Legislative Update Report

May 31, 2024: NEA-NH Legislative Update

House and Senate Head to Committees of Conference Next Week on Major Education Bills  This past week, the House and Senate decided which bills they would agree with the other chamber’s changes (concur), which ones they would go to a committee of conference to work out differences (non-concur and request a committee of conference), and which ones they would simply reject outright without attempting to come to a compromise (non-concur). The aftermath of those decisions is that next week there will be committees of conference meetings on several highly consequential bills for public education and public-school educators.  What are Committees […]

May 17, 2024: NEA-NH Legislative Update 

Senate Passes Vague Curriculum Notice Expansion Bill, Punts Part-Time Unlicensed Teacher Bill and Voucher Expansion to Next Week  The New Hampshire Senate special ordered two of the most consequential bills remaining this session to their calendar next week. Both HB 1298, the unlicensed part-time teach bill, and HB 1665, the last voucher expansion bill, will be voted on by the full Senate on Thursday, May 23rd which is the Senate deadline for acting on all House bills. This means that if you haven’t contacted your Senator using our take action tool on HB 1298 or HB 1665 there is still time!   […]

May 11, 2024: NEA-NH Legislative Update

NEXT WEEK: Full NH Senate Will Vote on Three of the Final Most Consequential Bills Remaining This Session  The state Senate will be voting on bills that cover watering down the standards of the teaching profession, targeting LGBTQ+ students and expanding the unaccountable private school voucher scheme.   HB 1298: Part-Time Unlicensed Teacher Bill – Tell Your Senator Not to Water Down Standards!  This past week, the Senate Education Committee voted on party lines to recommend passing HB 1298 and amending the bill back to the version they passed months ago. This bill is being advocated for by Commissioner Edelblut as […]

May 3, 2024: NEA-NH Legislative Update

SB 341 – Bill Turning Educators into Surveillance Drones Targeting LGBTQ+ Students Defeated Great news! This week, the New Hampshire House defeated SB 341, a bill targeted toward forcing educators to out LGBTQ+ students by requiring licensed educators to answer written inquiries within a 10-day period, “completely and honestly”, a standard that even the NH Department of Education acknowledged is incredibly subjective. The bill served only to turn school employees into student surveillance drones – all under the threat of licensure removal. It put educators in the middle of families without the opportunity to ensure they are doing no harm. […]

April 26, 2024: NEA-NH Legislative Update

Two Major Hearings in Senate This Week and Major House Floor Vote  This week we have 2 major public hearings in the Senate: a positive bill that would make a modest increase in state aid to school districts, and one of the last of two remaining culture war bills that squeaked through the House.   We also have a major House floor vote taking place on Thursday for SB 341, the bill that would force educators to out LGBTQ+ students under the threat of licensure removal.  Please read all the items this week and take action on each!  HB 1583 – […]

April 19: NEA-NH Legislative Update

Re-Cap: One Voucher Expansion Bill Left – Act Now to Stop Efforts to Divert More Money to Unaccountable Private School Voucher Scheme  SB 442 – NEA New Hampshire testified against this bill that would expand the eligibility for students to receive a voucher from 350% of the Federal Poverty Level to 400% (or $125k for a family of four). SB 442 could bring the amount of public dollars diverted to private schools to $53 million dollars per year. After the hearing the House Education Committee unanimously voted to recommend the bill be killed. However, House Republicans only made this move […]