CONCORD, NH – Today, the New Hampshire Senate voted 13-10 in support of ‘Ought to Pass’ on HB 1312, which would dramatically extend the state’s current 2-week notice requirement for objectionable materials to include any curriculum related to sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or gender expression. This bill would create an unworkable standard that would leave educators wondering what course material could apply to the notice requirements that traditionally had been focused on sex education and health classes.
HB 1312 next goes to Governor Sununu.
Megan Tuttle, President of NEA-New Hampshire, provided the following statement after the vote:
“It is alarming to see lawmakers supporting yet another attempt to chill classroom conversations by broadly and vaguely expanding the state’s two-week notice requirements for so-called “objectionable material” related to gender and sexual orientation. HB 1312 is so vague it could require a two-week notification for a math worksheet that mentions someone’s gender.
Educators and families work well together to support students, but this bill inserts politics into those critical relationships and could put teachers and support staff in impossible positions in determining which actions or conversations could put them or a student in jeopardy. NEA-New Hampshire urges Governor Sununu to veto HB 1312.”
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About NEA-New Hampshire
NEA-New Hampshire is the largest union of public employees in the state. Founded in 1854, the New Hampshire State Teachers Association became one of the “founding ten” state education associations that formed the National Education Association in 1857. Known today as NEA-NH, our mission to advocate for the children of New Hampshire and public-school employees, and to promote lifelong learning, remains true after more than 165 years. Our members are public school employees in all stages of their careers, including classroom teachers and other certified professionals, staff and instructors at public higher education institutions, students preparing for a teaching career, education support personnel and those retired from the profession.