Legislative Action

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.   […]

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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 […]

NEA-NH Testifies in Opposition to Voucher Expansion

“I am writing to you today to express our strong opposition to HB 464 and HB 367, legislation that would greatly increase the amount of funds directed toward our school voucher program by expanding the eligibility of the program. The bills appear to do so by eliminating the income eligibility among a variety of categories of students.” This is how the testimony submitted by NEA-NH for today’s hearings on HV 464 and 367 began. The evidence is just too stark to justify the use of public money to fund private expenses and tuition. Vouchers fail to deliver for the kids […]

Federal Court Rules “Banned Concepts” Lawsuit Can Continue

Federal judge allows case to proceed, saying “Given the severe consequences that teachers face if they are found to have taught or advocated a banned concept, plaintiffs have pleaded a plausible claim that the amendments are unconstitutionally vague” United States District Judge Paul J. Barbadoro ruled on the State of New Hampshire’s request to dismiss the lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of several recent amendments to New Hampshire’s education and antidiscrimination laws that restrict what public school teachers can say to their students about how to understand, prevent, and redress discrimination in our society. While he did rule that claims that […]