IEA Wants to Reclaim Power

"The Idaho Education Association (IEA) has launched a campaign to reclaim power, not in classrooms, but in the Capitol.

They’re calling it May Matters, a statewide effort to oust conservative lawmakers in the 2026 Republican primaries. The plan? Flood key races with union-friendly Democrats and independents who re-register as Republicans, then back candidates who will carry the union’s agenda under a red banner.

It’s not subtle, and it’s not new. But this time, the IEA is going all in, organizing voter drives, mobilizing members, and pouring resources into an all-out political offensive. And they’re doing it while claiming Idaho’s public education system is somehow being dismantled.

Let’s get the facts straight.

Since 2016, Idaho’s public school budget has grown from $1.81 billion to $3.29 billion—a more than 80% increase in less than a decade. Public education now accounts for 31.7% of the entire state budget, second only to health and human services at 39.3%.

Idaho has fully funded its K–12 system, and then some.

Public School Support Appropriation by Fiscal Year. Source: Idaho Legislative Services Office. (See graph below)

So what exactly is the IEA so upset about?

Simple, control. And they’re not acting alone.

The IEA isn’t just a local teachers’ group, it’s the Idaho branch of the National Education Association (NEA), the largest teachers’ union in the country and one of the most powerful political machines on the American Left. The NEA has formally endorsed every Democratic presidential candidate since Jimmy Carter and pours over 95% of its political spending into Democrat campaigns and progressive causes. Its leadership has declared that the classroom is a political battleground and proudly trains teachers to be activists.

From promoting critical race theory and radical gender ideology to opposing school choice and parental rights, the NEA sets the agenda, and the IEA carries it out in Idaho, step by step.

The IEA follows that playbook to the letter.

Their “professional development” programs mirror the NEA’s ideological training. Their political spending aligns almost entirely with Democrat and progressive causes. And their May Matters campaign, targeting conservatives in Republican primaries, is straight out of the NEA’s national strategy: use local unions to flip red states to blue, from the inside.

The IEA wants to replace Idaho legislators who defend parental rights with union-approved candidates who will rubber-stamp their agenda.

It’s not about education policy.

It’s about power.

We may not all agree on every policy detail but we stand united on this:

Parents — not union activists — should decide what education is best for their children.

Idaho’s public schools are more than fully funded, with over $3.29 billion this year alone. But funding alone isn’t the issue. Parents demand transparency, accountability, and the freedom to choose what’s best for their children.

That’s what we’ve been fighting for, and what the union is trying to roll back."

Shared from a newsletter from Idaho State Senator Christy Zito.