Megan Tuttle is the president of NEA-NH.

As the 2025 New Hampshire legislative session kicks off, educators are bracing for what could be a pivotal year for our students, our classrooms and our profession. As the president of NEA-New Hampshire, I represent thousands of educators across the state, many of whom feel like their voices are being increasingly drowned out by political forces that do not understand the daily challenges we face.

New Hampshire’s public schools have weathered a global pandemic, navigated staffing shortages and dealt with an escalating mental health crisis that affects both students and educators. Despite these struggles, we have remained committed to the students we serve. We are ready to defend the rights of educators, advocate for better funding and ensure that every student has access to the resources they need to build a bright future.

At the core of our union’s strength is our ability to advocate for our members and our students. There are already at least two bills filed this legislative session attacking unions and collective bargaining, including the perennial so-called “right-to-work” bill. These initiatives would erode our collective voice and make it harder for us to advocate for better working conditions, fair pay and improved resources for our students. We will fight these efforts tooth and nail because, without a strong voice, educators lose the ability to push for the changes our schools desperately need.

New Hampshire’s public schools are a bedrock of opportunity, serving students from all backgrounds and providing them with the resources and support they need to succeed. The funding challenges we already face because of insufficient investment from the state are exacerbated when we divert public dollars to programs that do not meet the same standards.

We cannot afford to abandon our public schools in favor of private institutions that do not serve the same diverse student body. We must reject efforts to expand vouchers and ensure our tax dollars are spent on the nearly 90% of New Hampshire students, including 95% of students with special education, needs who attend our public schools. We should not be subsidizing private institutions with little oversight.

We have long fought for more equitable funding for our schools, but too many legislators are content with the status quo. This remains true despite repeated court rulings showing that New Hampshire has not fulfilled its constitutional requirement to adequately fund public education. Instead of looking to fix the fundamental issue of underfunding, some lawmakers have chosen to perpetuate a harmful narrative that teachers and schools are somehow the problem.

While several proposed bills could alter the funding formula or redefine what constitutes an “adequate education,” many of these proposals seem designed to reduce state support. This is unacceptable. Now is the time for lawmakers to push for fair and equitable funding for public schools. We must prioritize robust funding for public education, including special education, without further diverting funds to private schools.

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This legislative session we will also see the return of culture war bills aimed at politicizing education, including so-called “parental rights” bills, classroom censorship efforts and book bans. These initiatives not only create unnecessary division but also undermine the professional judgment of educators. Teachers should not be used as pawns in a political game. Our job is to provide students with the tools they need to think critically, engage with diverse perspectives and learn about the world around them. We will fight against any attempt to limit the scope of what we can teach, and we will protect the right of students to learn in an inclusive, respectful and open environment.

Another significant threat on the horizon is the continued push to weaken the teaching profession. Attempts to allow unlicensed teachers who lack credentials or training are not a solution to the educator shortage. Instead, lowering standards for teachers undermines the quality of education our students receive. We need policies that raise the bar for educators, not ones that lower it to meet budget lines. As educators, our number-one job is to create a sound and effective learning environment. Every day we see the impact of cell phones, extreme temperatures and poor air quality in school buildings on students’ and our own health and ability to focus on learning.

We look forward to working with lawmakers as they consider policies that improve student learning environments. Educators face a challenging legislative landscape, but we are not alone in this fight. As recently demonstrated by voters in the Kearsarge Regional School District, communities overwhelmingly support their local public schools and are committed to protecting public education. Together, we can send a powerful message to lawmakers that New Hampshire’s future depends on investing in its public schools and ensuring that our state is a place where all students are given the opportunity to succeed.