This Week: Draconian House Budget Leaves Finance Committee; Goes to Full Floor Vote
The House Finance Committee finished its work this week on their changes to the state budget. On a 14 – 11 party line vote, the Committee is recommending a draconian state budget that slashes programs and positions while at the same time expanding the unaccountable state voucher program to give your hard-earned tax dollars to wealthy people who already send their kids to elite private schools.
This budget shifts major expenses onto working families, including downshifting costs onto families to pay for adult and for children’s Medicaid (CHIP), eliminating entire state agencies, slashing funding for higher education, cutting funding for programs that support the developmentally disabled – and more.
Mandatory Statewide School Budget Cap
The House Finance Committee’s budget proposal also includes an extreme, school budget cap that would be mandated on local school districts, effectively freezing or decreasing school budgets in perpetuity unless they could muster a 2/3 supermajority override vote. If this mandate is forced on school districts against voter will, it will make negotiating any future educator contracts with pay increases nearly impossible without having to layoff existing staff, slash benefits, or cut programs.
We can’t let out-of-touch politicians undermine local control and jeopardize the future of public education in New Hampshire. Act now to STOP the mandatory statewide school budget cap by telling you state representative(s) to remove this mandate from the budget!
Unlimited Private School Vouchers
Despite revenues crashing due to years of politicians prioritizing tax cuts for businesses and wealthy people, the House Finance committee is still insisting on expanding the state’s unaccountable school voucher scheme. Eliminating the income eligibility requirement for vouchers will siphon more public money away from our local schools. In states with unlimited voucher programs, financial support for public schools has declined because state budgets have been decimated by the runaway costs of subsidizing a second, private, education system.
Mandatory Statewide Open Enrollment
The House budget bill also contains a mandatory open enrollment provision, which would require every school district to accept students from anywhere in the state. This mandate would exacerbate New Hampshire’s already inequitable school funding system by creating a situation where wealthier districts would attempt to poach students from less wealthy communities.
Last Minute Amendment Targets Welcoming Schools
Finally, on the last major day of work on the budget, House Finance Committee Republicans added a provision that creates a prohibition on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in public institutions. This is a copy-cat of Trump’s Executive Order and states “No public school shall implement, promote, or otherwise engage in any DEI-related initiatives, programs, training, or policies.” This late amendment never had a public hearing, is extraordinarily broad with no telling what programs or groups this could apply to and has no business in the state budget.
This amendment also makes the Commissioner of Education the sole person who determines whether a school district has violated the law, giving them the ability to withhold state funds if they decide that a school district is non-compliant. This end-run parliamentary procedure is almost exactly how we got the “banned concepts” law which was determined to be unconstitutional by a federal judge.
Next Week: Major Bills “Crossover” for Another Round of Public Hearings
Several major bills that passed the chamber they originated in are having their public hearings in the other chamber’s policy committee this week. Because of this, please note that the hearings indicated below will be in the opposite chamber this time.
HB 741 – Mandatory Open Enrollment
ACTION REQUEST: Please sign in TO OPPOSE HB 741, the mandatory open enrollment bill that is being heard in the Senate Education Committee on Thursday, April 10th at 9:45am. (full instructions below)
HB 741 would essentially create an open enrollment public school system, which we do not believe that New Hampshire is able to enact currently. The State only contributes less than a third of the revenue spent on funding our public schools, leaving local property taxpayers responsible for picking up the lion’s share of the costs. This dynamic creates a larger disparity between school districts that are considered property wealthy and those that are property poor when it comes to delivery of a robust public education.
HB 324 – Book Ban Legislation
ACTION REQUEST: Please sign in to OPPOSE HB 324, the book ban bill that is being heard in the Senate Education Committee on Thursday, April 10th at 9:30am. (full instructions below)
HB 324 is unnecessary because we already have an objectionable materials law for our public schools which allows ANY parent to opt their child out of any required coursework, curriculum, or material. Like a lot of culture war bills, HB 324 would go way beyond parental opt-out by potentially imposing one parent’s objections on others. Additionally, this bill imposes potential criminal and licensure penalties for educators in what is otherwise another vaguely-established process written by national interests attempting to pass this cookie-cutter legislation in other states.
HB 90 – Creating an Unlicensed Part-Time Teacher Status
ACTION REQUESTED: Please sign-in to OPPOSE HB 90 being heard in the Senate Education Committee on Thursday, April 10th at 9:15am. (full instructions below)
The House is sending HB 90 to the Senate with a few changes. This bill as originally written creates the status of a part-time unlicensed teacher if they work no more than 20 hours, seek a criminal history records check, adhere to a code of conduct, and are employed or contracted as a full-time or adjunct faculty member by the university system or the community college system. The amendment only adds some soft additional requirements around those who may teach in a dual and concurrent enrollment class, but there are no time limits or pathways toward the benefits of licensure. Unfortunately, a bipartisan amendment offered by the sponsor to narrow the scope of the bill was rejected.
SB 72 – Senate Parental Rights Bill
ACTION REQUESTED: Please sign in to OPPOSE SB 72, a so-called “parental bill of rights” that is being heard in House Children & Family Law Committee on Tuesday, April 8, 2025 at 1:15pm. (full instructions below)
SB 72 is the Senate version of the so-called “Parent Bill of Rights.” Like its House counterpart, SB 72 contains vague language regarding the rights and ability for parents to file litigation against public schools if a broad set of rights are “infringed” upon. In addition, the Senate added a provision around answering parental inquiries that we believe is vague and unworkable.
SB 96 – Mandatory Disclosure/Forced Outing Bill
ACTION REQUESTED: Please sign in to OPPOSE SB 96, a forced outing bill that is being heard in the House Education Policy and Administration Committee on Wednesday, April 9 at 2:00pm! (full instructions below)
SB 96 is the exact same bill from last year that was an outgrowth of a Senate parental rights bill provision, requiring educators to be agents for the forced “outing” of a student. Like the unconstitutional “banned concepts” law, this culture war bill targets educators with the threat of a violation of the Educator Code of Conduct. Proponents say this is just requiring educators to be honest, but we know the undercurrent of what this bill is.
NEA-NH Bill Tracker
You can also follow all the bills we are watching next week by checking out our NEA-NH bill tracker.
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.