Lowering our education standards is a bad idea

In 2020, the New Hampshire Department of Education (NHED) began updating the state’s Minimum Standards for Public School Approval (also known as the ED 306 Administrative Rules), that serve as the foundation for all of our public schools, in a process marked by secrecy and concerns about conflicts of interest. The draft revisions also include substantial changes that could undermine and destabilize New Hampshire's public schools.

There have been deep concerns around the process for the revision of the minimum standards. The NHED contracted with a third party organization to draft an initial proposal.

There were no practicing teachers among the nine members of the workgroup. Members included one practicing school principal, one practicing school superintendent, an educational consultant, and representatives from the state’s virtual charter school, the NH School Boards Association, and the business community.

The workgroup met for several months but had no public meetings, minutes, or documents.

So far, NHED has engaged with several groups to collect feedback on the proposal. However, the feedback sessions were limited to a small group of people, and the group was only permitted to look at a small section of revisions. According to sources familiar with the process, there was a lot of pushback that it was inauthentic and “not a good use of time.”

Upcoming NHED Listening Sessions

The Education Department task force working on updating the ED 306 Standards has announced a series of 'listening sessions' through May at school locations around the state.  The is the most updated list of dates and locations we have from them for those sessions. We will continue to update this list as soon as the DOE announces new site locations for these sessions.

• May 9 at 6:30 p.m. at Oyster River High School, Durham
• May 10 at 6:30 p.m. at Bow High School, Bow
• May 11 at 6:30 p.m. at Keene Middle School, Keene
• May 15 at 6:30 p.m. at Winnacunnet High School, Hampton
• May 17 at 6:30 p.m. at Campbell High School, Litchfield
• May 18 – Tuttle Talk with Fred Bramante from NCCBL in Ed 306 Town Hall. Click to register.
• May 22 at 6:30 p.m. at Hillsboro-Deering High School, Hillsboro
• May 24 at 6:30 p.m. at John Stark High School, Henniker
• May 25 at 6:30 p.m. at Kearsarge Professional Development Center, New London
• May 30 at 6:30 p.m. at Goffstown High School, Goffstown

NEA-NH ED 306 Town Hall
Recorded May 18, 6:30PM

NEA-NH President Megan Tuttle held a Town Hall Tuttle Talk with Fred Bramante who has been tasked by Commissioner Edelblut to update the ED 306 Standards. A recording of the event is available for members to view.

Documents, Links and Other Resources

NEA-NH “Just the Facts: What the Proposed Changes to New Hampshire’s Minimum Standards Mean to Educators” document.
Download NEA-NH's factsheet on the proposed changes and how they impact students and educators. The sheet also contains questions about the proposed changes that can be asked during listening sessions.

Community listening session in Bow and Dunbarton school district falls short of expectations (Concord Monitor, 5/17/2023)
Educators, representatives and residents attending the session were frustrated that information about other parts of the rules was not discussed.

About the School Approval Rules: Takeaways from the NHED Proposed Overhaul. The NH Department of Education has proposed an overhaul of the state’s school approval rules, with significant implications for public schools across New Hampshire. The proposed rules presented to the State Board of Education on March 9, 2023, where the members voted unanimously to table them.

DOWNLOAD ED306 ONE-PAGER 

FAQ: NH’s 306 Rules and the Future of Public Education in New Hampshire. Frequently asked questions and answers about the ED 306 Rules.