The Center Square YT: Teachers Unions Spend 10% of Their Annual Budget on Lobbying

America's Talking rounds up three education stories: national teachers union political spending, a new Texas child-safety proposal, and a Georgia school board suspension. National teachers unions direct at least 10% of their annual budgets to lobbying and political activism, according to The Center Square reporting by Esther Wickham, including causes cited in the 2026 American Federation of Teachers Handbook such as calls for President Trump's impeachment and messaging opposing immigration enforcement. The report notes some teachers question whether dues are funding causes they don't personally support, and outlines the difference between non-right-to-work states (like California, where union fees can be mandatory) and right-to-work states (like Texas), plus the impact of the 2018 Supreme Court ruling in Janus v. AFSCME, which allows public employees to opt out of union fees. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott proposed a minimum 10-year prison sentence and mandatory sex-offender registration for educators convicted of improper relationships with students, eliminating eligibility for community service, deferred adjudication, parole, or early release. The proposal follows the state's Education Misconduct Reporting Portal, launched September 2025, which has logged more than 16,000 misconduct reports, roughly 80% involving harm to a student. In Georgia, a member of the State Board of Education will lead a committee replacing the Dublin City School Board, which Gov. Brian Kemp suspended following a hearing on the district's financial struggles. The State Board unanimously recommended the suspension; the district, which has 2,300 students, was listed as "accredited with conditions" in April. Read the full stories at thecentersquare.com.