The Iron Triangle- Education
The Iron Triangle of Education above flows together.
Here is how it revolves:
Interest Groups: NEA- National Education Association
AFT- American Federation of Teachers
PTA- National Parent-Teacher Association
Congress- State legislative committees and School boards
Bureaucracy- U.S. Department of Education- State Departments of Education- School district administrators
The interest groups above are an iron triangle within themselves and are very hard to penetrate.
Let’s probe into the three interest groups above in the education triangle.
The National Education Association (NEA) is America’s largest labor union, representing nearly three million employees, principally teachers. With affiliates in every state across 14,000 communities, NEA represents teachers, education support professionals, retired teachers, education faculty and staff, substitute teachers, and administrators. It was formed in 1857 as a professional organization for teachers, but by the 1960's it began representing teachers as a union in collective bargaining.
As of 2020, NEA reported total assets of over $411 million, income of over $390 million, and expenses of over $377 million. Roughly $369 million of the NEA’s revenue came from NEA membership dues; the rest came from areas including loan repayments, interest, dividends, rents, reinvestment, and Investment. Until recently, the union forced teachers to pay dues/fees whether the teachers joined the union or not. That policy ended in 2018 through the Supreme Court.
The NEA does not represent ALL teachers. They are political associations for the left-wing Democrats in our nation. They have a social agenda, and all of their donations support candidates that will uphold that agenda. Their social agenda includes these Democratic policies:
ABORTION: They support all methods of family planning and community health centers in schools to help facilitate abortions.
CRITICAL RACE THEORY
In July 2021, the NEA’s Representative Assembly passed a resolution encouraging the organization to “oppose attempts to ban critical race theory and The 1619 Project.” It also expressed support for a rally on George Floyd’s birthday by the Zinn Education Project, a nonprofit that promotes the teachings of socialist activist Howard Zinn. 3334 Another resolution asked the NEA to fund opposition research on organizations “attacking educators doing anti-racism work.”
The NEA is also a member of the Partnership for Future Learning, a network of over 300 progressive organizations which supports critical race theory (CRT). The Partnership has released a messaging guide that describes ways to implement CRT. A section titled “Reframing the Issue” asks teachers to downplay fears that “CRT inflicts emotional and psychological harm” on white children and shift towards emphasizing how diversity makes the U.S. stronger.
The messaging guide also criticizes conservative opponents of CRT, claiming that “coordinated efforts to control curriculum come from aggressive right-wing instigators.” An attached resource guide from the left-leaning activist group We Make The Future describes CRT opponents as “grifters who have peddled lies about our [2020 presidential] election.”
In 2021, a report card of various educational contractors and consultants was released by Parents Defending Education (PDE). The report listed consultants and organizations that work with schools and encourage them to implement Critical Race Theory and diversity, equity, and inclusion curriculums and policies. The report named the NEA as an organization supporting Critical Race Theory and discussed the NEA’s decision in 2021 to allocate funds for the purpose of investigating parent groups and policymakers that opposed teaching Critical Race Theory in public schools. The report cited the NEA’s spending approvals for 2021, which included roughly $7.5 million for training union members to advocate for “racial and social justice” in the classroom and “$32.9 million to elect union-friendly candidates, engage members ahead of the 2022 midterms, and ‘develop and utilize strategic research to shape the debate in states about education funding, taxes, and revenue.’”
SCHOOL VOUCHERS AND CHARTER SCHOOLS
NEA has long been a vocal opponent of school vouchers used to help low-income students afford schools outside of their traditional district school. NEA claims that vouchers “reject students based on economic status, academic achievement, disability, or even gender.” NEA also claims that vouchers “divert essential resources from public schools to private and religious schools, while offering no real ‘choice’ for the overwhelming majority of students.”
NEA has also taken a stand critical of charter schools, saying they have “weak regulation and lax oversight,” which should be of “major concern to students, parents, taxpayers, and communities.”
https://www.influencewatch.org/labor-union/national-education-association-nea/
LGBTQ
To the NEA, one of the biggest “challenges of today’s classrooms” is “LGBTQ+ bias and intolerance in our public schools.” Accordingly, the NEA’s website features a library of “NEA LGBTQ+ Resources,” including model school board resolutions, legal guidance on transgender students’ rights, and a pronoun guide.
The most alarming resource provided to teachers, however, is “Schools in Transition: A Guide for Supporting Transgender Students in K-12 Schools,” co-produced by the NEA in collaboration with the National Center for Lesbian Rights, Gender Spectrum, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, and the American Civil Liberties Union.
Written in 2015 to, in NEA’s words, provide a “roadmap for educators and parents to provide safe and supportive environments for all transgender students,” the guidebook reveals the stunning groundwork laid by the NEA in the gender ideology movement long before the recent push for transgender youth gained widespread attention.
According to former NEA President Lily Eskelsen Garcia, the guidebook is an “extremely valuable resource for the 3 million NEA members” that serves as a “lifesaver for the increasing number of transgender students who are living as their authentic selves.”
Here are nine takeaways from the NEA’s guide to supporting transgender students:
The male-female gender binary does not exist.
“One of the most prevalent misconceptions about gender is that it is based solely on a physical understanding of sex and that everyone fits into one of two opposite categories, male or female.” (Page 5)
“Given the numerous combinations these factors can create, gender is better understood as a spectrum.” (Page 5)
“The purpose of learning about gender diversity is to demonstrate that children are unique and that there is no single way to be a boy or a girl.” (Page 49)
The expression of transgender identity is healthy and appropriate for children.
“The expression of transgender identity, or any other form of gender expansive behavior, is a healthy, appropriate and typical aspect of human development.” (Page 3)
Children begin expressing their transgender identity at two years old.
“Children typically begin expressing their gender identity between the ages of two and four years old.” (Page 8)
Objections to child gender transition based on age are “irrelevant.”
“It is irrelevant whether a person’s objection to a student’s identity or expression is based on sincerely held religious beliefs or the belief that the student lacks capacity or ability to assert their gender identity or expression (e.g., due to age, developmental disability or intellectual disability).” (Page 3)
“While it is important to include a student’s age and grade level as factors to consider in the planning process, it should never be used to justify delaying or denying a student’s gender transition.” (Page 15)
Denying a child’s transgender identity leads to negative consequences, including suicide.
“The longer a transgender youth is not affirmed, the more significant and long-lasting the negative consequences can become, including loss of interest in school, heightened risk for alcohol and drug use, poor mental health and suicide.” (Page 8)
Parents don’t need to know about their child’s transition.
“Any decision to raise the topic with parents must be made carefully and in consultation with the student. In some instances, a school may choose not to bring the subject up if there is a concern that parents or caregivers may react negatively.” (Page 14)
“Privacy and confidentiality are critically important for transgender students who do not have supportive families. In those situations, even inadvertent disclosures could put the student in a potentially dangerous situation at home, so it is important to have a plan in place to help avoid any mistakes or slip-ups.” (Page 16)
“Whenever a transgender student initiates this process, the educator or administrator should ask whether the student’s family is accepting in order to avoid inadvertently putting the student at risk of greater harm by discussing with the student’s family.” (Page 32)
Regardless of the feelings of their peers, transgender students must be allowed to use the restroom that matches their new gender identity.
“Providing transgender students with access to the restrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identity is yet another way that schools adjust to meet student's individual needs.” (Page 24)
“A transgender student should never be forced or pressured into using alternate facilities just to make students or school personnel more comfortable.” (Page 26)
“Respect for the transgender student should be the starting point…being uncomfortable is not the same as being unsafe.” (Page 26)
During overnight school trips, transgender students must be allowed to share accommodations with peers that match their new gender identity. Parents do not need to be informed.
“If students are to be separated based on gender, then the transgender student should be allowed to room with peers that match their gender identity.” (Page 27)
“Regardless of whether those roommates know about the student’s gender identity, the school has an obligation to maintain the student’s privacy and cannot disclose or require disclosure of the student’s transgender status to the other students or their parents.” (Page 27)
Transgender students do not have any athletic advantage and must be allowed to join sports teams that reflect their new gender identity.
“Even in states whose athletic associations do not have a written policy or rule on this topic, schools and districts should allow transgender students to compete on athletic teams based on gender identity.” (Page 28)
“Transgender students are just like their cisgender peers, including their hormone levels.” (Page 28)
Since 2015, the NEA has doubled down on sentiments expressed in “Schools in Transition” through its political agenda funded by membership dues.
Each year, NEA delegates from across the country debate and vote on new business items (NBIs) that create goals with corresponding financial commitments for the upcoming year. In 2021, the NEA adopted NBI 5, a $47,000 commitment to educating “state and local affiliates and members about the dangers of anti-transgender legislation targeting transgender youth in sports and restricting their access to gender-affirming health care.” Since 2021, NBIs are no longer available for public view.
However, a letter to the NEA from several members of Congress revealed the contents of NBI 15, adopted by the union in 2022: “NEA reportedly plans to spend $140,000 to create an ‘enemies list’ of groups that have been identified as ‘actively working to diminish a students’ right to honesty in education, freedom of sexual and gender identity, and teacher autonomy.’”
NEA and their money:
2016 GENERAL ELECTION
During the 2016 election cycle, NEA gave over $2.6 million to members running for election in the Democratic and Republican parties, giving over 86% of that amount to Democrats. NEA gave $2.2 million to PACs.23 Top recipients of NEA money during the 2016 cycle were:24
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton ($107,561)
Democratic presidential primary contender Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont ($20,085)
Democratic Senate candidate Chris Van Hollen of Maryland ($18,740)
Democratic Senate candidate Ted Strickland of Ohio ($16,715)
Democratic Senate candidate Russ Feingold of Wisconsin ($13,770)
Democratic House candidate Denise Juneau of Montana ($16,595)
Democratic House candidate Pramila Jayapal of Washington ($12,950)
Democratic House candidate Lon Johnson of Michigan ($11,800)
Democratic Senate candidate Kamala Haris of California ($11,475)
Democratic Senate candidate Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada ($11,428)
Democratic House candidate Emily Cain of Maine ($11,100)
https://www.optouttoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Ref_EducationIronTriangle.pdf
Then, according to Fox News, in 2020-2021,
The NEA spent a total of $374 million during the 2020-2021 fiscal year. A meager 9% of the union’s spending was on 'representational activities,' or money that is spent directly to support its members," AFFT CEO David Osborne said in a statement. "In contrast, 18% went to political activities, while another 32% went to 'contributions, gifts, and grants,' spending that is also largely political in nature. Those numbers show where their priorities lie."
"The National Education Association’s (NEA) political and charitable spending in 2020-2021 makes the NEA look more like a political organization than a membership organization."
In addition to supporting political action committees backing Democratic candidates, the NEA also made sizable donations to liberal advocacy groups, including a $125,000 donation to the nonprofit organization Project 2043, which helps "companies and nonprofit organizations achieve their Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility goals."
The project's website includes multiple phrases and verbiage often associated with critical race theory, which says U.S. institutions and culture are systemically racist and oppressive to racial minorities. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/teachers-union-spending-democratic-causes-its-own-members-analysis
OTHER POLITICAL SPENDING
Through its grant program and in its political contributions, NEA gives money to various left-of-center organizations, including 28
Unidos U.S. (formerly the National Council of La Raza)
United Federation of Teachers
National Urban League
Congressional Black Caucus Institute
Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute
Center for American Progress
Catalist
Progress Now
Media Matters for America
Democracy Alliance
Progressive, Inc
.https://www.optouttoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Ref_EducationIronTriangle.pdf
After reading the above statistics, can anyone believe that our nation's largest teachers union represents all teachers and students equally? The NEA has a strong partner. That partner is the AFT- The American Federation of Teachers. They have the same social agenda, but what is striking is that IRS documents show the AFT contributed members' money to the National Coalition Against Censorship, a group defending child pornography and opposed to Internet filters for school libraries.
PTA
The PTA began its association with the NEA in the early 1900s. As membership in both organizations grew rapidly, both required staff and national offices. In its mansion headquarters a short distance from the White House, the NEA provided space for the PTA's national office for decades until 1939, when the PTA moved its headquarters to Chicago.181 In 1977, when the PTA opened its government relations office, it again operated out of the NEA building until moving out in the mid-1990s when the NEA renovated its headquarters.
The PTA expanded its association with teachers' unions through various coalitions, one of which is the Forum of Educational Organization Leaders. Now renamed the Learning First Alliance, NEA's Executive Director Don Cameron said of the Alliance, "Our job is to continue advocating for our members." In other words, the Learning First Alliance promotes the interests of the teachers' unions instead of devoting itself to student achievement, as the name implies. That mission remained the same when the PTA president assumed the chairmanship of the Alliance in 1998. As a loyal member of the Alliance, the PTA supports teacher unionism while "opposing vouchers and tax subsidies" for parents whose children attend religious schools. Moreover, the NEA, AFT, and PTA all oppose any form of school choice, homeschooling, and even private scholarship programs. At the same time, all three groups support expanding government programs, protecting failing schools, and promoting the social agendas discussed above.
https://www.optouttoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Ref_EducationIronTriangle.pdf
These three organizations are powerful and influential in the public schools even though they are private entities. They are an iron triangle that rules with an iron fist against the traditional family and Christian Conservative values. There is no mistaking their agenda for future generations. They lobby in Congress to pass laws brought down through the Department of Education that are brought down to our classrooms provided by everyday working taxpayers. They control the narrative through the iron triangle.
How can a community fight back? It has to be a grassroots movement with parents, teachers, pastors, and local community leaders. We can make the local school transparent. We can voice our opinions through emails, petitions, and meetings with public school officials. We can continue to pray and vote. It's also important to share this knowledge with everyone because many are still in the dark about what these special interest groups stand for. Knowledge is power; even the bible says, "My people perish for lack of knowledge." Most Christians are unaware of this educational agenda and how they operate through government. Understanding how things work is the first step in changing the system.
https://www.optouttoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Ref_EducationIronTriangle.pdf
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/teachers-union-spending-democratic-causes-its-own-members-analysis
https://www.influencewatch.org/labor-union/national-education-association-nea/