This Week’s Re-Cap and What You Can Do Next: Action Links and Book Events!
Thank you to all those who sent in testimony this week on several extremely important bills! We had hearings for bills related to school funding, expanding the code of conduct to include responsibility to parents, creating a permanent part-time unlicensed teacher status, our first bill restricting cell phone use, and anti-union legislation.
With every bill we had great huge numbers of NEA-NH members signing in and writing incredible testimony that only educators can deliver!
None of these bills have been voted on in committee but could be this upcoming week so if you did not yet get a chance to contact the committee with testimony, you can find all the members of the House Education Policy & Administration Committee, and their contract information, using our legislative tracking tool.
Bills heard this week that you can contact House Education Policy & Administration Committee members on:
- HB 90 [OPPOSE]– The newest version of the part-time teacher bill that seeks to weaken the standards of our profession and could negatively impact the education our students receive.
- HB 131 [SUPPORT] – would require school boards to develop and enact a policy regarding cell phone use in schools. The bill should be made stronger though to make it easier to enforce.
- HB 235 [OPPOSE] – This bill would give the NH Department of Education the ability to expand the code of conduct to include an unknown set of responsibilities to parents (not just students as it does today).
In addition, the House Education Funding Committee still has the universal voucher expansion bill. Click here to contact your state representatives and urge them to reject efforts to divert more public dollars away from public schools.
As state lawmakers consider universal vouchers, NEA-New Hampshire is thrilled to host two events with author and scholar Josh Cowen about the harmful impact of voucher programs on public education. We hope you can join us for one of these events at a local bookstore near you:
- Wednesday, January 29 at 3:30 PM: Author event at MainStreet BookEnds– 16 East Main Street in Warner
- Wednesday, January 29 at 6:00 PM: Book signing at Toadstool Bookshops – 12 Depot Square in Peterborough
Next Week’s Hearing Highlights: New Attack on Local Unions; State Mandated School Budget Cuts; Air Quality in Buildings; and Required Statewide Open Enrollment Schools
There is almost too much to mention in one e-mail for next week so here are the top four bills to register your position or submit testimony on for next week:
HB 735 – Extreme Legislators Trying to Attack Your Local Union
HB 735 would force a re-certification vote just to maintain your local union if the original employees who formed the union no longer make up a majority of the unit. So even if your local has 100% membership, this bill would essentially force a re-vote to have your union simply because it has been around for some time. This is one of the cookie-cutter bills that billionaire funded anti-labor organizations try to push in state legislatures to attack unions and collective bargaining. This sort of bill is only designed for one thing: wasting local union time and resources instead of advocating for better wages and working conditions for their members.
HB 329 – Help Improve Air Quality and Address Extreme Temperatures in School Buildings
HB 329 requires school boards to develop air quality policies and plans to minimize or eliminate poor indoor air quality and temperature conditions. The bill would also require schools to implement the U.S. EPA Tools for Schools program to help provide and maintain good indoor air quality in public school buildings. NEA-NH supported legislation last year to make progress on the issue of air quality and extreme temperatures in schools, but the bill fell short of getting to the governor’s desk. Let’s get a newly revamped bill across the finish line this year to make a positive difference for staff and students!
HB 675 – House Majority Leader Files Bill to Undermine Local Control and Mandate School Budget Cuts
After Kearsarge Regional School District voters overwhelmingly voted to protect public education in their community, House Majority Leader Jason Osborne said “Perhaps, if they’re unwilling to cap themselves, the state will step in and cap local taxes for them.” Now, he’s trying to make good on that threat. While HB 675 would increase the statewide property tax to fund a higher amount of base aid to local school districts, it would then handcuff them to a strict formula limiting their budgets, forcing dramatic reductions to local schools. This kind of extreme legislation is anti-democratic, anti-public education, anti-student and will hurt the nearly 90% of students in New Hampshire who attend their local public school.
SB 101 – Bill Requiring Open Enrollment Would Leave School Districts Further Behind
SB 101 would require every school to adopt an open enrollment policy to allow students to transfer among schools within the district, from another district in the state, or in any state that has an interstate compact with New Hampshire that does not require nonresident pupils to pay an application fee or tuition. New Hampshire’s school funding is so inequitable that forcing school districts to adopt these policies would incentivize wealthier school districts to poach students from other less well funded school districts to maximize per pupil funding at the expense of other districts; leaving poorer school districts even further behind. New Hampshire needs to fix its current school funding model before it can even consider anything like this bill.
NEA-NH Legislative Advocacy Toolkit
Most of the tools you need to be a legislative advocate for public education are right at your fingertips through NEA-New Hampshire. Check out our new NEA-NH Legislative Advocacy Toolkit here to get all the information you need on how to communicate with your state representatives and senators, support and oppose specific bills, and testify in Concord.
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:
1. Visit this link: https://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/committees/remotetestimony/default.aspx
2. Enter your personal information
3. Select the hearing date
4. Select the committee
5. Choose the bill
6. I am – A member of the public
7. Choose who you are representing – Myself
8. Indicate your position on this bill
9. Upload remote testimony (Optional)
10. Review information and click submit
For Senate bills:
1. Go to https://bit.ly/3S4Cof1 and click the date that the bill you are interested in is being heard
2. Select the committee that is hearing the bill
3. Select the bill you are interested in
4. Select a category – Member of the Public
5. Indicate your position on this bill
6. Click continue
7. Enter your name and contact information
8. Click continue
9. Carefully review the information to ensure it is entered correctly. If it is correct, check the box and click continue.