The NEA Student Program will address the needs of today's diverse student population in order to facilitate student achievement by preparing preprofessional educators with ideals of professional ethics and standards.
The Student National Education Association (SNEA) was founded in 1937 as a department of the National Education Association. Over the course of it's history, SNEA served more than one million members. In January 1983, the SNEA Representative Assembly terminated its separate affiliation status and merged with the NEA as a Program.
Its purpose, "shall be to develop in prospective educators an understanding of the education profession, to provide for a united student voice in matters affecting their profession, to influence the conditions under which prospective educators are prepared, to advance the interests and welfare of students preparing for a career in education, to promote and protect human and civil rights, and to stimulate the highest ideals and professional ethics, standards, and attitudes."
The NEA Student Program is the largest and most influential student group for future educators. The program aims at developing quality teachers prepared to deal with today's diverse student population and also to prepare informed leaders who will move themselves, the profession, and the Association forward.