Legislative Update Report

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.

NEA-NH Member Emily Sherman Testifies on Master Teacher Certification Bill at State Legislature

“Many teachers have the desire to continue to teach and also assume leadership positions in a school or district as department chairs, mentors, and by working on other district initiatives. In New Hampshire’s competency model, that should not always and only involve advanced degree work.”  That’s the message shared recently by NEA-New Hampshire member Emily Sherman to the Senate Education Committee. The testimony Emily provided was in support of SB 521, which provides another avenue for teachers and CTE personnel interested in obtaining Master Teacher Certification.   Emily is a STEM teacher at Portsmouth Middle School. Her career has spanned three […]

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 […]

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

New Hampshire Legislative Session Starts with Attacks on Public Education

The New Hampshire Legislature began its 2024 session this week. The House met for two days to act on bills from the 2023 session. The Senate dealt with leftover bills on Wednesday, and conducted its first public hearings of 2024, including ones on important bills impacting public education and NEA-NH members. Thank you to all the members who signed in against the bills that had hearings this week that seek to resurrect last year’s parental rights legislation and expand private school vouchers.   Click here to view our full legislative tracker to see all the bills we are following this session. […]

First Week of 2024 Session Starts with Action on Retained Bills and Hearings on Extreme Voucher Expansion Bills and “Parental Bill of Rights”

This is the first week of the 2024 Legislative Session. The state Senate is in session on January 3 and the House of Representatives is in session on January 3 and 4.   Let’s start with a state legislature primer/refresh. In New Hampshire, all bills eventually get a floor vote in their respective chamber. First up this week, the House and Senate will act on all bills that were held in committees from last year (retained bills). Each bill has a recommendation from the committee it was heard in. Committee recommendations include Ought to Pass (OTP), Ought to Pass with […]

A photo of the New Hampshire State House dome.

2024 – Legislative Preview and Upcoming Priorities 

The upcoming 2024 Legislative Session will once again put education in the spotlight. Of the nearly 1,000 bills that were filed for the upcoming session, there are well over 100 that deal directly with public education, and even more that impact public school educators and students in some form or fashion.