Legislative Action

January 26 NEA-NH Legislative Update 

Upcoming Week: Some Good, Some Bad, and Some Distractions  It’s another week of major hearings in the New Hampshire House and Senate. Top issues include books – one proactive freedom to read bill and yet another book ban – as well as friendly efforts to strengthen retirement and fund programs to address the educator shortage crisis in our state.   Major Hearings Next Week  HB 1311 – Protecting the Freedom to Read  ACTION REQUESTED: SIGN IN SUPPORT of HB 1311 being heard in HOUSE Education on Monday, January 29th at 10:15am. Please find step-by-step instructions to sign in below.  Every […]

A photo of the New Hampshire State House dome.
A photo of the New Hampshire State House dome.

NEA-NH Legislative Update 01.19.24 

Week of Consequential Votes and More Important Hearings Coming this Week  This week we had a number of important hearings and even floor votes on consequential bills surrounding the expansion of private school vouchers, a major book ban bill, and lowering standards for those who teach part-time. Please take a look at more detail on these and what comes next in the recap.  This week coming up we are following a lot of bills around private school vouchers, cooperative school district governance bills, labor law for minors, and special education. We’re highlighting a couple of hearings where it will be […]

HB 1419: Book Bans are Back!

ACTION REQUESTED: Please take the time to sign in against HB 1419. The public hearing is Thursday, January 18th at 9:30am in the House Education Committee. HB 1419 is just one of this year’s attempts at a book ban modeled after similar bills recently introduced in other state legislatures. Like others before it, the bill contains vague language left open to interpretation and once again contains violations of the Code of Conduct. The bill sets up a process to follow that ends with the state board of education and does not truly allow local school districts to develop their own […]

White poster board with text that reads: Support NH Educators, Students, Public Schools

HB 1402: Take a Test…And you Get a Diploma!

ACTION REQUESTED: Before the public hearing on January 16th at 10am, please urge the House Education Committee to reject HB 1402 so we can ensure students who hold a New Hampshire high school diploma have had the opportunity to master the competencies that will help them succeed. HB 1402 gives the Commissioner of Education the power to develop a high school proficiency exam and adopt his own rules and procedures for administering that exam. Passing this unnamed exam would also result in that student testing out of high school and receiving a “state” or local school district diploma and would […]

Four More Voucher Expansion Bills Up for Consideration

ACTION REQUESTED: Sign in to OPPOSE four voucher expansion bills being heard on Wednesday, January 17th in the House Education Committee. Please note, comprehensive instructions on how to sign in can be found at the bottom of this email.  There are several bills being heard in the House Education Committee next week that would expand eligibility for the private school voucher system so that anyone could qualify for the program regardless of their income either because the income qualification requirement is eliminated or because the categories created in the bill are so broad that it is effectively a universal voucher program.   […]

A white sign held in front of the Legislative Office Building reads: Support Our Public Schools"

NEA-NH Opposes Bill Giving Ed Commissioner Subpoena Power

NEA-NH President Megan Tuttle testified in opposition to the non-germane amendment to HB 533 that would grant subpoena power to the NH DOE in Code of Conduct cases. “To begin with, we are not aware of any material that the DOE has asked for in the course of an official investigation under the Code of Conduct that they have not received so in asking for this added power it is important for them to concretely articulate why it is they need this new ability,” said Tuttle in her testimony. “The legislature should be cautious on why agencies beyond law enforcement […]