Connection research · Research date 2026-09-15
NEA sent IEA $500K in 2022 ballot-initiative grants while IEA backed Reclaim education initiative
Recorded status: Verified NEA→IEA $500K ballot-initiative funding and verified IEA endorsement of Reclaim's Quality Education Act; direct earmarking of those funds to Reclaim/QEA not proven.
This is a dated research record. Its qualifications and open questions are part of the account. Association alone does not establish wrongdoing or control.
The National Education Association's FY2022 federal LM-2 report lists four payments to the Idaho Education Association totaling exactly $500,000, each described as 'Ballot Init support grant': $101,000 on Jan. 10, $250,000 on Mar. 22, $101,000 on Apr. 25, and $48,000 on Aug. 31, 2022. During the same period, IEA publicly and unanimously endorsed Reclaim Idaho's Quality Education Act, which was the major statewide citizen education initiative Reclaim was qualifying for the November 2022 ballot. Public reporting repeatedly identifies IEA as a supporter of the Quality Education Act. However, the NEA LM-2 does not name the Quality Education Act, and no grant letter or IEA accounting located in this pass explicitly ties the $500,000 to Reclaim's campaign. Therefore the contemporaneous alignment is verified but the specific earmarking remains unverified.
Source references
- National Education Association LM-2 report FY2022 — Schedule 17 / Idaho Education Association
- Idaho’s dead-last student spending rankings are infamous — Section 'Reclaim Idaho and IEA advocate for more education funding'
- Reclaim Idaho submits final signatures for education ballot initiative — May 2, 2022 report