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Kindergarten students children surrond teacher reading

We're coming together for Funding for Students and Schools

Educators, parents, and communities are uniting for better school funding for our students.

No matter where we live or what we believe, we all want our children to succeed. But many students are denied opportunities because their schools and communities are underfunded and under-resourced. 

Greedy politicians deny our students and schools resources so that they can pay for tax breaks for their corporate donors. Then, they cut funding even more or promote voucher schemes when students don’t meet their expectations.  

We’re coming together so that all our students, of every race and every place, have the funding they need to learn without limits and unlock their dreams. 

Arizona educators rally for education funding
Gage Skidmore/Arizona Education Association

Advocate for Funding

Federal Advocacy 

Federal government spending accounts for less than 10 percent of education spending in the United States. The rest comes from state and local governments and other non-federal sources. But the federal role is more than money. It’s also about protecting civil rights and ensuring equal opportunity for all students. 

NEA in Congress

Collective Action 

When educators come together with families and communities, we can advocate for how funding is spent, and we can push for more funding for our students 

Collective Bargaining & Educator Voice 

Explore More Funding Issues

From school nutrition to internet access, educating the whole child is about education funding, and it’s about so much more, too.
Arizona educators rally for education funding
Gage Skidmore/Arizona Education Association

Find Funding 

Ensuring our students succeed starts and ends with the resources and opportunities we give them. The NEA has been successful in advocating for federal funding and making sure they are allocated to meet our students' most critical needs.

Learn more about current Federal Education Funding here

American Rescue Plan and COVID Recovery Funds 

We have an unprecedented opportunity to reshape the future of public education with the largest single investment in public schools in history through the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act. Learn more about how you can use these funds in your district. 

APR, ESSER, and COVID Funds

ESSA Funds 

The Every Student Succeeds Act mandates that the people who know students best—their educators, families, communities—can shape their future. Now, it’s time to make sure lawmakers and policy leaders hear us and help us make our schools exceptional. 

Every Student Succeeds Act

More Resources

Jocelyn

Federal Grants

Browse our guides to federal education grants by issue, professional practice, and more as you advocate for great public schools for all students.
Edwin Camarino Monarrez outside his school

For NEA Members

The NEA Foundation actively promotes the inclusion of educator voice in leadership policy and practice and awards grants to public school educators that enhance teaching and learning.
Kimberly Eckert is a high school English teacher in Louisiana

For NEA Affiliates

In an effort to ensure that each child attends a great public school and that we continue to build strong affiliates, the NEA provides partnership funding to state and local affiliates.
Danielle Harris
“The Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 was a vision for advancing equity and providing the specific support students need. But that vision has not yet been fully realized”
Quote by: Danielle Harris, fifth grade teacher, WV
National Education Association

Great public schools for every student

The National Education Association (NEA), the nation's largest professional employee organization, is committed to advancing the cause of public education. NEA's 3 million members work at every level of education—from pre-school to university graduate programs. NEA has affiliate organizations in every state and in more than 14,000 communities across the United States.