House Education Votes on Dozens of Bills Including Runaway Voucher Expansion Bills – 3 Headed to the Floor Next Week
This week, the New Hampshire House Education Committee split 10-10 on five bills that would dramatically expand our state’s voucher program to universal eligibility or very close to it: HB 1561; HB 1634; HB 1652; HB 1665; and HB 1677.
Three voucher expansion bills will go to the floor for a full vote in the House of Representatives next week. They are:
- HB 1561 – lifts the income eligibility entirely for 9 very broad categories essentially making this a universal voucher bill
- HB 1634 – makes our voucher program a universal one by simply lifting the income cap entirely for any K-12 eligible student
- HB 1665 – would increase the income eligibility to up to 500% of the Federal Poverty Level, which is approximately $150,000 for a family of four.
Instead of sending more taxpayer money to private and religious schools, we should focus on our neighborhood public schools – which are attended by nearly 90% of New Hampshire students. NEA-New Hampshire urges the House of Representatives to reject efforts to dramatically expand vouchers or institute universal vouchers.
Major Hearings Next Week
HB 1298 – House Version of Part-Time Teacher Bill
ACTION REQUESTED: Sign in to OPPOSE HB 1298, which is being heard in the House Education Committee on Monday, February 5th at 12:45 pm. Please find step-by-step instructions to sign in below.
HB 1298 is very similar to a Senate bill heard recently that we reported on and testified against. It would create the status of a “part-time” teacher in state statute. Further, it would provide that any teacher or paraprofessional who works less than 30 hours a week would not be required to hold a credential from the state board of education, provided that they be subject to the educator code of conduct and had not had a license revoked or denied because of another provision in law.
The bill lacks any other eligibility requirements that might help someone without any classroom experience be successful with students.
SB 526 – Students Can’t Learn When Temperatures are Too Extreme
ACTION REQUESTED: Please sign in to SUPPORT SB 526 being heard in SENATE Education on Tuesday, February 6th at 9:00 am. Please find step-by-step instructions to sign in below.
Anyone who has taught in a sweltering classroom, handing out cool cloths, knows the negative impact extreme temperatures have on students’ ability to learn.
With an expected amendment, SB 526 would require school districts to develop and implement a classroom temperature control plan. The plan shall include procedures to maintain classrooms temperatures between 68 degrees and 75 degrees Fahrenheit during heating months and between 72 degrees and 79 degrees Fahrenheit during cooling months, to the maximum extent practical. The plan would also have to include procedures for closing classrooms when temperatures are below 60 degrees Fahrenheit or above 88 degrees Fahrenheit.
The amending language for this bill would also appropriate money to aid school districts with complete facility assessments that cover a variety of air quality and other building factors that can impact learning as well as the health and safety of students and staff.
HB 1473 – Extreme Anti-Public Education Politicians Seek to Ban “Social-Emotional Learning” from Public Schools
ACTION REQUESTED: Sign in to OPPOSE HB 1473, which is being heard in the House Education Committee on Monday, February 5th at 10:15 am. Please find step-by-step instructions to sign in below.
This effort to prohibit the teaching of social-emotional learning in schools would ban “Any evidence-based or non-evidence-based programming that promotes school and/or civic engagement and/or builds an equitable learning framework that creates or uses evidence-based benchmarks, standards, surveys, activities, learning indicators, programs, policies, processes, professional development, or assessments that address non-cognitive social factors including but not limited to self-awareness, self-management, social-awareness, relationship skills, responsible decision making, and/or other attributes, dispositions, social skills attitudes, behaviors, beliefs, feelings, emotions, mindsets, metacognitive learning skills, motivation, grit, self-regulation, tenacity, perseverance, resilience, and/or intrapersonal resources.”
HB 1162 – Repeal New Hampshire’s Vague “Banned Concepts” Law
ACTION REQUESTED: Sign in to SUPPORT HB 1162, which is being heard in the House Education Committee on Tuesday, February 6th at 11 am. Please find step-by-step instructions to sign in below.
NEA-New Hampshire continues to oppose this vague law that stifles the honest and accurate education Granite State students need to build bright futures.
Conservative Culture War Bills Target LGBTQ+ Students and Curriculum – Please Register Your Opposition!
Please find step-by-step instructions to sign in below.
- HB 1185: Please sign in to OPPOSE HB 1185, which would limit sex education curriculum and who is allowed to teach it, before the public hearing in the House Education Committee on Monday, February 5th at 9:30 am.
- HB 1312: Please sign in to OPPOSE HB 1312, which would expand the notification requirement for objectionable material beyond sex education, before the public hearing in the House Education Committee on Tuesday, February 6th at 9:30 am.
- HB 1356: Before the public hearing in the House Education Committee on Tuesday, February 6th at 10:15am, please sign in to OPPOSE HB 1356, which would prohibit public school employees from using a name or pronouns to refer to a student that don’t match the name or pronouns listed on their birth certificate without written permission from the student’s parents or guardian.
- HB 1643-FN LOCAL: Before the public hearing in the House Education Committee on Tuesday, February 6th at 1:45 pm, please sign in to OPPOSE HB 1643, an onerous bill that would require school districts to make curriculum and instructional materials available on their web pages.
Questions?
If you have questions on any of these bills or ones not mentioned here, please feel free to contact Brian Hawkins, NEA-NH Director of Government Relations at bhawkins@nhnea.org.
Need help signing in on legislation? Follow these comprehensive instructions (details for public hearings are contained in each action request).
For House Bills:
- Visit this link: https://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/committees/remotetestimony/default.aspx
- Enter your personal information
- Select the hearing date
- Select the committee
- Choose the bill
- I am – A member of the public
- Choose who you are representing – Myself
- Indicate your position on this bill
- Upload remote testimony (Optional)
- Review information and click submit
For Senate bills:
- Go to https://bit.ly/3S4Cof1 and click the date that the bill you are interested in is being heard
- Select the committee that is hearing the bill
- Select the bill you are interested in
- Select a category – Member of the Public
- Indicate your position on this bill
- Click continue
- Enter your name and contact information
- Click continue
- Carefully review the information to ensure it is entered correctly. If it is correct, check the box and click continue