Support the Freedom to Read (HB 1311)
More voucher expansion. The legislature was back in the swing of things this week after the winter break. The House and Senate both met this week. The Senate acted on SB 522 this week passing a yet another voucher expansion bill out of the Senate Education Committee. This voucher expansion bill creates a voucher system for Pre-K even though the State of New Hampshire does not even mandate kindergarten and has no public Pre-K’s available for Granite State families. Families who are most in need and already qualify for the high-quality early child care scholarship could also see less money due to this voucher expansion. As a workforce issue, this could mean less childcare is available if this measure is approved, since the bill would mean less reliable funding for existing high quality childcare programs in favor of parceling out smaller amounts of money to greater number of families through a newly created school voucher program. Childcare programs may have to cut back on overhead and staff, which translates into fewer placements available for actual students, less daycare available for parents who need it and fewer working parents available to work. It will quite likely endanger the current federal funding underpinning of workforce childcare. SB 522 has enormous downsides.
As the legislature continues to expand vouchers, it still has failed to meet its constitutional obligation to all Granite State children and local property taxpayers to equitably fund an opportunity for a robust public education through local neighborhood public schools. Despite this failure, the legislature keeps trying to give away the money from the Education Trust Fund to every voucher scheme that is proposed.
Freedom to Read. Next week the full House will be voting a series of bills including HB 1311, a bill coined the “Freedom to Read” that would appropriately set standards and policies for school boards to examine whether materials that are in schools libraries are appropriate for students. Unlike some bills we have already seen this year that would ban books in schools, this bill requires school boards to make policies and require a reconsideration policy on any decision made that is based on community standards. That is the appropriate constitutional test to consider when evaluating a work as a whole, not only a selected passage or illustration, to decide whether it should remain in a school library collection or be removed. It also ensures that books are not banned just because they may be written by or talk about LGBTQ people or people of color. You can read AFT-NH testimony in support of this bill HERE.
ACTION NEEDED
Please CONTACT YOUR STATE REPRESENTATIVE and ask them to vote to pass HB 1311.
Town Meetings
We are in town meeting season. We encourage you to vote in your local elections. Decisions made at the local level can have a direct and significant impact on your local schools and municipal services. Contracts for teachers, police and first responders, and public employees around the state will be on the ballot. Please support these contracts. We support our colleagues across the state.
Please make sure to review the AFT-NH Town Meeting Guide to find information for AFT-NH locals that will have contracts on the ballot. Important contracts to be voted on will be in the following places: Fremont (Ellis School Support Staff), Henniker (Henniker Community School Support Staff), Hillsborough (Hillsborough Town Employees), Hudson (Hudson PSRPs), Pittsfield (Pittsfield Town Employees), and Timberlane (Timberlane Teachers’ Association).
Legislative Action Toolkit
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You can also read written testimony submitted to the legislature at STATE HOUSE NEWS.
We will post next week’s schedule of bills we are monitoring at the end of the weekly bulletin. If you want to find out more information about any bill, you can simply enter the bill at the following link: FIND A BILL.
We encourage you to take action on other bills. Please note our position is not noted on the current tracker for bills that have already been heard and are now pending executive session action or in a work session in committee since the period for testimony has passed.
For any of the bills scheduled for a hearing you can register your position on any bill scheduled for a public hearing at the following link: SUBMIT YOUR POSITION ON A BILL.
Legislative Tracker – Week of March 11th
|
Bill |
Position |
Description |
Sponsors |
Location |
|
|
Mon 3/11 9:00 AM |
HB 1015 |
Oppose |
Relative to Requirements For Literacy Skill Development In Elementary Grades. |
Rep. Lorie Ball |
LOB 205-207 (Education/H) |
|
Mon 3/11 9:30 AM |
HB 1514 |
|
Relative to Excess Funds Paid to Municipalities For The Use Of School Districts. |
Rep. David Bickford |
LOB 202-204 (Ways and Means/H) |
|
Mon 3/11 9:30 AM |
HB 1563 |
|
Relative to The Education Property Tax and The Authority Of Political Subdivisions. |
Rep. Sallie Fellows |
LOB 202-204 (Ways and Means/H) |
|
Mon 3/11 9:30 AM |
HB 1175 |
|
Relative to The Official Ballot Referendum Form Of Town Meetings. |
Rep. Diane Pauer |
LOB 301-303 (Municipal and County Government/H) |
|
Mon 3/11 9:30 AM |
HB 1223 |
|
Relative to Governing Body Members Of The Budget Committee. |
Rep. Terry Roy |
LOB 301-303 (Municipal and County Government/H) |
|
Mon 3/11 10:00 AM |
HB 1493 |
|
Relative to The Powers and Duties Of Cooperative School District Budget Committees. |
Rep. Walter Spilsbury |
LOB 205-207 (Education/H) |
|
Mon 3/11 10:00 AM |
HB 1642 |
|
Relative to The Role Of Cooperative School District Board Member Representatives On School District Budget Committees. |
Rep. Walter Spilsbury |
LOB 205-207 (Education/H) |
|
Mon 3/11 10:00 AM |
HB 1195 |
|
Relative to Allowing School Districts to Approve Different Apportionment Methods For School Administrative Unit Costs. |
Rep. David Meuse |
LOB 205-207 (Education/H) |
|
Mon 3/11 10:00 AM |
HB 1579 |
|
Relative to The Merging Of School Administrative Units. |
Rep. James Tierney |
LOB 205-207 (Education/H) |
|
Mon 3/11 10:00 AM |
HB 1383 |
|
Relative to Cooperative School Board District Elections. |
Rep. Riché Colcombe |
LOB 205-207 (Education/H) |
|
Mon 3/11 10:30 AM |
HB 1514 |
|
Relative to Excess Funds Paid to Municipalities For The Use Of School Districts. |
Rep. David Bickford |
LOB 202-204 (Ways and Means/H) |
|
Mon 3/11 10:30 AM |
HB 1563 |
|
Relative to The Education Property Tax and The Authority Of Political Subdivisions. |
Rep. Sallie Fellows |
LOB 202-204 (Ways and Means/H) |
|
Mon 3/11 1:00 PM |
HB 1287 |
|
Relative to The Definition Of The Term "evidence-based" Within Public Education. |
Rep. Mike Belcher |
LOB 205-207 (Education/H) |
|
Mon 3/11 1:00 PM |
HB 1646 |
|
Relative to Chartered Public Schools. |
Rep. David Luneau |
LOB 205-207 (Education/H) |
|
Mon 3/11 1:00 PM |
HB 1450 |
|
Relative to Establishing A Commission On Higher Education Consolidation. |
Rep. Rick Ladd |
LOB 205-207 (Education/H) |
|
Mon 3/11 1:00 PM |
HB 1458 |
|
Relative to Authorizing Parents to Remove Children From The English Language Learner Program. |
Rep. Erica Layon |
LOB 205-207 (Education/H) |
|
Mon 3/11 1:00 PM |
HB 1453 |
|
Relative to Degree Granting Authority Of Certain Institutions Of Higher Education. |
Rep. David Luneau |
LOB 205-207 (Education/H) |
|
Mon 3/11 1:00 PM |
HB 1418 |
|
Relative to The Use Of Education Freedom Account Funds to Purchase School Uniforms. |
Rep. Timothy Horrigan |
LOB 205-207 (Education/H) |
|
Mon 3/11 1:00 PM |
HB 1015 |
|
Relative to Requirements For Literacy Skill Development In Elementary Grades. |
Rep. Lorie Ball |
LOB 205-207 (Education/H) |
|
Mon 3/11 1:00 PM |
HB 1087 |
|
Establishing A Commission to Study Information Literacy and Media Literacy Instruction In Public Schools. |
Rep. David Paige |
LOB 205-207 (Education/H) |
|
Mon 3/11 1:00 PM |
HB 1588 |
|
Relative to Court Jurisdiction Over Persons Receiving Special Education. |
Rep. Patrick Long |
LOB 210-211 (Finance/H) |
|
Tue 3/12 9:00 AM |
HB 354 |
Oppose |
Relative to Chartered Public School Eligibility For State School Building Aid. |
Rep. Maureen Mooney |
LOB 101 (Education/S) |
|
Tue 3/12 9:15 AM |
HB 1008 |
Monitor |
Relative to The Authority Of The Commissioner Of The Department Of Education to Grant Extensions For The Filing Of School Expenditure Reports. |
Rep. Sallie Fellows |
LOB 101 (Education/S) |
|
Tue 3/12 9:30 AM |
HB 1009 |
Monitor |
Relative to The Submission Of Annual Town Reports to The Commissioner Of The Department Of Education. |
Rep. Sallie Fellows |
LOB 101 (Education/S) |
|
Tue 3/12 9:45 AM |
HB 1019 |
Monitor |
Relative to The Interstate Compact On Educational Opportunity For Military Children. |
Rep. Hope Damon |
LOB 101 (Education/S) |
|
Tue 3/12 1:30 PM |
HB 468 |
Monitor |
Making An Appropriation to The Department Of Education For An Attorney to Recodify Education Laws. |
Rep. Gregory Hill |
SH 103 (Finance/S) |
|
Wed 3/13 10:00 AM |
HB 1493 |
|
Relative to The Powers and Duties Of Cooperative School District Budget Committees. |
Rep. Walter Spilsbury |
LOB 205-207 (Education/H) |
|
Wed 3/13 10:00 AM |
HB 1642 |
|
Relative to The Role Of Cooperative School District Board Member Representatives On School District Budget Committees. |
Rep. Walter Spilsbury |
LOB 205-207 (Education/H) |
|
Wed 3/13 10:00 AM |
HB 1195 |
|
Relative to Allowing School Districts to Approve Different Apportionment Methods For School Administrative Unit Costs. |
Rep. David Meuse |
LOB 205-207 (Education/H) |
|
Wed 3/13 10:00 AM |
HB 1579 |
|
Relative to The Merging Of School Administrative Units. |
Rep. James Tierney |
LOB 205-207 (Education/H) |
|
Wed 3/13 10:00 AM |
HB 1383 |
|
Relative to Cooperative School Board District Elections. |
Rep. Riché Colcombe |
LOB 205-207 (Education/H) |
|
Wed 3/13 10:00 AM |
HB 1207 |
|
Relative to Single-use Disposable Plastic Foodware Accessories. |
Rep. Tony Caplan |
LOB 302-304 (Commerce and Consumer Affairs/H) |
|
Wed 3/13 1:15 PM |
HB 1071 |
|
Relative to The Right to Repair Certain Educational Technology. |
Rep. Eric Gallager |
LOB 302-304 (Commerce and Consumer Affairs/H) |
|
Fri 3/15 1:00 PM |
HB 1570 |
|
(new Title) Requiring The Department Of Education to Conduct A Facility Assessment Of Public Schools and Public Chartered Schools. |
Rep. Rick Ladd |
LOB 209 (Finance/H) |
|
Fri 3/15 1:00 PM |
HB 1656 |
|
(new Title) Relative to Adequate Education Grant Amounts For Pupils Receiving Special Education Services. |
Rep. Cam Kenney |
LOB 209 (Finance/H) |
|
Fri 3/15 1:00 PM |
HB 1583 |
|
Relative to The Per Pupil Cost Of An Opportunity For An Adequate Education. |
Rep. Jonah Wheeler |
LOB 209 (Finance/H) |
|
Fri 3/15 1:00 PM |
HB 1212 |
|
Relative to Eligibility For Free School Meals. |
Rep. Muriel Hall |
LOB 209 (Finance/H) |