As I reported yesterday, the NEA delegates were entertaining the following new business item: It passed.
NEW BUSINESS ITEM 82
NEA will develop a comprehensive strategy to deal with the new and more sophisticated attacks on curricula, policies, and practices that support GLBT students, families, and staff members in public schools.
Rationale/BackgroundExtremist groups are using increasingly sophisticated and aggressive tactics to attack school districts with affirming GLBT policies, curriculum and practices. These tactics include litigation, so-called "Days of Truth" and attacks on the rights of gay students to form clubs. These groups are making schools less safe and are infringing on our members academic freedom.
Submitted by50 Delegates
Contact Person/MoverTom Nicholas, Connecticut
Relevant Strategic Priority
Student Achievement
Cost Implications
This NBI can be accomplished within the proposed 2005-06 Strategic Plan and
Budget at no additional cost.
I wonder what the strategy will be. No new moneys were allocated for the strategy but the union leadership did allocate money to rid itself of an irritating internal problem. The NEA engineered a take over of the Republican Educators Caucus by giving the group $170,000 to combat the Arnold Swartzenegger's proposed education reforms as well as Republican support for vouchers. Read the whole story in this Washington Times article.
The NEA delegates also rejected an academic freedom proposal that would have protected "intellectual pluralism and the free exchange of ideas" in the nation's classrooms.
The last item there is the crux of the matter. The majority of delegates at the NEA by their own votes and actions have nearly crushed any semblance of "intellectual pluralism and free exchange of ideas."