The legislature is back in session and have begun to hear bills including, right off the bat, a bill that would remove the income cap from the school voucher scheme, which would cost the state over $100 million a year according to an estimate from the nonpartisan policy analysis group Reaching Higher New Hampshire. Most of this would be new spending of limited state tax dollars at a time when the state is woefully failing to provide public school districts with the resources they need to support students and their learning.

Now is not the time to expand NH school vouchers to universal eligibility. If anything, it is time to provide greater oversight of the current spending and efficacy of the program. And it certainly is time to look carefully at the NH Legislature finally meeting its constitutional obligation to fully fund our public district schools so that students in every district can have smaller class sizes; lots of individualized attention to tailor learning to students’ needs and interests; and art, music and outdoor learning, which are known to enhance kids’ imagination and even a desire to come to school. This is what would prepare Granite State children for the workforce, higher education and civic participation in their communities. 

After careful consideration of the candidates for the November 2024 election, AFT-NH has released its list of endorsements. We encourage full participation in the election so your voice can be heard. Voting is a personal choice, and we respect each member’s opinion and vote.

AFT-NH has endorsed the following candidates because they share our CORE VALUES.

• Support the right of workers to organize and collectively bargain

• Support keeping public money in public schools and oppose school vouchers

• Support strong public services

• Support academic freedom and oppose censorship in K-12 and our universities

You can see the full list here:  

CONCORD, N.H.— Today, the New Hampshire State Board of Education pushed forward their final proposal for the first part of the Minimum Standards for Public School Approval, otherwise known as the “306 Rules,” subject to edits made to the document during the meeting.

The next step for the 306 rules is a review by the Joint Legislative Committee on Rules on September 10.   

After the vote, public education leaders released the following statements:

“Public schools are the great equalizer - and the 306 Rules are intended to hold our state to that. Educators fought for a seat at the table in the public school standards revision process to share our experience and expertise. Unfortunately, not all of our concerns have been addressed, especially regarding class sizes and curriculum. As the 306 Rules revision process continues, public education leaders will continue to hold lawmakers accountable and work to ensure New Hampshire maintains strong standards for strong public schools because our students deserve it,” said Megan Tuttle, President of NEA-New Hampshire. 

“It is really problematic that our State Board is attempting to vastly reshape public education through rulemaking in ways they couldn't get lawmakers to do over the past two years,” said Deb Howes, President of AFT-New Hampshire. "If these rules are adopted as passed today, students could face larger class sizes, fewer course offerings and fewer qualified educators to help them learn and thrive. The State Board has already been alerted that this rules proposal conflicts with existing state law in many ways. They should have taken more time and carefully considered the mountain of feedback they have already received from Granite Staters who value robust public schools for all before plowing ahead and voting to approve this proposal.”