That Oregon students need help shouldn’t be a controversial proposition. For years, families across the state have watched its education system struggle with low academic outcomes, classroom disruptions, staffing shortages and a growing sense that too many students are being pushed through schools that aren’t meeting their individual needs.

Teachers see these problems up close every day in their classrooms. Parents see them when their children come home frustrated, discouraged or behind. Students feel it when the school assigned to them by their ZIP code is not the right fit, yet the adults in charge continue defending the same system that has struggled to deliver better results.

That’s what makes the state of Oregon’s decision to opt out of a federal education tax credit program so confounding.

According to The Oregonian/OregonLive, the state has decided not to participate in a program offering taxpayers up to $1,700 in education tax credits for donations to scholarship-granting organizations. Those organizations can then help families pay for education-related expenses — including tuition, tutoring and other K-12 needs.

Supporters see the program as a way to expand opportunity for students who need more options, while critics — including the teachers’ union establishment — have portrayed it as a threat to public education.

That reaction says a lot about the priorities of Oregon’s political and union leadership. Rather than looking at the opportunity through the eyes of a student in need of tutoring, a parent searching for a safer or better-fitting school or a teacher who knows the current system is not serving every child well, Oregon’s leaders appear to be viewing it through the one-size-fits-all lens of partisan politics.

Because the program is associated with the Trump administration and school choice, it’s being treated less like a potential opportunity for Oregon families and more like something that had to be rejected for no good reason.

Public education shouldn’t be about protecting a political narrative. Nor should it be about preserving the same institutions that have overseen years of disappointing results or making sure every education dollar flows only through the system preferred by politicians and union executives.

It should be about students, families and the teachers trying to do right by them. When state leaders refuse to participate in a program that could provide more education resources to families, it’s fair for Oregonians to ask whether students are really being placed first.

The Oregon Education Association and its national allies routinely claim to be the voice of educators and defenders of students. But when the conversation turns to giving families more flexibility, more direct support and more control over how their children are educated, those same organizations often fall back on the argument that any option outside the traditional system is an attack on public education.

That message may help protect the union’s political influence, but it does nothing to help the student who needs a different environment, the family that cannot afford tutoring or the teacher who knows some students are falling through the cracks.

Oregon educators know better than anyone that students are not all the same. Some students thrive in a traditional public school, while others need a smaller environment, a different teaching style, specialized tutoring, a safer setting or simply a fresh start. A policy that gives families additional resources does not mean every parent will leave public schools, nor does it mean every teacher is being attacked.

It simply means families have more tools to help their children succeed, which should be something every serious education leader is willing to consider.

Instead, Oregon is walking away from a chance to bring more education resources to families who need them. The state’s decision sends a message that political alignment may matter more than practical help.

It suggests that if an education policy does not fit the preferred ideology of Oregon’s political and union establishment, students may never even get the chance to benefit from it.

For a state that continues to struggle with student outcomes, that should be hard to explain.

Teachers should pay close attention to this disconnect. Many educators join or remain in OEA because they care deeply about students and believe the union shares their passion. But there appears to be a growing gap between what many classroom teachers value and what the union’s political operatives prioritize.

Teachers want students to read, write, learn, grow and graduate prepared for life. They want safer classrooms, more support and better outcomes. The overwhelming majority don’t want their paychecks funding an organization that reflexively opposes education options for families just because those options clash with the union’s political agenda.

That matters because union dues are optional. Under the First Amendment, public employees cannot be forced to pay union dues or fees as a condition of employment. Oregon teachers and school employees represented by OEA have the right to opt out of union membership and stop funding the union if they conclude its actions no longer align with their values.

Educators should not have to financially support political advocacy they disagree with. A teacher who believes families deserve more choices should not be required to fund a union that fights those choices.

A school employee who believes Oregon should be open to new ways of helping students should not have to bankroll an organization that treats those ideas as political threats.

Any educator who believes students should come before partisan battles should have the freedom to decide whether OEA still deserves a portion of their paycheck.

OEA is free to oppose school choice, pressure politicians, support candidates and advocate for the education policies its leadership prefers. The state of Oregon is free to make decisions that align with the priorities of its political leadership. But Oregon educators are equally free to decide whether they want to keep paying for it, especially when the union’s priorities do not align with their own.

The Freedom Foundation exists to make sure public employees know the truth: Union membership is a choice. If you’re an Oregon teacher or school employee represented by OEA and you no longer want your paycheck used to support the union’s political agenda, you can opt out.

Visit OptOutToday.com/OEA to learn more.