State affiliates of either the NEA or AFT do not directly engage in political activity. Instead, they form PACS to which individuals contribute directly. PACS are required by law to submit annual financial reports to the appropriate state election commission. The reports provide information on the source of revenues as well as the source of expenditures, including support for candidates to positions at the state and local levels. The financial reports then become public information.
States vary in the length of time they hold the financial reports.
REL project members have identified the number and name of all educational PACS by state. The number of education PACS vary across states from 1 to 171. The revenues and expenditures of each education PAC within the 50 states are being collected. The time frame for the PAC data differs across the states depending upon the availability of data. 990 Forms Nonprofit organizations are required by law to file annual financial statements to the Internal Revenue Service.