Legislative Update

March 1: NEA-NH Legislative Update

Senate Returns Next Week with Educator Student Surveillance Bill  Next week the full Senate will vote on SB 341, relative to mandatory disclosure by school district employees to parents. This bill is essentially an excerpt from a previous version of the so-called “parental rights” legislation. A recent committee amendment to the bill does nothing to improve it at all.   Even as amended, this bill would require educators to answer written inquiries within a 10-day period, “completely and honestly”, a standard that is so subjective that even the NH Department of Education identified it as such. The bill serves only to […]

A sign reads "Support our Students" with a rainbow heart that says "LGBTQ" in the center.

February 23: NEA-NH Legislative Update

Good News – Senate Passes Bill to Help Address Extreme School Temperatures  Thank you to the members who came to testify or wrote to lawmakers about how students struggle to learn, and educators can’t teach effectively when temperatures are too extreme in the classroom. With your advocacy, the Senate passed SB 526 on a bipartisan voice vote!   SB 526 as amended would require school districts to develop and implement a classroom temperature control plan.  The plan is required to include procedures to maintain classrooms temperatures between 68 degrees and 75 degrees Fahrenheit during heating months and between 72 degrees and […]

February 17: NEA-NH Legislative Update

House Labor Committee Sends So-called “Right-to-Work” to House Floor Next Week  The House Labor committee is finally sending HB 1377, so-called “right to work” legislation, to the House floor next week and as expected it did so on a 10 – 10 party-line tie. This anti-worker effort is still an attack on collective bargaining and an attempt to weaken unions. For decades NEA-NH has fought against this legislation because it is the centerpiece of an agenda to maximize corporate profits by passing laws that weaken basic worker protections, undo safety standards, keep wages low, and undermine the ability of labor […]

Signs held at the NH Legislative Office Building read "Right to Work" is WRONG for NH
A white sign held in front of the Legislative Office Building reads: Support Our Public Schools"

PRESS RELEASE: NH House Rejects Two Education Voucher Expansion Bills 

CONCORD, NH – One week after voting to expand income eligibility for education vouchers, the New Hampshire House of Representatives cast bipartisan votes to reject two bills that would even more dramatically expand this unaccountable program.   Earlier this month, the House passed HB 1665 by just one vote. That bill, which will next be considered by the state Senate, would raise the income eligiblity from 350% of the federal poverty level to 500%, which for a family of four is $150,000 per year.  Megan Tuttle, President of NEA-New Hampshire, provided the following statement after the vote:  “While we remain concerned […]

February 9 NEA-NH Legislative Update

Universal Voucher Bills Go Down, but Expansion to Voucher Eligibility Squeeks Through by One Vote!  The New Hampshire House of Representatives cast a series of mixed votes on three bills that would expand education voucher eligibility in our state, diverting more public money toward private and at home education costs. Thank you to all the members who e-mailed or called their state representatives. All these votes were close, and we stopped the very worst bills from passing.   Two More Voucher Expansion Bills to Be Voted on in the House Next Week!  The last two additional voucher expansion bills are scheduled […]

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

February 3 NEA-NH Legislative Update

House Education Votes on Dozens of Bills Including Runaway Voucher Expansion Bills – 3 Headed to the Floor Next Week  This week, the New Hampshire House Education Committee split 10-10 on five bills that would dramatically expand our state’s voucher program to universal eligibility or very close to it: HB 1561; HB 1634; HB 1652; HB 1665; and HB 1677. Three voucher expansion bills will go to the floor for a full vote in the House of Representatives next week. They are: HB 1561 – lifts the income eligibility entirely for 9 very broad categories essentially making this a universal […]