Teachers union to hold training that criticizes the GOP as ‘racist’

NEA Accuses GOP of Promoting Racism and Transphobia

In a recent statement, the largest teachers union in the U.S., the National Education Association (NEA), has taken aim at the Republican Party, alleging it supports a “racist and transphobic faction.” This claim comes amid a report from a conservative activist group revealing details about training materials for an upcoming program.

The NEA is set to host a training session named “Advancing LGBTQ+ Justice and Transgender Advocacy” slated for December 2nd to 4th. The goal, according to the group “Education Advocacy,” is to tackle what they describe as “strategic racism and transphobia.”

These sessions are part of the NEA’s UniServ and Organizing Training Program for the years 2025-2026. The focus will be on dismantling privilege and oppression linked to LGBTQ+ educators and students, as well as teaching strategies for confronting implicit bias and microaggressions.

Documents suggest that Republicans employ “an arsenal of racist dog whistles,” and attendees will learn how to engage “racial class gender narratives” to counter such tactics. The NEA dossier argues that, over the last decade, anti-trans rhetoric from Republican lawmakers has served to stoke fear and consolidate their political influence.

Some of the training materials encourage teachers to “pluralize” gender terms by using phrases like “our gender,” as well as advocating for the use of preferred pronouns at work. Participants might even be encouraged to buy “pronoun pins” for their school IDs.

A guide included in the resources also offers support for educators during gender transitions, complete with sample emails to communicate these changes within their schools.

Critics are vocal about the NEA’s training initiatives. Erica Sange from the Education Defense Department expressed her disapproval, stating, “They have chosen to belittle half the country with their upcoming training.” She remarked on how the NEA frames opposition to their ideology solely as rooted in racism and transphobia, accusing the Republican Party of being the villains.

Sange also noted that the NEA’s leadership seems to have drifted far left, which she believes undermines the mission of advancing education. She asserted, “Their charter is no longer defensible,” because of this perceived shift.

The NEA allows its members to contribute to political campaigns individually, separate from union dues, and permits political activities unless deemed “outrageous and unpleasant.”

Notably, the NEA and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) collectively donated over $43 million to progressive political advocacy between 2022 and 2024, as reported earlier, based on disclosures to the Department of Labor.

The NEA made headlines recently by severing ties with the Anti-Defamation League, a move criticized by the ADL as “extremely alarming” given the rise of anti-Semitic incidents across the U.S.