STUDENT Act
Sponsored By: Representative Fitzgerald
Introduced
Summary
Limits NEA political activity and tightly restricts membership and dues rules. This bill forces affirmative consent for dues, bars many political and strike-related activities, and adds new reporting and legal oversight for the National Education Association and its affiliates.
Show full summary
- Teachers and other state or local government employees must be told they can refuse union membership and must give clear, affirmative consent before dues are collected. Payroll deduction of dues is barred unless the employee authorizes transmission without payroll deduction and membership cancellation requests must be processed promptly.
- NEA officers and affiliates face new limits on political involvement and strikes. Officers must be U.S. citizens, the organization must not engage in or support political advocacy or attempt to influence legislation, and it must follow additional transparency and recordkeeping rules that let members inspect records for proper purposes.
- NEA finances and legal status are constrained. The District of Columbia property tax exemption is repealed, the NEA must maintain federal tax-exempt compliance, the Attorney General may seek enforcement, and remaining assets at dissolution go to the U.S. Treasury or to employed members.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
6 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 0 costs, 3 mixed.
Public workers must consent to union dues
If you work for a state or local government, the union would need your clear, affirmative consent before taking dues. You would have to get a notice that you can refuse membership and payment. You would also have to authorize dues to be sent without payroll deduction. The union could take dues directly from you or through approved affiliate fees. It would have to honor your cancellation request as soon as practicable.
No discrimination or forced beliefs by union
The NEA and its affiliates would be barred from discriminating based on race, color, religion, sex, disability, age, or national origin. They could not set quotas based on those traits. They could not require or encourage staff, members, or affiliates to affirm certain beliefs, or push schools to make students adopt them, including beliefs that the U.S. is irredeemably racist or sexist, that people are inherently guilty or inferior due to identity, or antisemitic beliefs.
Stronger oversight and governance for teachers' union
This would require the union’s government to represent members and not let a small group keep control. Officers would have to be U.S. citizens. The union would have to keep accurate books, a list of voting members, and keep its tax‑exempt status. The Attorney General would be able to sue in D.C. federal court to enforce these duties. The union would have to follow service‑of‑process rules and would be liable for acts by authorized officers or agents.
Assets split if the union dissolves
If the union dissolved after paying its debts, any money left would either go to the U.S. Treasury or be split equally among people who are employed members at that time. You would only get a share if you are an employed member when it dissolves.
End D.C. property tax break for union
This bill would repeal the District of Columbia property tax exemption for the NEA. D.C. could tax the property instead. Households would not be directly affected; any effects would depend on what D.C. or the union do.
Limits on strikes and union politics
The NEA and its affiliates would be treated as labor organizations under federal law and would have to follow those rules. They would be barred from calling, taking part in, or condoning strikes or slowdowns that affect state or local government. The corporation and its officers would be prohibited from contributing to or trying to influence legislation. Pay for officers who are public employees could not come from state or local payments to the union.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Fitzgerald
WI • R
Cosponsors
Grothman
WI • R
Sponsored 7/23/2025
Lee (FL)
FL • R
Sponsored 7/23/2025
Gooden
TX • R
Sponsored 7/23/2025
Finstad
MN • R
Sponsored 7/23/2025
Tiffany
WI • R
Sponsored 7/23/2025
Baumgartner
WA • R
Sponsored 7/25/2025
Harris (MD)
MD • R
Sponsored 7/25/2025
Franklin, Scott
FL • R
Sponsored 9/2/2025
Fry
SC • R
Sponsored 11/7/2025
Fulcher
ID • R
Sponsored 11/19/2025
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
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