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NEA-NH Legislative Update 01.13.23

Week in Review – Repeal and Replace of Banned Concepts Leads off the Year! This week hearings began on proposed legislation in House and Senate committees. While there were a number of bills heard this week the biggest bill was HB 61, legislation that would repeal the “banned concepts” law passed in 2021. The bill was sponsored by Rep. Peter Petrigno, a retired NEA-NH member and former NH Teacher of the Year. As a reminder, the legislation would: Turnout was strong from educators, students and the public in support of this bill. We heard powerful testimony in support from current […]

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 […]

NEA-NH Legislative Update 01.06.23

Legislative Session Begins – Updated Lay of the Land in the House The legislature has begun their work as they held their convening day this past week, each chamber adopted their rules and the remaining House Committee assignments were announced. In the House, all the policy committees will be tied in their partisan makeup, 10 Republicans and 10 Democrats. This means that there will be many votes that will come out of committee to the House floor tied and without a recommendation or many may be retained and studied over the summer. Under the rules of the House this means […]

Legislative Update – January 2023

New Legislature LandscapeOn December 7th, the new legislature was sworn in and organized themselves. The Senate with a 14 – 10 Republican majority elected Sen. Jeb Bradley as the new Senate President and also named Sharon Carson the Republican leader and Sen. Donna Soucy will once again be the Democratic leader. The Senate has also announced their committee assignments as well which you can find here. The House will be historically close. While Sherm Packard (R) was once again elected speaker, the partisan divide is now down to 201 (R) – 198 (D) and 1 race which ended in a […]

The Christa McAuliffe Sabbatical Awards a Year-long Leave of Absence to an Exceptional NH Public School Teacher

Do you know a teacher with a great idea about education? Each year the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation’s Christa McAuliffe Sabbatical program awards a year-long leave of absence to an exceptional New Hampshire public school teacher. The sabbatical provides the teacher with the time, space and funding to explore, through a self-designed project, new ideas and ways to enhance classroom teaching. This is a unique opportunity for a full-time classroom teacher and their school to gain statewide recognition for innovative approaches to classroom instruction.  Visit the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation website to learn more about the program requirements. The online […]

FACT SHEET: Navigating Your Student Debt

Every American, no matter what we look like or where we come from, deserves the opportunity to create a better life for ourselves and our families. And for millions of us, going to college was supposed to allow us the ability to decide our futures, not decades of debt. The Public Service Loan Forgiveness, PSLF, program was created in 2007 to forgive the remaining balance of federal student debt for public service workers, including teachers, higher education faculty, and education support professionals, who provide 10 years of public service while making 120 monthly payments on their federal student loans. NEA has prepared a useful fact […]