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The country's largest teachers union and its affiliates poured nearly $7.8 million into ballot fights across three states in 2026, as internal documents outlined strategies to target voucher programs and other conservative initiatives, according to Defending Education (DE).
In a recent report, the education watchdog uncovered a guidance document from the National Education Association (NEA) which stated that "unions may spend unlimited amounts from their general treasuries on ballot measures in any state, subject to any state affiliate agreements to address specific state laws." Additionally, DE found that the NEA calls for providing "strategic and financial assistance" to defeat unfriendly ballot measures.
DE senior director of communications Erika Sanzi, a former teacher and NEA member, told Fox News Digital that the union has shifted towards politics over the years. She said that instead of talking about education, the union has become focused on issues like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, climate change and gender ideology, among others.
"I 100% believe that the union has done a lot of damage and continues to do a lot damage," Sanzi told Fox News Digital. "I also think that they've become much more political and much more ideological than they used to be."
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The financial findings in DE's report show the union's spending on political fights across the country.
On Sept. 30, 2026, the Arizona Education Association sent $75,000 to Will of The People PAC, a group that opposed Proposition 318, according to DE. The proposition was approved and will require all schools and athletic associations to restrict access to private spaces and sports participation based on biological sex.
The Washington state NEA affiliate Washington Education Association contributed more than $391,000 to No Hate in WA State, DE found. The group opposed two ballot measures, one of which was aimed at restoring parents' rights in public schools. The other ballot measure, which was approved, will require sex verification for participation in women's sports.
In Alaska, the NEA Advocacy Fund contributed $250,000 to the group "No on 2," which opposed Alaska's Ballot Measure No. 2, which sought to repeal the state's top-four ranked-choice voting system.
The grassroots group found that in the first two quarters of 2026, the Protect Education, Accountability Now PAC received $7,075,438.33 from the Arizona Education Association and the NEA for an anti-school choice campaign. DE said in its report that "the PAC appears to be run and operated by the president of an NEA local affiliate – Kyrene Education Association."
Fox News Digital was unable to independently confirm whether the PAC and the Kyrene Education Association share leadership.
Beyond the contributions detailed in the report, the NEA has made its opposition to voucher programs, arguing that they take away resources from public schools and have racist origins. A Feb. 13, 2026, post on NEA Today, the union's blog, claimed that "voucher expansion is re-segregating schools by race and income and reflects a policy rooted in resistance to school integration."
However, Sanzi told Fox News Digital that there is a fundamental misunderstanding of what school choice actually means.
"What I try to remind people of is school choice doesn't mean that the public school won't be the choice," Sanzi told Fox News Digital. "For the majority of families, the local public school is the choice, it just means that they have other options and alternatives as well."
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DE’s report also examines the NEA’s efforts to preserve dues revenue as states restrict payroll deductions.
In 2025, the NEA released a document titled "AutoPay Playbook," which was obtained by DE. The playbook lays out the union's objections to payroll deduction bans, which the union argued were intended "to force affiliates into all-consuming conversion campaigns that prevent our union from building the power we need to protect public education."
The NEA’s playbook describes proactively moving members to AutoPay as "the only way to neutralize this threat and protect our power" in the face of payroll deduction bans. The union warns that fast-moving state legislation can leave affiliates with "near-impossible timelines" to make the switch.
The AutoPay program, according to DE, relies on recurring electronic funds transfers to collect membership dues.
"The idea that they wanna compel people into this AutoPay system, it's in part because it gives all the power to the union versus the school district and the member," Sanzi told Fox News Digital. She added that members could "get stuck" in a subscription model, where payments are continuous and often forgotten about.
Sanzi noted that parents often conflate supporting their children’s teachers with supporting union leadership.
"I think people feel obligated to be in favor of the teacher's union because they hear the word teachers, and they want to be supportive of their children's teachers. But the union and the rank and file teachers are two very different entities," she told Fox News Digital.
The NEA did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
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