Re-Cap This Week
This was a tough week of policy votes at the State House – on the floor and in committees. Here is the rundown of the major takeaways:
SB 295 – Senate Universal Voucher Bill Passes First House Vote
On the floor, the House narrowly voted to pass the Senate’s universal voucher bill, SB 295, 188 – 176. All House Democrats and 13 Republicans voted against the bill. SB 295 was referred to the House Finance Committee for further review. If House Finance decides to make a recommendation on the bill this session, it will head to the House Floor for another vote before moving forward. That means there’s still time to tell your lawmakers that public dollars belong in public schools!
Senate Finance Hearing on State Budget
The Senate Finance Committee held a 10+ hour public hearing on the state budget. Hundreds of people testified against the drastic cuts and policy proposals contained within the budget. The testimony of Granite Staters drew the distinction between lawmakers’ choices to cut critical Medicaid funding and eliminate the Office of the Child Advocate to fund an expansion of private school vouchers with no income eligibility requirements. Committee members also heard from educators, school board members, and families who value their public schools and want the state to better support them.
The next step for the state budget is for the Senate Finance Committee to deliberate and make their own spending priority decisions over the next two weeks. If you missed your chance to testify on the state budget, you can still contact senators to share your concerns and perspectives: The New Hampshire State Senate
House Committee Attaching Mandatory Firearms Training to be Held in Schools
The House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee held a public hearing this week on a non-germane amendment to SB 54, a bill about refusal of consent to testing alcohol levels while driving. The non-germane amendment would add a requirement that firearms safety training be taught annually in all public schools as part of the health, physical education, or civics curriculum, beginning with the 2026 – 27 school year. Under this amendment, the training would be mandatory for every public school student unless a student’s parent or legal guardian receives an exception. After the hearing on the amendment, it was quickly voted ought to pass on party lines. The next House Session will be on May 22, so please stay tuned for more information about how to make your voice heard with your state representative(s) on this.
Education Bills Headed to the Floor After Committee Votes
- HB 324 – Book Ban: New Hampshire already has 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, and perhaps most concerning, 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. Contact your state senator and tell them that having a process laid out about reconsidering books or other materials used in school should not include criminal penalties!
- HB 235 – Educator Code of Conduct: This bill would give the NH Department of Education the ability to expand the Educator Code of Conduct to include an unknown set of responsibilities to parents (not just students as it does currently). Coupled with the so-called “parental rights” bill and the ability for the state board of education to adopt rules, this could be a dramatic expansion of the Educator Code of Conduct that would place a completely unreasonable set of expectations on educators instead of their focus being on their students. This bill is incredibly worrisome since the Educator Code of Conduct is also tied to state licensure and the ability of the DOE to investigate and act on educator licenses. Contact your state senator and tell them to oppose this bill!
Public Hearing Highlights for Next Week
HB 520 Subpoena Authority Bill Being Heard in Senate Judiciary
ACTION REQUEST: Sign in to OPPOSE HB 520 before the Senate Judiciary Committee public hearing on Thursday, May 15 at 1:30pm. (Full sign in instructions below)
HB 520, which has already passed the House, would allow the New Hampshire Department of Education hearings officer to issue a subpoena when carrying out investigations under the Educator Code of Conduct. As many have told the Legislature before, this authority is unnecessary because the Department has never demonstrated a situation where they have not been able to obtain information needed for such an investigation. We know Commissioner Edelblut has used the code of conduct as a weapon as part of his efforts to further the culture war agenda.
Full 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.