NEA President Moss Pushes Teachers Union to Drop Party Ties

Princess Moss has a simple directive for the three million members of the National Education Association: stop picking sides in partisan fights. The new president of the largest labor union in the United States wants educators to act as their own political authority rather than leaning on established parties. She argues that public education is currently under attack from multiple fronts and that neutrality will help the group build wider support.

The union faces a difficult financial and political environment. Inflation is straining school budgets across the country. In January, a new education tax credit will take effect, directing federal tax dollars toward private schools. Simultaneously, the Trump administration is dismantling the Department of Education. Moss describes these moves as a strike against the foundation of democracy, which she says relies on public education.

Moss’s approach differs from previous NEA leadership in one key area. While she supports professional autonomy and community organizing, she wants to move the union away from strict party alignment. She calls this shift a move from resistance to renaissance. She believes this strategy works because she has used it before in state politics.

Moss grew up in Spotsylvania County in rural Virginia, the daughter of two school bus drivers. Her path to education leadership began in 1968 with a second-grade teacher named Lucy T. Lewis. Lewis told Moss she was smart even after the young student misspelled the word refrigerator in front of the class. Moss remembered that encouragement and eventually became an elementary school music teacher for more than 20 years in a neighboring county.

She rose through the ranks of state union leadership, serving as president of the Virginia Education Association from 2004 to 2008. During her time in Virginia, she worked with a Democratic governor and a Republican-controlled general assembly. She focused on specific issues rather than party identity, which allowed her to find allies in unexpected places. She now applies that coalition-building mentality to the national union during her three-year term.

The union’s new direction contrasts with its recent voting history. In 2020, the NEA recommended Joe Biden for president. In 2024, the group issued a formal endorsement for Vice President Kamala Harris. Michael Petrilli, president of the right-leaning Fordham Institute, calls the proposed shift a huge departure. He notes that the NEA has been a stalwart supporter of the Democratic Party for years.

Petrilli has long criticized teachers unions for blocking changes to teaching methods and enforcing strict salary rules. He says those rules make it hard to recruit and fill specific jobs. However, he says he is open to seeing how the new leadership proceeds. With many state-level races leaning toward Democrats, he believes the unions are in a strong position to drive education policy.

Petrilli points out a potential tension in Moss’s strategy. He asks what the union will do with its power if it holds a favorable position in state politics. He suggests the union may push Democratic governors to implement specific policies. He views the union’s ability to drive policy as the central question of the year.

Moss says she is focused on building a broad coalition of support for public schools. She instructs members to talk about their students and their needs rather than framing education as a partisan issue. She wants to work with anyone who puts public education first, regardless of political inclination. The midterms are approaching, and she is bringing that coalition mentality to the national stage.

The NEA president says the bottom line is working with those who prioritize public schools. She rejects the idea that education must be a Democrat or Republican issue. She wants the union to be at the decision-making tables as the experts on the classroom. Her three-year term begins now, with the first major policy shifts expected to take effect in January.