Nearly 7,000 determined educators assembled in Portland, Ore., in early July for the 104th National Education Association (NEA) Representative Assembly (RA). Like at the many meetings before, their charge was to create a roadmap for the association for the next year and beyond, including drafting and debating new policies, and adopting a strategic plan and budget, amongst other tasks. But against the backdrop of an unprecedented, ferocious assault on public education, the assembly convened this year amid a greater sense of urgency.
“I am so energized now. We are standing strong,” said NEA President Becky Pringle as she opened the assembly on July 3. “We are here to save public education and save democracy,” and that will take even more resilience, power and respect—the theme of this year’s RA.
Over the course of the four-day meeting, delegates, in addition to conducting regular business, were briefed on the perilous threat facing our schools and institutions, and, in an unprecedented move, they turned the final day of the RA into an all-day training to elevate their advocacy and voices when they return home.
On the first day, news reached the delegates that the U.S. House of Representatives passed President Trump’s budget bill, which slashes funding for education, health care, and nutrition. Pringle called the bill a “travesty” but, in her keynote address urged the delegates, in the face of exhaustion, to dig deep and continue to lead the way against this multi-pronged attack on our democracy and our schools. The next 12 months, leading up to the 2026 elections, are going to be pivotal.
“This is an intentional, coordinated campaign to strip away the very tools that challenge power, demand justice, and preserve democracy,” Pringle said. “As they work to destroy public education, and then profit from the wreckage, this administration wants to lock in policies that will take generations to undo…Delegates, I need you to understand that we are in a prolonged fight—one that cannot end on the last day of this RA.”
Seven Important Verbs
“Our country is depending on us—on this community—to lead the way,” Pringle continued, “from dogmatism back to decency and democracy. NEA, we must lead the way from callousness and the castigation of society’s at-risk communities. It is up to us to lead the way toward the care, consideration and compassion that is everyone’s right.”
Pringle outlined a multi-faceted strategy that rests on “seven important verbs”: Educate. Communicate. Organize. Mobilize. Litigate. Legislate. Elect.
“NEA, I need you to remember these verbs. Action words. Then, I ask that you decide every day what you will do; which actions you will take!” Pringle said.
But to mobilize effectively against the forces trying to dismantle our institutions, we need to understand the strategy we are up against, NEA Executive Director Kim Anderson told the delegates in her address. Anderson explained that their methodology rests on four C’s: chaos, control, cruelty, and corruption. It is a treacherous strategy that has victimized millions while lining the pockets of the wealthiest few, Anderson said.
"The most potent contribution NEA could make ...is through organizing and mobilizing millions of Americans to resist … to say NO … to say our democracy and our public schools belong to us!” Anderson told the delegates.
“We are nearly 3 million strong,” she continued. “If each of us could activate just one person, we’d have nearly 6 million people. And if each of those mobilized just one more, we’d be 12 million allies in the fight. NEA, this is the biggest movement moment since the Civil War. And together, we are courageous.”
What is at Stake
NEA members are no strangers to challenges, 2025 Education Support Professional of the Year Andy Markus said in his address to the assembly, and, as always, they will meet the moment.
“No matter what curveballs people throw at us, we are still showing up every day to care for our students, colleagues, and communities,” Markus said. “We are at school board meetings, state houses, rallies, and more, doing everything we can to advocate for better learning environments for our students and better working environments for ourselves.”
In her address to the RA, 2025 National Teacher of the Year Ashlie Crosson, said everyone in the convention hall, and indeed all public school educators, know what is at stake for American education—and that we must come together to preserve it.
“We are the guardians—not just of our curricula and our classrooms—but of the conditions that allow our schools to thrive,” she said. “I say this with full conviction, every day, but especially today: Protecting education is how we protect our democracy.”
2025 NEA Representative Assembly Highlights
2025 Higher Educator of the Year Teresa M. Hodge echoed these inspirational messages in her address. Hodge pledged to “boldly and unapologetically shine the light of truth where there are lies and use my voice to bring awareness to and for higher ed issues across this nation.”
“May we all learn to build the same kind of resilience our ancestors did as we face of our current adversities; may we endeavor to build our power through allyship with our community partners, and may we continue to fight for the respect we deserve as professionals in our respective fields regardless of our classifications,” Hodge exhorted delegates.
This year’s NEA Friend of Education Award was presented to Dr. Josh Cowen, distinguished author, professor, and national expert on private school vouchers. In accepting the award, Cowen said the stakes couldn’t be higher. “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for everyone. Not just the wealthy and the well-connected. All of us.”
Celebrating Ulysses Floyd and a Decade of Racial and Social Justice Work
On Day 1, the Assembly took time to honor the extraordinary legacy of NEA member Ulysses Floyd, who passed away in 2024. Floyd entered the classroom in 1958 and made a lasting impact on students, teachers, education support staff and union members across Florida. Floyd attended 50 straight RAs, his last being in Orlando in 2023.
This year’s RA also commemorated the ten-year anniversary of the adoption of New Business Item (NBI) B, which recognized the role that institutional racism plays in our society, including in our schools. Passed at the 2015 RA, NBI-B directed NEA to spotlight patterns of systemic racism and educational injustice that impact students, and to take action to remedy them so that all students have greater access and opportunity to a great education.
Organizing and Mobilizing to Win
All four days of the RA are usually dedicated to debating new NBIs. But, as the old saying goes, extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. Delegates did work though a large stack of NBIs, but on the first day of the RA—in an unprecedented move—they voted to finish regular business early and spend the fourth day preparing their members to organize and take action for public schools and democracy.
“I am asking you to lean into that power with an understanding that your role as leaders requires continuous learning,” Pringle said. “We are building the capacity for the actions that will be required ahead. Let’s use this time to gain the knowledge and critical skills that we will take back to our communities.”
The trainings covered a range of topics, including effective in-person and digital advocacy, fighting vouchers and privatization, promoting inclusive and just schools, protecting immigrant students and building power for the common good. Delegates were quick to sign up, with most sessions reaching capacity within hours of registration opening.
