Good News – Senate Passes Bill to Help Address Extreme School Temperatures
Thank you to the members who came to testify or wrote to lawmakers about how students struggle to learn, and educators can’t teach effectively when temperatures are too extreme in the classroom. With your advocacy, the Senate passed SB 526 on a bipartisan voice vote!
SB 526 as amended would require school districts to develop and implement a classroom temperature control plan. The plan is required to 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.
This bill will now head to the New Hampshire House of Representatives for further consideration. Stay tuned for the next public hearing notice, likely in April.
More Good News – New Hampshire House Kills So-Called “Right-to-Work” Again
For decades, NEA-NH has fought against this legislation because it is the centerpiece of an agenda to maximize corporate profits by passing laws that weaken basic worker protections, undo safety standards, keep wages low, and undermine the ability of labor unions to improve jobs and keep corporate power in check by giving workers a stronger voice.
Fortunately, the New Hampshire House of Representatives rejected this legislation by voting 212-168 to “Indefinitely Postpone” HB 1377.
You can see the Roll Call here to see how your state representative(s) voted. (Note: a Yea Vote supported Indefinite Postponement, which means the Representative voted with labor and AGAINST so-called “right-to-work)
House and Senate Take a Break – Crucial Bills Still Awaiting Action in Committees Upon Return
The Senate is taking a full break during the upcoming school vacation week, and all committees with NEA-NH tracked bills are also taking the week off from hearings and committee work. There will also be no House or Senate sessions next week.
When each chamber returns to doing business there will be numerous bills out there still to be acted on in committees ahead of deadlines for bills to be acted upon. Those bills not already in a second committee must be reported out by March 21st.
Those major topics still include the Senate version of their book ban legislation which is still in committee as well as a major bill on the senate floor the first week back, SB 341 which is a “parental rights” – like bill. The Senate also still has their own private school voucher bill still in its Finance committee.
In the House, we are still waiting on bills relative to qualifications for teachers, subpoena powers, and several conservative culture war type bills that have not yet been acted on by the Education committee. Those key bills include:
HB 1298 – relative to part-time teacher [OPPOSE]
HB 1691 – relative to an adequate education [OPPOSE]
HB 1353 – relative to authorizing the Commissioner of the Department of Education to issue subpoenas [OPPOSE]
SB 341 – relative to mandatory disclosure by school district employees to parents [OPPOSE] – ON THE SENATE FLOOR MARCH 7TH
SB 442 – relative to student eligibility for education freedom accounts [OPPOSE]
SB 521 – relative to educational credentials for master teacher [SUPPORT]
SB 523 – relative to the regulation of public-school library materials [OPPOSE]
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. You can also follow all the bills we are watching next week and check on a bill’s status by visiting our NEA-NH bill tracker.