educator.”

“It is so vague and would make them look like teaching was actually important to them. Can’t fathom a reason why they nixed it,” Sand said.

Ben DeGrow, the Mackinac Center for Public Policy’s director of education policy, said it might be revealing to know why delegates at the NEA meeting voted down both items.

“The NEA doesn’t necessarily oppose student learning, but voted against making it a priority,” DeGrow said.

DeGrow also pointed to a statement a top NEA official made in 2009.

Then, NEA General Counsel Bob Chanin received a standing ovation for telling conference attendees, “This is not to say that the concern of NEA and its affiliates with closing achievement gaps, reducing dropout rates, improving teacher quality and the like, are unimportant or inappropriate. To the contrary, these are the goals that guide the work we do. But they need not, and must not, be achieved at the expense of due process, employee rights and collective bargaining. That simply is too high a price to pay.”

Jim Perialas is a teacher and the president of a local teachers union that is unaffiliated with the NEA, or the Michigan Education Association. Perialas heads the Roscommon Teachers Association at Roscommon Area Public Schools, which was started when teachers there decided to leave the MEA and NEA in 2012.

Perialas said he doesn’t have direct knowledge of why the NEA would vote down resolutions on improving students and teachers, but he said there could be a concern in how to reach those goals.

In regards to the NEA business item that asked the union to “re-dedicate itself to the pursuit of increased student learning in every public school in America by putting a renewed emphasis on quality education,” Perialas said standardized testing could have been the issue.

Teachers are “sick and tired of the sheer amount of standardized testing,” Perialas said. He also said the NEA could be concerned that the process could be hijacked by people who are not in the education field and would then set the standards of measurement.

Perialas also said there could be many reasons why the resolution to “make every educator a great educator” was not adopted. He said its language potentially endorses the idea of requiring all teachers to obtain a national certification. He does not have that certification, and he doesn’t think many teachers in the state of Michigan have obtained it, either.

He said passing that business item could be a step toward certification, with more out-of-pocket costs for teachers, as well as having to spend more time out of the classroom.

“Michigan teachers will say we already have professional development overload,” Perialas said. “Here I am a 27-year teacher and I’m doing things on an annual basis to keep my certification.”

Perialas also said with some states experiencing a teacher shortage, the NEA may not want to raise barriers to entry that prevent qualified individuals from entering the profession.

At its annual conference, the National Education Association voted on a series of business resolutions, establishing positions for the entity. While it is mostly a union of education employees, the NEA took stances on a host of issues, including abortion, reparations, global warming and Black Lives Matter.

The NEA is the largest union in the United States, with around 3 million members. Here is a summary of the positions taken, several as previously reported by Michigan Capitol Confidential.

Abortion

“[T]he NEA will include an assertion of our defense of a person's right to control their own body, especially for women, youth, and sexually marginalized people. The NEA vigorously opposes all attacks on the right to choose and stands on the fundamental right to abortion under Roe v. Wade.”

Gender pronouns

“The National Education Association will create space in all individuals’ name tags, badges, and IDs for the individuals’ pronouns. The individuals’ pronouns will only be left off at the individual’s request. …This NBI supports the LGBTQ+ community by normalizing gender pronouns.”

Immigrant “concentration camps”

“The NEA will publicize our vigorous defense of immigrants’ rights, defending the right to asylum, ending the criminalization of border crossings, opposing child separation, the construction of a border wall, and immediately shutting down immigrant concentration camps.”

Hair discrimination

The National Education Association resolved at its recent annual conference to educate its members about the negative impact of excluding students from school activities due to their natural hairstyles. The resolution aims to halt students’ natural hairstyles from “being modified by any school officials, school staff, referees or any other individuals in a public school or higher education environment.”

“The practice of hair discrimination impacts students’ well-being, self-image, and social interactions,” the NEA resolution stated. “We should support and respect all people regardless of their differences.”

U.S. to blame for border crisis

The National Education Association, which is the nation’s largest teachers union, has resolved to call on the government of the United States to accept responsibility for the destabilization of Central American countries, including, but not limited to, Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua. At its recent annual meeting the NEA formally adopted the viewpoint that this destabilization was caused by the U.S. government and is a root cause of the recent increase of people seeking asylum at the border.

Climate change/global warming

“We must embrace the imminent crisis of climate change. Every student must be exposed to the threat their generation faces. They must also be told of the real solutions and how they can make a difference.”

The union also passed resolutions supporting Black Lives Matter, mandatory paid leave time, forgiving 100% of college loans and reparations for descendants of slaves.

Not all resolutions passed. A resolution against antisemitism was not immediately passed, but referred to another committee since it would cost an estimated $1,000. A resolution supporting the impeachment of President Donald Trump also went down to defeat.