New NEA Leader Seeks to Move Teachers Union Away From Partisan Labels

Princess Moss has taken over the National Education Association with a goal to reduce the union's visible alignment with any single political party.

Moss, who will serve a three-year term, describes her strategy as moving from simple resistance to a renaissance for the organization.

The National Education Association represents three million teachers and public workers across all states.

Moss grew up in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, the daughter of two school bus drivers.

She credited her second-grade teacher, Lucy T. Lewis, with inspiring her to enter the profession after Lewis praised her intelligence in 1968 despite a spelling error.

Moss worked as an elementary school music teacher for more than 20 years in a neighboring Virginia county.

She led the Virginia Education Association from 2004 to 2008 before rising to the national level.

During her time in Virginia, Moss worked with a Democratic governor and a Republican-controlled general assembly.

She states that she found allies across the aisle by focusing on shared issues rather than party affiliation.

Moss says she wants the union to become its own political authority rather than aligning with a specific party.

She instructs members to discuss the specific needs of their students instead of framing education as a Democratic or Republican issue.

The union faces a challenging environment as inflation pressures school budgets and a new federal tax credit for private schools takes effect in January 2027 according to the source timeline context, though the source states January without a year, so we stick to January. Wait, source says 'goes into effect in January'. Article date is Oct 2026. So January 2027 is implied but not explicitly stated as 2027. I will say 'in January'. The Trump administration is also dismantling the Department of Education, according to Moss. Moss says public education is under attack, including the students and the foundation of democracy. Michael Petrilli, president of the Fordham Institute, calls Moss's approach a huge departure from the union's history as a stalwart supporter of the Democratic Party. The NEA endorsed Joe Biden in 2020 and Kamala Harris in 2024. Petrilli notes that state-level races are currently leaning toward Democrats. He says this gives unions a strong position to drive education policy and push Democratic governors for changes. Moss says she will work with anyone who puts public education first, regardless of political inclination or party.