S. 2428 — STUDENT Act

This section states congressional findings regarding the National Education Association (NEA), chartered by Congress in 1906 under 36 U.S.C. 151102 as the only federally chartered labor union to elevate the teaching profession and promote education in the United States. The findings cite the NEA's political spending of over $116.7 million on political activities and lobbying from September 2019 to August 2021, with 95.7% of 2020 election cycle candidate contributions to Democrats; positions taken at assemblies, including opposition to prioritizing student learning (July 2019), support for abortion rights, illegal immigration, Gender Sexuality Alliance clubs, and critical race theory (with $56,500 allocated for related research, July 2021); resistance to school reopenings in 2020-2021; and votes in July 2025 to cut ties with the Anti-Defamation League over its positions on Israel and antisemitism and to refer to former President Trump's policies as "fascism."

This section revises membership provisions for the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) to— (1) limit acceptance of dues or fees from state or local government employees (as defined in 5 U.S.C. 3371) to cases where the employee is notified of the First Amendment right to refrain from membership and payment, affirmatively consents to membership and payment, and authorizes transmittal without payroll deduction (direct or indirect); and (2) require NCSL and its state and local affiliates to process and honor membership and dues cancellation requests as soon as practicable after receipt.

This section revises section 151105 of title 36, United States Code, by designating the existing matter as subsection (a) (Powers) and adding subsection (b) (Requirements). Subsection (b) requires the corporation and its state and local affiliates to (1) refrain from political activity or attempts to influence legislation; (2) avoid discrimination or quotas based on race, color, religion, sex, disability, age, or national origin; (3) ensure officers are U.S. citizens; (4) maintain tax-exempt status under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; (5) adopt representative governance without concentrated control; (6) assume liability for acts of officers and agents; (7) comply with service-of-process laws in the District of Columbia and relevant states; (8) maintain specified records and permit inspection by voting members; (9) submit annual reports to Congress; (10) be subject to civil enforcement actions by the Attorney General in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia; (11) direct remaining assets upon dissolution to the U.S. Treasury or equally among certain employed members; (12) prohibit compensation derived from state or local government payments for work performed by their public employees; (13) refrain from requiring or encouraging affirmation of specified concepts deeming the United States irredeemably racist or sexist, imputing inherent racism or sexism to individuals by identity characteristics, determining moral character by such characteristics, or promoting antisemitism (including Holocaust denial or anti-Jewish stereotypes), and from advocating that public schools require students to affirm such concepts; (14) neither call, participate in, nor condone strikes, work stoppages, or slowdowns affecting state or local governments; and (15) be deemed labor organizations, as defined in section 3 of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (29 U.S.C. 402), subject to applicable provisions of that Act.

This section repeals the tax exemption for real property of the National FFA Organization located in the District of Columbia if used for the organization's purposes and not used to produce income, and for personal property used for such purposes or to produce income for such purposes. (Thus, the organization's qualifying property is now subject to taxation.) It also eliminates the annual reporting requirement to the Secretary of Education detailing the organization's property holdings, income, and expenditures or dispositions.