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When Becky Pringle took the virtual stage at the National Education Associations annual representative assembly last week to deliver her first keynote speech as the largest teachers unions president, she had a lot of ground to cover.

Her members had just endured a grueling year of pandemic teaching, during which teachers stress levels spiked and morale plummeted. The union is now supporting efforts to resume full-time, in-person instruction in the fall, after months in which teachers unions were blamed for keeping schoolhouse doors closed.

Also, a national fervor over how teachers talk about racism and the countrys painful past has recently taken root in statehouses across the country, and the NEA has begun taking steps to defend its members. And on top of that, in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests last summer, the nations schools are grappling with how to dismantle deep-seated inequities between white students and students of color.

In this moment, as we reflect on the obvious challenges and the often hidden or yet to be discovered opportunities, we must continue to imagine the possibilities, Pringle told thousands of delegates in her speech. We, the NEA, will lead a movement that unites not just our members, but the entire nation to reclaim public education as a common good, and then transform it into something it was never designed to bea racially and socially just and equitable system that prepares every student, every one, to succeed in a diverse and interdependent world.

Pringle recently spoke to Education Week about the unions efforts to rethink school policing, the debate around critical race theory in the classroom, and resuming in-person instruction in the fall. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

The NEA board of directors proposed a new business item that will explore the role of law enforcement in education, which was approved by delegates. How do you feel about armed police officers in schools?

It was a comprehensive new business item that centered the safety of all of our students and centered race equity and economic equity. We know that our Black and brown communities are over-policed, which means our schools are over-policed. And we know that we have to create a safe environment thats conducive to teaching and learning.

So we are planning, through that new business item, to work on ensuring that all educatorsfrom teachers to support staff to [school resource officers] to our bus driversare trained in restorative practices, which helps to not only center equity and safety, but also to value and respect all of the cultures that come into our classroom and work with the community and our students to ensure that when they come into our schools, they feel safe, they feel valued, they feel respected. We have a lot of work ahead to do all of those things so that our kids have a safe place where they can learn and grow and thrive.

An Education Week survey found that nearly a quarter of district leaders, principals, and teachers dont believe that systemic racism exists. What do you make of that?

Well, as with anything else, when we talk about it, then we learn more. Thats why we are focused on honesty and education because all of us need to do that continuous learning. We know that not everyone sees the systemic racism that exists within all of our social systems. So you will hear me talk about the structural racism across systems, not just the education system, because everything impacts our students ability to learn.

Were talking about housing, and you know the history of redlining. Were talking about the economic system, and you know the economic injustice in this country. We know that our Black and brown and Indigenous communities dont have that kind of access to health care that others do, more privileged people do. All of those systems impact our students ability to learn. And so those are the kinds of things that we are trying to make sure that all of our educatorsand not just our educators, the entire community because we need everyone helpingcontinue to learn about, that structural racism thats built into all of our social systems. They compound on each other in ways that impact and limit access and opportunity for our kids. And so we just have to continuously make sure that everyoneeducators, parents, community, all of themhave that information so that we can do better for our kids.

Now, more than 25 states have proposed efforts to restrict how teachers talk about race in the classroom. What do you see as the NEAs role in those debates?

Were going to continue to talk about honesty and education. And heres why. We know that, first of all, our students are amazing, and theyre smart. And we know how important it is to make sure they have the knowledge, skills, and ability to be those critical thinkers, to be able to come together and collectively solve so many of our societal problems. For that to happen, they have to have access to all of that information. They have to not only know the history of this country, but they also need to have the chance to develop their critical thinking skills in a way that they can come together to try to solve those problems.

If we dont allow them to have those difficult conversations about race and racism in this country, then they wont be prepared to do that. And so well continue to do that. Of course, we will continue to work with our educators and make sure that they have the ability to lift up their voices and to fight for their right to be honest in the education that they teach. Well continue to work to make sure they have those rights. We will continue to assess the legislation thats proposed, as well as the laws that have passed, which are very different in different states, to ensure that its not limiting that right. For us, it is about saying no to censorship, and yes to teaching the truth. And thats what were going to continue to do.

Youve said before that the union is considering legal action over the restrictions. Could you expand on what that would look like?

Were considering all possibilities. Were in the process of making sure that we clearly understand the depth and breadth of the laws. They look very, very different. Its not only about the laws themselves, but also about the laws in those specific states that impact the curriculum in those states. Its a state-by-state analysis, and were in the process of doing that. And were going to just leave every avenue open, because we will defend our educators right to teach the truth. We will do that.

In hindsight, do you feel like the union could have or should have come out stronger against this movement earlier?

We have been fighting against this since it started. We have supported our locals and state affiliates who are on the front lines of the attack in speaking up. And this is not new. We know that this is an attempt to not only stoke fear and division, but to draw attention away from the fact that the politicians pushing these laws have failed our schools. They have not, for decades, provided the kind of resources we need so that we can have those safe and equitable schools.

Were not confused by that. We know whats behind these laws, and we know why theyre doing it. And weve been fighting that for certainly as long as I have been a leader within NEA. Every time they attempt to bring up some other way to divide us, and to stoke fear and to take [away] that light shining on them and what their failures have been, we will be there to call it out, to speak up, and to fight back.

As we look toward the next school year, given that COVID-19 is still circulating and some states have prohibited mask mandates, are you concerned about the ability to have safe in-person instruction?

Im not. I have worked really hard to ensure that we are ready for the fall to welcome back all of our students. The [U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention], I believe, will be issuing new guidelines shortly, and we have continuously said that we are following the science. We are looking at the guidelines that the CDC is using and working together to ensure that their students and educators are safe.

We dont know what the new strains will bring. But weve learned so much this year, and were continuing to learn. We were so appreciative of the president prioritizing educators to be vaccinated. The vast majority of our teachers and other staff are vaccinated, so they feel safer to go back to school.

And with the additional funding for [COVID-19] testing, well be able to stay open and isolate cases quickly. And we will avoid any shutdowns in the future.

Would you support vaccination mandates for teachers or students?

The majority of our teachers are vaccinated. [An NEA survey done in May found that 86 percent of members have had at least one shot, and only 9 percent dont plan to get vaccinated.] And the ones who arent, weve really worked hard to educate them and provide them with the resources. What we learned early on was that [the vaccination process] was confusing, and they werent able to get access. And so we worked on that. We did see a gap in [the vaccination rates of] white teachers and Black teachers. Weve targeted that, and with our recent survey [results], weve closed that gap, which is phenomenal. But its working directly with those communities to try to bring down that hesitancy and make sure they have access and opportunity.

Im not concerned about the mandates for the teachers, honestly. With [the vaccination rate] being so high now, for the most part, were just talking about folks who cant because of a medical condition.

With the students, our position at the NEA has always been that the more people, including students, who are in that education environment are vaccinatednot just for COVID, but all of those vaccinationsthe more healthy the entire community will be. And that continues to be our position. As with everything else, it is early to do that. [Only those 12 and older are currently able to be vaccinated.] We have to wait, follow the science. Theyre hard at work doing that testing [for youth vaccination] and just observing it, toogiving it time to see if there are any adverse impacts. And thats what we did in the past [with other vaccines], and then we talked about whether or not mandates were appropriate. At this point, we just dont know yet.

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Teachers' Union President: Say 'No to Censorship, and Yes to Teaching the Truth' - Education Week