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Teachers union spent nearly $8M to crush school choice, biological sports measures, report finds
A report by Defending Education says the National Education Association and state affiliates spent nearly $7.8 million on ballot campaigns in Arizona, Washington and Alaska in 2026. It argues that the spending reflects the union’s effort to oppose school-choice proposals and support or resist measures concerning participation in sports by biological sex.
The report identifies more than $7 million in contributions to an Arizona PAC campaigning against school choice, alongside donations to groups opposing ballot measures in the three states. Arizona voters approved Proposition 318, which restricts access to private spaces and sports participation based on biological sex; a Washington measure requiring sex verification for women’s sports also passed. The article presents the watchdog’s findings and criticism from a former teacher, while noting that the publication could not independently confirm a claimed link between the Arizona PAC and a local union affiliate.
In short
- Watchdog says NEA groups spent nearly $7.8 million on 2026 ballot campaigns.
- More than $7 million went to an Arizona anti-school-choice campaign.
- Measures on biological sex and sports passed in Arizona and Washington.
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The case for
Supporters of the union’s spending could argue that public education is a shared civic service and that school-choice schemes may divert public funds and support from local schools. They may also see ballot campaigning as a legitimate way to oppose rules they believe could exclude transgender pupils or expose students to intrusive sex verification, while giving educators a voice in decisions affecting their schools and students.
The case against
Critics could argue that families should have more options when a school does not meet a child’s needs, and that opposing choice measures can protect institutional interests at the expense of pupils. They may also contend that sex-based rules for sports and private spaces protect fairness, privacy and safety, and that union spending against such measures deserves scrutiny when it is substantial and voters are deciding the issue.
Explained simply
The National Education Association is a large teachers’ union in the United States, with state and local affiliates. Ballot measures let voters decide specific policy questions directly, including how public education is funded and what rules apply to schools and sports.
School-choice proposals generally give families more ways to use public funding for education outside their local public school, such as at private schools. Debates over sports and access to private spaces often concern how rules define sex and who may participate or enter; these questions can involve competing views about fairness, privacy and inclusion.
Defending Education is an organisation that monitors education policy and produced the report cited in the story. Its claims about campaign spending are the report’s findings, and the article says one claimed connection between an Arizona campaign group and a local union affiliate could not be independently confirmed.