Although teachers’ unions have wielded significant influence over education policy for years, their power is waning nationally, according to a new report.
Researchers at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute found unions are considerably weaker in red states such as Arkansas, Oklahoma and Tennessee. While they remain influential in blue states including New York, California and Illinois, “in many places, teacher unions are no longer necessarily the most powerful voice in the room.”
The report, based on publicly available data and a survey of K-12 stakeholders in all 50 states, found the education landscape has become increasingly crowded and contested over the past 15 years, since the first such report was conducted.
Researchers pointed to several factors behind the shift: growing school choice programs, legal reforms that allow teachers to opt out of unions, the rise of parent advocacy groups and backlash against prolonged COVID-19 school closures.
“The Covid-era pivot to remote learning thrust teacher unions into the national spotlight again, mostly in ways that seemed to undermine their standing, as evidence of learning loss mounted and criticism of the lengthiest closures intensified,” Amber M. Northern and Michael J. Petrilli wrote in the report’s foreword.
