The Wyoming Education Association (WEA) is a left-of-center association of public schoolteachers in Wyoming. The group is effectively the state’s teachers’ union, although it does not collectively bargain on behalf of teachers in the state. The union does, however, have affiliated local unions that negotiate with school districts. The union is the state-level affiliate of the National Education Association, which is the largest teachers’ union in the United States and among the largest unions in the country. ¹

The WEA, while not participating in collective bargaining, lobbies on behalf of left-of-center priorities before the state legislature including opposing school choice and supporting increased school funding and teacher pay. The group claims to have over 6,000 members in the state, and hosts events, provides training, and other resources to teachers in Wyoming. ^{2 3}

In 2024 the group launched a high-profile lawsuit in state courts against the state claiming that Wyoming had violated the state constitution by not adequately funding state school systems and its 48 public school districts. ⁴

Background

The Wyoming Education Association was founded in 1892 and is organized as a 501(c)(6) association rather than a 501(c)(5) labor union. However, the group effectively acts as a labor union in terms of its political and lobbying activity. As is the case in several states, public employees have no statewide power to compel local authorities to bargain collectively in Wyoming, and any contracts between school districts in the state and local units of the WEA are entered into voluntarily as school districts are not required to negotiate with the union. ^{5 6 7}

A 2011 article in Wyoming Lawyer, the publication of the State Bar Association, noted that, “Tellingly, the WEA disavows its categorization as a union,” and that “the WEA is an organization with whom no school district is obligated to bargain, which possesses no right to strike, and which apparently counts administrators among its ranks.” ⁸

Positions

The Wyoming Education Association has opposed school choice measures including a 2024 education savings accounts bill passed by the legislature as well as legislation banning gun-free zones in the state, urging Governor Mark Gordon (R) to veto both bills. ⁹

The WEA started a “Safe and Just Schools Cadre” with the goal of “working to ensure that every student feels safe and welcome in all Wyoming schools” by conducting training for teachers regarding left-of-center critical race theory and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) topics including “LGBTQ+ specific vocabulary, as well as personal stories of coming out in Wyoming” and “students who identify as trans and their use of bathrooms, LGBTQ+ issues in sports, LGBTQ+ issues in education, gender fluidity, pronouns, and additional issues brought up by participants.” ¹⁰

Lawsuit Over School Funding

In 2022 the Wyoming Education Association filed a lawsuit against the state that was joined by eight of the state’s 48 school districts alleging that the “state of Wyoming has violated its constitution by failing to adequately fund public schools and has withheld appropriate funding at the expense of educational excellence, safety and security.” State officials pointed to the fact that State education spending has increased from $443 million, or $4,372 per student in 1985, to $1.5 billion, or $16,751 per student in 2022, as evidence that the state had continually fulfilled its constitutional requirements. ¹¹

In June 2024, the case went to a six-week bench trial in Cheyenne which was expected to involve a “parade of witnesses anticipated to testify on topics ranging from major maintenance projects to school lunches, campus security and staffing.” ¹²

1. “NEA Affiliates.” National Education Association. Accessed June 9, 2024. https://www.nea.org/nea-affiliates
2. “NEA Affiliates.” National Education Association. Accessed June 9, 2024. https://www.nea.org/nea-affiliates
3. “Who We Are.” Wyoming Education Association. Accessed June 9, 2024. https://wyoea.org/who-we-are/
4. “Wyoming Education Association’s Claim That the State is Underfunding Public Schools Heads to Trial in June.” Wyoming Public Media. May 7, 2024. Accessed June 9, 2024. https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/education/2024-05-07/wyoming-education-associations-claim-that-the-state-is-underfunding-public-schools-heads-to-trial-in-june
5. “Who We Are.” Wyoming Education Association. Accessed June 9, 2024. https://wyoea.org/who-we-are/
6. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Wyoming Education Association. 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/830168105/202400249349301210/full
7. Duff, Michael. Terms Matter: Reflections on the Wyoming Debate Over the

   Teachers’ “Union” and Teacher “Tenure.’” Wyoming Lawyer. April 2011. Accessed June 9, 2024.  https://scholarship.law.slu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1692&context=faculty

8. Duff, Michael. Terms Matter: Reflections on the Wyoming Debate Over the Teachers’ “Union” and Teacher “Tenure.’” Wyoming Lawyer. April 2011. Accessed June 9, 2024.  https://scholarship.law.slu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1692&context=faculty
9. Neff, Cy. “Wyoming approves sweeping changes to school choice, awaiting governor’s signature.” USA Today. March 12, 2024. Accessed June 9, 2024. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2024/03/12/wyoming-school-choice-bill-approved/72902888007/
10. “Safe and Just Schools.” Wyoming Education Association. Accessed June 9, 2024. https://wyoea.org/safe-and-just-schools/
11. Klingsporn, Katie. “How much should Wyoming pay for education? Ongoing trial could answer that.” June 5, 2024. WyoFile. Accessed June 9, 2024. https://wyofile.com/how-much-should-wyoming-pay-for-education-ongoing-trial-could-answer-that/
12. Klingsporn, Katie. “How much should Wyoming pay for education? Ongoing trial could answer that.” June 5, 2024. WyoFile. Accessed June 9, 2024. https://wyofile.com/how-much-should-wyoming-pay-for-education-ongoing-trial-could-answer-that/