Citing the United States Supreme Court cases decided this week allowing for businesses to discriminate against LGBTQ citizens, eliminating affirmative action in higher education admissions, and disallowing President Biden’s student loan debt relief, NEA-NH President Megan Tuttle said today, “This Court is out of step with a majority of Americans.”
“As New Hampshire faces a shortage of teachers and support staff, the state is struggling to establish policies that attract people into the profession and his ruling shrinks the pool of potential educators.” NEA-NH believes that educators and education employees should look like the communities where they work. The Court this week closed college and university doors to millions of Americans by eliminating affirmative action.,” said Tuttle. “For centuries, minority families were relegated to generational poverty because the higher education needed to advance socially and economically was denied to them. Affirmative action is used to give all Americans the opportunity to get ahead.
“College debt is breaking the backs not only of students but also their parents. It denies them any opportunity to buy a home or start a family. For too many years educators were undercompensated for their work. The teaching profession is less attractive to students because of the historical low pay in the education field. Student loan forgiveness was one-way middle-class families could achieve their dreams of both a higher education and the ability to start their post-education lives unburdened by oppressive debt.,” continued Tuttle.
“The Supreme Court decision allowing discrimination was based on a set of facts that did not exist. It is inconceivable that this court would allow millions of our fellow citizens to be discriminated against based on something that never happened. Legalizing discrimination is unjustifiable. Doing so based on fantasy is even worse.,” concluded Tuttle.
NEA-NH is the largest union in the State of New Hampshire. It represents over 17,000 teachers, education support staff, and retired educators.