Legislative Action

NEA-NH Legislative Update: January 31, 2020

Students are at the center of everything we do. Our legislative objectives again this year focus on improving student achievement, education quality, and ensuring in-service and retired education professionals have the resources, support and respect every professional deserves. Here’s a quick update on the activity so far this year on the legislation that most impacts our students and members: School Funding Commission The Commission to Study School Funding has held its organizational meetings and will begin laying out the tremendous amount of work they have to fulfill their mission. The creation of this commission was authorized in the state budget […]

Portion of 2018-2019 NEA-NH Dues Dollars Not Tax Deductible

The Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1993 eliminated the individual federal income tax deduction for lobbying expenses paid or incurred as part of membership dues. This affects only those members who itemize deductions and meet the two-percent minimum requirement for additional miscellaneous deductions. Those members will not be able to deduct that portion of the NEA–NH 2018-19 union dues attributable to lobbying. The non-deductible portion of the dues for 2018-2019 is 9.68% or $44.54 for a full-time teacher.

NEA-NH Government Relations Committee: Many Strong Choices for Educators This Primary

When asked by Patrick Cogan, Chair of NEA-NH’s Government Relations Committee, what a recommendation from NEA-NH would mean to his campaign, Cory Booker replied that the Presidency of the United States is the most powerful and influential position in the world, impacting the lives of Americans and countless people around the world. An NEA-NH recommendation would help him, or any candidate, do well in the New Hampshire primary, proving that he or she was a viable candidate as they moved into other primaries across the nation. “In short,” Booker said, “the people in this room could change world history.” This […]

Priorities for New Hampshire Public Education: NEA-NH’s 2020 Legislative Agenda

It is clear to us that great public schools are the result of valuing children over profit. As a society, we have long held that the value of public education was so great, that we would all share in its costs. Elected officials have the power to create and fund laws that can help fulfill that or break that promise. So as long as politicians have a say in what goes on in our classrooms, we must be sure our voices are heard by them as they go about the people’s business in Washington, Concord, and our local communities. Students […]

Charter Grant Has Far Too Many Unanswered Questions

NEA-NH President Megan Tuttle released the following statement today: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Yet, this is exactly what we have come to expect from programs and initiatives championed by our education commissioner, Frank Edelblut. First it was the hype and misdirection surrounding his “Learn Everywhere” rules. Now it’s his “look I found $46 million for our charter schools with no strings attached” plan. Let’s be clear: the money Commissioner Edelblut is peddling from Betsy DeVos will cost New Hampshire far more than $46 million over five years and will do nothing to help […]

Saugus School Shooting Cannot Be Just Another School Day in America

There was a shooting at another high school in America today. Our schools should be the safest place a child can be. Unfortunately, that seems far from reality. “We do not need to debate one day longer on why mass killings take place in America. We’ve seen far too many people killed in schools, in houses of worship, in malls, at movie theaters and stores. We know killers commit these violent acts because they have far too easy access to lethal weapons,” said Megan Tuttle, NEA-NH President. “New Hampshire has been fortunate to have been spared the agony of identifying […]