The gay rights lobby exercises more influence at each successive NEA convention. This year, the Virginia Uribe Award for Creative Leadership in Human Rights was presented at the NEA's human rights dinner to Kevin Jennings of the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network (GLSEN), whose stated goals "extend to incorporating homosexual concepts into all curriculum."

Jennings is remembered as the keynote speaker at an infamous GLSEN conference at Tufts University in 2000 which caused a huge furor in Boston when it became known that HIV/AIDS coordinators had discussed ways to perform various homosexual acts with teenage students.

GLSEN's publications state that its mission is "about changing schools and school culture around [homosexual] issues and people." Its website says that its goals extend to "holding diversity seminars for teachers and students and ensuring that only positive discussions about homosexuality are allowed into elementary school classrooms, including kindergarten."

The NEA maintains a Standing Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identification, which provides elaborate reports of its activities to the convention. This committee monitors the implementation of the NEA's recommendations in regard to sexual orientation and diversity.