Major Amendment to Open Enrollment Mandate Bill; Public Hearing Continues Next Week
This week, the House Education Policy and Administration Committee heard testimony on SB 101, along with a proposed amendment introduced by prime sponsor Senator Tim Lang at the hearing. Under the amended version, instead of sending districts paying receiving districts under open enrollment, the state would pay the out-of-district school the adequacy aid they would have sent to the resident district as well as additional bonus funds—similar to the process established for charter schools. While this changes the price tag and the process, it does not fundamentally change some of the underlying problems with the bill, including addressing the core problem of districts that are struggling to meet the needs of all their students because of the State’s failure to fully fund public education. The proposed amendment also did not address other significant concerns that have been raised around resources for special education and transportation.
As educators, we believe every student should have access to a high-quality education, regardless of where they live, but at the end of the day, we fear this sudden restructuring of public schools will exacerbate the inequities our students and our schools experience throughout the state—not fix them. The public hearing drew so many people that they are continuing it next week. That means there’s still time for you to take action before the Committee votes on SB 101:
- Please SIGN IN to OPPOSE SB 101 before the continued public hearing being held on Wednesday, April 1 at 10:00am in the House Education Policy and Administration Committee. Please see full sign in instructions below.
- Click the link to find contact info for and call your state representative(s) and the Governor and urge them to oppose mandatory open enrollment in any form!
Hearings Next Week
Say NO to Partisan School Board Elections
Two bills that would enable partisan school board elections have passed the House and will next be considered by the Senate Election Law Committee:
- HB 1125 would enable school districts to make their school board candidates run under a partisan banner. As Governor Ayotte stated in her veto message on a similar bill last year, “Making these local elections into partisan fights will create unnecessary division between Granite Staters.” Educators across New Hampshire concur. We do not need more partisan politics as part of how we elect and run our local school boards. Please sign in or write in to OPPOSE HB 1125, which is being heard in the Senate Election Law and Municipal Affairs Committee on Tuesday, March 31 at 11:00am. Please see full sign in instructions below.
- HB 1272 would require that each candidate's party affiliation be printed on town and school district ballots. Once again, this is another effort to unnecessarily inject partisan politics into public education. Please sign in or write in to OPPOSE HB 1272, which is being heard in the Senate Election Law and Municipal Affairs Committee on Tuesday, March 31 at 1:30pm. Please see full sign in instructions below.
Federal Voucher Program
HB 1774 would require New Hampshire to participate in the new federal voucher program that was established last year. The Governor already indicated her intention to opt the state into the program; this legislation mandates that action but fails to add any accountability to the organizations that would participate.
ACT NOW: Please sign in or write in to OPPOSE HB 1774, which is being heard in the Senate Education Committee on Tuesday, March 31 at 9:15am. Please see full sign in instructions below.
Oppose Voucher Double Dipping
As we shared previously, HB 1817 would allow families to accept a voucher and then also have the right to enroll in classes at their local public school. In this scenario, a public school district could lose their state aid for a student but still be forced to allow that student to enroll in classes with potentially no reimbursement. This is yet another attempt to expand the voucher program and take more public dollars away from public schools. This bill is a double whammy at a time when school districts are struggling to even level fund their budgets.
ACT NOW: Please sign in or write in to OPPOSE HB 1817, which is being heard in Senate Education Committee on Tuesday, March 31 at 9:25am. Please see full sign in instructions below.
More Bills We Are Watching
- HB 1121 appears to reinforce the state’s position on education funding by narrowly accounting for the roles and costs that go into providing students a strong public education. Please sign in or write in to OPPOSE HB 1121, which is being heard in the Senate Education Finance Committee on Wednesday, April 1 at 1:00pm. Please see full sign in instructions below.
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HB 1788 is another attempt to ban diversity and inclusion programs in public schools. Please sign in or write in to OPPOSE HB 1788, which is being heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, April 2 at 1:40pm. Please see full sign in instructions below.
NEA-NH Action Center
Most of the tools and information you need to be a legislative advocate for public education are right at your fingertips through NEA-New Hampshire. Check out our NEA-NH Action Center to get all the information you need about issues we’re tracking at the State House, how to communicate with your lawmakers, and how to take action on specific bills.
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 [email protected].
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.
