The Maryland State Education Association (MSEA) is a left-of-center teachers’ union and the Maryland state-level affiliate of the National Education Association (NEA). It claims roughly 76,000 members. ¹

The president of the MSEA is Paul Lemle, who took office in 2024. Its executive director is Sean Johnson, a Democratic Party operative who worked on then-U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton’s (D-NY) 2008 presidential campaign and had previously worked as the MSEA’s legislative and political director and as an organizer and campaign specialist for the NEA. ²

Background and History

The Maryland State Education Association (MESA) is the largest teachers’ union in Maryland, representing roughly 76,000 teachers and other public school professionals across the state. ¹ It is affiliated with the National Education Association (NEA) and the AFL-CIO. ¹

MSEA was founded in 1865 as the Maryland State Teachers Association (MSTA). In 1951, MSTA and the Maryland Educational Association, the Black teachers’ union during segregation, merged. In 1968, the union was granted collective bargaining powers by the Maryland General Assembly. In 2002, MSTA supported the Bridge to Excellence in Public Schools Act which increased education funding across the state. ³

In 2009, MSTA changed its name to the Maryland State Education Association (MSEA). In 2017, MSEA supported the More Learning, Less Testing Act and Protect Our Schools Act which reduced the amount and emphasis on standardized testing. In 2018, MSEA campaigned for passage of Question 1, a state constitutional amendment that dedicated casino revenue to increase school funding. ⁴

Activism

The Maryland State Education Association (MSEA) promotes left-of-center positions on social issues and public policy debates, and opposes efforts to expand educational choice in Maryland. ⁵ It also broadly supports Democratic Party candidates for public office through its MSEA Fund for Children and Public Education PAC. ⁶

It supports increased funding to government-operated public schools, while opposing charter schools, voucher programs, and other forms of educational choice. It also fights efforts by local school boards to outsource or privatize any work done by union members. ⁵

The MSEA opposes standardized testing efforts, especially their use to assess teacher competence or job performance. ⁵ It claims those tests are “dangerous” because they “for so many years left strong students behind because of the white-centered contexts.” ⁷

The MSEA supports the National Education Association’s opposition to the policies of President Donald Trump, especially in areas such as education and immigration policy. ⁸ It opposes the second Trump administration’s efforts to restart federal student loan repayment after the Biden administration’s efforts to forgive student loan debt were overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. ^{9 8}

Educational Support Professional Bill of Rights

One of the MSEA’s highest-priority lobbying campaigns is its attempt to increase compensation, staffing levels, and union membership among school custodians, bus drivers, cafeteria workers, secretaries, and other non-educator school employees by pressuring the Maryland General Assembly to pass an “Educational Support Professional Bill of Rights.” ¹⁰

Even though many jobs under the Educational Support Professional (ESP) umbrella are inherently part-time and/or seasonal, such as bus drivers or cafeteria workers, the MSEA’s proposed ESP Bill of Rights would require school districts to pay such employees a “living wage,” provide pensions and health care benefits, and otherwise treat such workers as full-time, unionized employees. ¹⁰ The MSEA’s proposed legislation would also ban local school districts from privatizing or outsourcing food service, transportation, janitorial services, or other job functions. ¹⁰

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Activism

The MSEA promotes a left-of-center model of “racial, social, and economic justice” policies. ⁷ The keynote speaker at its 2025 Racial Justice Summit was Blair Imani, a social media influencer and author who identifies as a queer, Black, bisexual Muslim. ^{11 12} In 2016, Imani was arrested during a Black Lives Matter-affiliated protest in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She and 13 other arrested protestors sued for wrongful arrest and excessive force, and in 2023 the municipal government settled the lawsuit for $1.7 million. ¹³

‘Apple’ Lawsuit Against Governor Hogan

In September 2018, the Maryland State Education Association sued then-Governor Larry Hogan (R) over Hogan’s use of an apple with “Teachers for Hogan” on it in some of his reelection campaign materials. The union contended that its Montgomery County Education Association subsidiary had a trademark on “an apple in connection with phrases that imply the political endorsement of educators or teachers,” and that Hogan’s use of an apple implied his endorsement by the MSEA. ¹⁴

In October of that year, Montgomery County judge rejected the union’s request for a preliminary injunction that would have kept Hogan’s campaign from using the apple image in its campaign materials before the election. ¹⁵

Hogan had a contentious relationship with the MSEA, having previously referred to the union’s leadership as “thugs.” The union had endorsed his Democratic challenger, former NAACP CEO and People for the American Way president Ben Jealous. ¹⁶

Finances

In 2024, the Maryland State Education Association (MSEA) collected $23,496,347 in dues from its members. ¹⁷

In 2024, the MSEA reported employing eleven executives who received more than $230,000 in total annual compensation. Executive director Sean Johnson was the highest-paid employee, receiving $248,796 in base compensation, $73,220 in retirement or other deferred compensation, and $19,225 in nontaxable benefits. ¹⁷

1. “Home Page.” Maryland State Education Association. Accessed September 22, 2025. https://marylandeducators.org/.
2. Kurtz, Josh. “State Teachers’ Union Gets New Executive Director.” Maryland Matters, August 13, 2020. https://www.marylandmatters.org/2020/08/13/state-teachers-union-gets-new-executive-director/.
3. “About MSEA – Maryland State Education Association.” Maryland State Education Association – 76,000 Members Strong, August 18, 2023. https://marylandeducators.org/about-msea/
4. “About MSEA – Maryland State Education Association.” Maryland State Education Association – 76,000 Members Strong, August 18, 2023. https://marylandeducators.org/about-msea/.
5. “Advocacy.” Maryland State Education Association. Accessed September 22, 2025. https://marylandeducators.org/advocacy/.
6.  “MSEA’s Fund for Children and Public Education .” Maryland State Education Association. Accessed September 22, 2025. https://www.marylandeducators.org/sites/default/files/docs/pac_101_-_page_1.pdf.
7. “Racial and Social Justice.” Maryland State Education Association. Accessed September 22, 2025. https://marylandeducators.org/combatting-institutional-racism/
8. Mullins, Patti. “Educators Fight for Rights as Trump Threats Pursue Students, Workers, Immigrants.” Maryland State Education Association, May 2, 2025. https://marylandeducators.org/educators-fight-for-rights-as-trump-threats-pursue-students-workers-immigrants/.
9. ^[1] “U.S. Department of Education Continues to Improve Federal Student Loan Repayment Options, Addresses Illegal Biden Administration Actions.” U.S. Department of Education, July 9, 2025. https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-continues-improve-federal-student-loan-repayment-options-addresses-illegal-biden-administration-actions.
10. “Education Support Professional Bill of Rights.” Maryland State Education Association, 2025. https://marylandeducators.org/education-support-professional-bill-of-rights/.
11. Newton, Casey. “2025 MSEA Racial Social Justice Summit – Maryland State Education Association.” Maryland State Education Association, June 26, 2025. https://marylandeducators.org/2025-msea-racial-social-justice-summit/.
12. Blair Imani. Accessed September 22, 2025. https://www.blairimani.com/.
13. Easter, Katie. “Protesters Arrested after Death of Alton Sterling Finally Moving on after Lawsuit Settlement.” WBRZ, February 16, 2023. https://www.wbrz.com/news/protesters-arrested-after-death-of-alton-sterling-finally-moving-on-after-lawsuit-settlement/.
14.  Sears, Bryan P. “Teachers Union to Sue Hogan over Apple Logo.” Maryland Daily Record, September 21, 2018. https://thedailyrecord.com/2018/09/20/teachers-to-sue-hogan-over-apple-logo/.
15. Cox, Erin. “Judge: Hogan Campaign May Use Apple Logos in Reelection Materials.” The Washington Post, October 1, 2018. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/judge-hogan-campaign-may-use-apple-logos-in-reelection-materials/2018/10/01/c95068e0-c5bf-11e8-b2b5-79270f9cce17_story.html.
16. Wiggins, Ovetta. “Hogan Calls Teachers Union Officials ‘Thugs’ on Facebook.” The Washington Post, August 6, 2016. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/hogan-calls-teachers-union-officials-thugs-on-social-facebook/2016/08/06/16c6adce-5c03-11e6-9aee-8075993d73a2_story.html.
17. “Maryland State Education Association.” ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. Accessed September 22, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/520607919.