Nevada State Education Association (NSEA)

In 2023, the NSEA launched the Schools Over Stadiums political action group, which led a lawsuit opposing public funding of a new baseball stadium for Major League Baseball’s Oakland Athletics, which are preparing to move to Las Vegas. ⁵

Background

The Nevada State Education Association traces its history to the late 1800s and represents public school teachers and teaching assistants in the state. The union is the statewide affiliate of the national left-of-center National Education Association, which is among the largest public sector unions in the United States. ²

Historically, the largest local affiliate of the NSEA was the Clark County Education Association (CCEA), which represents the majority of teachers in the state and is known for high-profile contract negotiations with the Clark County School District, which is among the five largest school districts in the United States. Following years of disputes between CCEA and the NSEA, the CCEA in 2018 voted to disaffiliate with the statewide organization. In response the NSEA formed a rival local affiliate, NEA-Southern Nevada. The NSEA and CCEA also filed dueling lawsuits against each other over membership dues. ⁶  

The fracture between the groups also reached into state politics, with the NSEA and CCEA endorsing different candidates in the Democratic primary for governor in 2018. ⁶

Activity

The Nevada State Education Association supports many traditional teachers’ union policy positions, lobbying for a variety of school administration funding and salary standards in the state legislature. The union’s 2020-2021 legislative agenda called for a variety of COVID-19-related restrictions, with the union expressing hesitancy to reopen schools due to the lack of “including health screenings, social distancing in classrooms and transportation, and accommodation for vulnerable or sick educators” in various school districts. ⁷

The union also opposes the use of standardized testing and teacher assessments and opposes the expansion of charter schools in the state. ⁷

In 2022, the union launched its Time for 20 campaign, calling for state legislators to “fund Time for 20 with a 20% raise, $20/hour starting pay, and 20 students per classroom.” ⁸

Stadium Funding Debate

In 2023, the Nevada State Education Association launched the Stadium Over Schools campaign, a political action group that began legal, legislative, and public relations advocacy opposing the state funding of a new stadium for the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball following the team’s announced relocation to Las Vegas. The NSEA filed an injunction seeking to block the transfer of $380 million in public funds towards the project on the grounds that it was unconstitutional. The NSEA’s lawsuit would require the Stadium Over Schools coalition to collect over 100,000 petition signatures to force a ballot question to potentially block the project. ⁵