Universal Vouchers Now Law of the Land; 500 Applications in the First Day
On Tuesday, Governor Kelly Ayotte signed SB 295 into law, eliminating income caps for the state’s unaccountable private school voucher program. We know limitless vouchers will take millions of dollars out of public schools to subsidize private education for a few at the expense of nearly 90% of students who attend community public schools. SB 295 took effect immediately; on just the first day of New Hampshire’s new universal voucher system, 500 applications were filed—a number constituting more than 10% of current voucher recipients.
Despite this discouraging development, New Hampshire educators and families will continue to advocate for policies and budgets that provide school resources based on what students need—not where they live.
Ayotte Scapegoats Educators and Targets LGBTQ+ Students, Signs So-Called “Parental Bill of Rights” into Law
On the same day as the universal voucher bill signing, Governor Ayotte also signed HB 10 into law. While parents and educators already communicate well to support their students, some anti-public education and anti-LGBTQ+ lawmakers are inserting their personal politics into these critical relationships. Of particular concern for educators is the language of the bill around certain “rights” that are undefined and how this law could be enforced with licensed educators. This law takes effect on July 1, 2025; please stay tuned for more information in the coming weeks.
Committees of Conference Begin
When the House and Senate pass a bill from the other chamber with an amendment, that change must be agreed to (or “concurred” with) by the originating body. If the original chamber does not agree with the changes, but they are willing to negotiate a compromise, that takes place in a Committee of Conference. The Senate President and Speaker of the House each name conferees to attempt to negotiate a compromise version of the bill that would go back to each chamber for a final up or down vote. If the conferees cannot reach agreement, then the bill dies.
HB 2 – Major Issues at Stake for Education in State Budget Negotiations
The most consequential bill facing the Committee of Conference negotiations is the state budget trailer bill, HB 2. The House and Senate began negotiations this week on a potential compromise between their two versions of the state budget. Some of the major components at issue for educators up for debate are:
- Special Education Aid: The House took special education aid out of the Education Trust Fund to be like any other generally funded item, while the Senate put special education and other public education costs back under the Education Trust Fund.
- Mandatory Open Enrollment: The Senate eliminated some of the ancillary bills that the House stuffed into HB 2, including the mandatory open enrollment language.
- Universal Voucher Expansion: Both House and Senate budget proposals contained universal voucher language. The Governor has already signed an independent bill, SB 295, into law. Now the only question the budget conferees must answer is how much they estimate the cost to be or if they will make any changes to the program at all.
- Ban on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: The Senate budget proposal included a slightly modified version of the House provision to prohibit diversity, equity, and inclusion “programs” or “initiatives” in public schools.
- Education Funding Formula: The House and Senate each passed a slightly different version of the education funding formula, which determines the per pupil and other state aid that school communities receive for the next two years. The House put more money into the per pupil differentiated aid for special education but did so by capping some of the other state aid programs, whereas the Senate essentially kept the same formula established in the last biennium. The conferees will have to decide which plan to move forward with or develop a compromise plan. We are watching this very closely as it can impact what local budgets will look like in the coming years.
The Committee of Conference has only until June 19 to hammer out an agreement that would then go to each chamber to vote on June 26.
Senate Budget Conferees: Sharon Carson, James Gray, Cindy Rosenwald, Regina Birdsell
House Budget Conferees: (C) Kenneth Weyler, Dan McGuire, Joe Sweeney, Jose Cambrils, Mary Jane Wallner, Keith Erf, Erica Layon, Maureen Mooney, Jason Osborne, John Janigian
Additional Anti-Public Education Bills in Committees of Conference
The following bills are some of the biggest outstanding bills that are going to Committee of Conference and could change or die depending on what happens. Please take a look at each bill and take the time to contact your legislators about each:
SB 96 has to do with the required disclosure of information when a parent makes a written request to a licensed educator. The bill has similar language to one section of the recently signed so-called “parental bill of rights”, though it specifically lays out that violations of this law are violations of the Educator Code of Conduct. However, the House also added a substantial amendment that included some draconian penalties for violations of the larger parental rights bill. Please contact Senate conferees today to ask them to reject this entire bill, instead of adding draconian investigation procedures and penalties on educators.
Senate Conferees: (C) Timothy Lang, Victoria Sullivan, Suzanne Prentiss
House Conferees: Glenn Cordelli, Kristin Noble, Kelley Potenza, Lisa Freeman
SB 210 came to the House as a legislative study bill on bullying in schools but was amended to rewrite the state’s bullying law, without proper vetting and public input. While the House had added language around mandatory open enrollment, both sides have agreed that any agreement would only include the topic of bullying and not open enrollment, which is being dealt with in the budget bill. Now that the bill has been transformed in this way, please contact Senate conferees and ask that they kill SB 210 unless it reverts back to only a study of the issue.
Senate Conferees: (C) Ruth Ward, Victoria Sullivan, Donovan Fenton
House Conferees: Glenn Cordelli, Kristin Noble, Margaret Drye, Lisa Freeman
SB 213 was a bill about proof of identification when requesting an absentee ballot, but the House gutted that language and put in the language of HB 340 which the Senate had previously dispatched earlier this session. If passed, that language would place new vague restrictions on public employees’ rights to advocate for a candidate or local ballot questions, including the funding of their collective bargaining agreement during the school district meeting season. Please tell Senate conferees to continue to oppose this sort of legislation because unnecessarily broadening the public employee electioneering law could negatively impact your right to make your voice heard.
Senate Conferees: (C) James Gray, Timothy Lang, Rebecca Perkins Kwoka
House Conferees: Ross Berry, James Qualey, Claudine Burnham, Travis Toner
SB 206, as amended, would require school districts to have a policy around the use of personal electronic communication devices in schools, including cellphones. The House amendment meets some of the core principles we urged the Legislature to address in a state law around cellphones in schools, including language requiring school district policies to explicitly prohibit the use of personal electronic communication devices throughout the day. The Senate version specified cell phone use but only required a policy to govern the use of those devices. You can compare versions by using our bill tracker link on SB 206.
Senate Conferees: (C) Ruth Ward, Denise Ricciardi, Donovan Fenton
House Conferees: Glenn Cordelli, Kristin Noble, Melissa Litchfield, Brian Nadeau
Senate Kills Health Insurance Risk Pool Legislation
The House had amended the Senate’s version of SB 297 to create two possible routes a risk pool could be regulated under, the Secretary of State or the Insurance Department, depending on the risk pool organization’s business model. But the Senate decided to non-concur and not negotiate a compromise. The bill could come back as a new bill next session.
More Bills!
There was action on more legislation this week on the floor of each chamber we are tracking so please feel free to visit our NEA-NH bill tracker to find a bill you may have been following.
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.