When It Comes to Serving the Best Interests of Teachers, NJEA President Steve Beatty Is All Talk and No Action. Will He Ever Tell the Truth About the Spiller Scandal?
September 15, 2026The NJEA’s 2024 IRS Form 990 is finally available, so we can update the NJEA’s funding for its network of allies. The NJEA continues to fund three key allies: the Education Law Center (ELC), New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP), and the New Jersey Working Families Alliance (NJWFA), all of whom help to ensure that the NJEA remains the dominant special interest in New Jersey politics. ELC acts as the legal arm, NJPP the policy arm, and NJWFA the paid-GOTV arm of the NJEA. All told, the NJEA has funded these three allies with $11.3 million. When you see ELC, NJPP, and NJWFA in action, know there is $11.3 million of NJEA money behind them.
Regarding its key allies:
- ELC: In 2024, the NJEA donated another $600,000 to ELC, bringing total donations to $7.8 million. In return, the ELC has wholeheartedly embraced the NJEA’s agenda. The ELC has taken the lead in blocking charter schools, a perennial top policy goal of the NJEA. The ELC can also be counted on to push for increased state education aid, also a top NJEA priority. There’s a reason why the ELC has been described as the legal arm of the NJEA.
- NJPP: The NJEA gave $210,000 in 2024, bringing its total to $2.1 million. As Sunlight has documented over and over, NJPP provides “research” to support the NJEA’s favored policies. NJPP adds the veneer of academic credibility to the NJEA’s agenda when it lobbies legislators or engages the media. When it comes to education politics, NJPP should be thought of as the policy arm of the NJEA.
- NJWFA: The NJEA gave NJWFA $27,000 in 2024, bringing total donations to $1,027,000. The NJEA also regularly pays NJWFA to get out the vote for favored candidates such as NJEA President/former-Montclair Mayor Sean Spiller. The NJEA has paid a total of $139,000 directly to NJWFA for GOTV and another $200,000 via pro-Murphy Super PAC New Direction New Jersey (to which the NJEA contributed $10.5 million), for a grand total of $1,366,500. When it comes to New Jersey elections, NJWFA should be seen as paid GOTV for the NJEA.
And they join NJEA coalitions. One of the primary reasons for the NJEA’s network allies is that they join the various coalitions that the NJEA builds to create the impression of broad support for its policy agenda. As we documented in our previous report, the NJEA continually uses the coalitions to lobby lawmakers and communicate via the media. Key allies ELC, NJPP, and NJWFA all regularly participate in NJEA-built coalitions.
So when you see ELC, NJPP, and NJWFA in action, know that there is $11.3 million in NJEA money behind them.