AFT-NH Statement on the Defeat of Voucher Expansion

 CONCORD, N.H. - Statement by AFT-New Hampshire President Deb Howes on the defeat of HB 1665, the expansion of the school voucher program:

“Today's defeat by the NH House of HB 1665, which would have expanded the state's school voucher program, is a huge victory for all public-school students and local property taxpayers. Every Granite State student has the constitutional right to a robust public education and the state needs to start shouldering its fair share of funding for public school districts. 

The State has a constitutional obligation to fund the robust public education of 165,000 public school students and it MUST meet that obligation! It needs to stop looking for ways to give away tax money to private educational options through vouchers.”

AFT-NH is proud to award this year's scholarship winners.

The Honey Cascio award recipient for a graduating high school student is awarded to Charles Bradley Jr. He attends Billerica Memorial High School in Billerica MA. His mom is member Stacey Sweklo-Bradley, a teacher in the Nashua Teachers' Union  AFT 1044. 

The winner of the Billy Donovan award for a continuing college student is John T. Duval, who attends Temple University. His dad is member Vincent Duval, a band teacher at Pennichuck Middle School, and part of the Nashua Teachers' Union AFT-1044. 

Please complete the following survey if you worked in a PK-12 public or public charter school in New Hampshire during the 2023-2024 school year. It should take approximately 6-8 minutes to complete:

Click here:  Reaching Higher NH Climate Survey, Spring 2024

 Court Rejects Divisive Concepts Law and Legislative Session Enters Final Weeks

A HUGE VICTORY for public school students and teachers this week as the federal district court ruled in favor of AFT-NH and other plaintiffs in the so-called divisive concepts case. The law that was passed as part of the state budget in 2021 was aimed at preventing teachers from teaching honest history to Granite State students. It was pushed by anti-education politicians and our anti-public education commissioner, Frank Edelblut, a partisan political appointee who is answerable only to the governor.

“The court agreed that the law unconstitutionally restricted what teachers can teach. This decision should put to rest the issue, and New Hampshire teachers will no longer have to live under a cloud of fear of getting fired for actually teaching accurate, honest education.”

For Immediate Release                                                                                                                       

CONCORD, N.H.—The following is a statement by AFT-New Hampshire President Deb Howes on HB 1298, allowing uncertified teachers with no college education to be part-time public school teachers, and HB 1665, which expands the state’s voucher program by increasing the funding eligibility cap from 350 percent of the federal poverty level to 400 percent. Both bills passed the Senate on Wednesday and head back to the House for a concurrence vote, an agreement to create a “committee of conference” to work out differences or a defeat through refusing to do either.