Re-Cap This Week: House Tables Education Commissioner Subpoena Bill and Senate Punts on Student Surveillance, Again
HB 1353: Subpoena Power for Ed Commissioner Tabled – Still Need to Take Action!
The House this week tabled HB 1353, a bill that would grant subpoena power to the Education Commissioner in certain educator code of conduct cases after its accompanying amendment was defeated on a division vote of 169 – 178. The bill, however, can be taken off the table up until the conclusion of next week’s March 28th session day, the deadline for bills not already in a second committee. This bill should either be left on the table to die or be killed outright since it is unnecessary, lacks necessary due process protections, and is so broad it could be abused to go on fishing expeditions for issues unrelated to the ones outlined in the bill.
Senate Punts SB 341 (Student Surveillance Bill) To Its Next Session – Still Time to Act!
The Senate special ordered SB 341 to its next session yet again which will likely be April 4th so there is still time to contact your state senator about why this bill that turns educators into student surveillance drones and is wrong for maintaining a strong relationship between parent, educators and students.
House Education Hearings on Senate Bills: Extreme Classroom Temps, Part-time Teacher, and Loan Repayment
SB 526 – Take Action to Address Extreme Temperatures in Classrooms!
SB 526 as amended and passed by the Senate 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 passed on a bi-partisan voice vote in the Senate.
Now it’s time to urge the House Education Committee to also deliver on addressing extreme temperatures in our classrooms.
Please sign-in, submit written testimony, or come and testify in SUPPORT of SB 526 to share your own story of how extreme have affected your classroom! The public hearing is being held on Tuesday, March 26th at 1:30PM in the House Education Committee. Full instructions on how to sign in or submit testimony online are at the end of the update.
SB 374 – Oppose Senate Part-Time Teacher Bill Now in House Education
Only 48-hours after the public hearing on SB 374, Senate Republicans approved it in committee and sent it to the floor of the Senate where they passed this bill on party lines. This bill creates a part-time uncredentialed teacher position. While our state is facing an educator shortage, lowering the standards of who can teach in a public school is misguided and jeopardizes students’ access to quality education. Regardless of whether someone teaches full or part-time, they ought to possess the knowledge and skills to teach effectively. SB 374 now has its hearing before the House Education Committee who just recently recommended a bill with far more criteria than this bill possesses.
Please sign-in or submit written testimony to the committee expressing your OPPOSITION to SB 374, which would water down teaching standards, before the public hearing on Tuesday, March 26th at 11:30AM in the House Education Committee. Full instructions on how to sign in or submit testimony online are at the end of the update.
SB 217 – Support Educators in Rural and Underserved Areas
The New Hampshire House will hear SB 217, to establish a loan repayment program for educators in rural and underserved areas to help early career educators with student debt. While the policy was passed by the Senate, they unfortunately stripped the funding out of the bill. We hope to get the program passed into law so that it can be funded in next year’s state budget.
Please sign-in or submit written testimony to SUPPORT SB 217, to reduce barriers for educators entering the workforce, before the public hearing on Wednesday, March 27th at 9:45AM in the House Education Committee. Full instructions on how to sign in or submit testimony online are at the end of the update.
Full Re-Cap on House and Senate Floor Votes from this Week
SB 522 – Pre-K Voucher Expansion Bill Referred to Finance
SB 522 would expand the school voucher program by extending the program to ages 2 ½ to 5 but the expansion would place few standards that public money be used for pre-school education that best prepares a child to enter Kindergarten. SB 522 prescribes similar wide-open usages of these public funds as the current K-12 voucher program does. The amendment does little to change the core of this bill, it is still a school voucher expansion bill by another name and not a true Pre-Kindergarten bill.
RESULT: This bill passed on a party line vote but was referred to the Senate Finance Committee so there is still time to contact your state senator and ask them to oppose this bill. Click here to take action!
Major House Floor Votes From this Week
HB 1175 – would allow towns and school districts who have the town meeting form of government to switch to the ballot referendum form of meeting (commonly known as SB 2) by having the question on whether to switch be a ballot vote, rather than at the town or school district meeting form they currently use to make these kinds of decisions. This makes no sense and is just an effort by those who want to slash school budgets to make it easier to change to ballot vote. [OPPOSE]
RESULT: This bill passed 173 – 163 and is now headed to the Senate.
HB 1099 – would allow school districts to adopt partisan school board elections. NEA-NH opposes this bill because we should be trying to take politics out of our students’ education, not injecting more partisan political activity into our local schools and classrooms. [OPPOSE]
RESULT: House Tabled this bill 188-186 and so it will remain on the table until next week and die unless it is taken off the table.
HB 1205 – this is one of the anti-trans sports bills which is more election year politics than doing anything that supports inclusion of students. Quoting Rep. Tanner’s write up on the bill, The NH Interscholastic Athletic Association has concluded ‘that it would be fundamentally unjust and contrary to applicable State and Federal laws to preclude a student from participation on a gender specific sports teams that is consistent with the public gender identity of that student for all other purposes.’ The bill sponsors also added an amendment that allows for private rights of action that further make this bill unacceptable. [OPPOSE]
RESULT: This bill was passed 189 – 182 and now will head to the Senate.
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.
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
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5. Choose the bill
6. I am – A member of the public
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8. Indicate your position on this bill
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