State Education Commissioner Sued Over Funding of Voucher Program CONCORD, N.H.—New Hampshire is violating the N.H. Constitution and state law by using state lottery dollars and money from the Education Trust Fund to fund the state’s private school voucher program called the Education Freedom Account program, according to a complaint filed today in state court against state Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut. The complaint (https://www.aft.org/sites/default/files/media/documents/2022/Howes-v-Ed…) is asking the Merrimack County Superior Court for an injunction against use of these funds intended for New Hampshire public schools for the voucher program. It says: “If the state desires to operate an Education Freedom Account or similar program, whereby it grants public money for parents to utilize for private use, it must separately fund it through additional taxation or another source of funds,” noting there currently is no mechanism for doing so. MORE

AFT-NH Endorses Pro-Public Education Candidates AFT-NH endorsed a slate of pro-education candidates for Governor, Executive Council, New Hampshire Senate, and New Hampshire House. Each of these candidates promises to be a strong voice for our teachers, our students, and our public schools.  AFT-NH President Deb Howes offered the following on the list of endorsements: “The past two and half years have been some of the hardest for our members. Teaching during a pandemic, through remote and hybrid learning has been an enormous undertaking and challenge. Through it all our members have continued to work for what is best for their students. At the same time, they were facing pandemic-related challenges they also faced challenges from radical politicians in Concord. These politicians passed laws that look to silence and intimidate teachers from teaching honest history. Now, we see an unprecedented number of openings for teacher and support staff positions, many a direct consequence of the actions taken by the legislature these past two years. MORE

AFT-New Hampshire Tells Federal Court Its Lawsuit Against Divisive Concepts Law Should Proceed CONCORD, N.H.—AFT-New Hampshire urged a federal court today to allow its federal lawsuit against the so-called divisive concepts law to proceed, arguing the law is unconstitutionally vague and violates teachers’ and students’ free speech rights. According to the lawsuit, AFT-NH contends the “Right to Freedom from Discrimination in Public Workplaces and Education” law violates teachers’ free speech rights when teaching, as well as students’ First Amendment rights not to have censored instruction block their right to learn. The state has asked the U.S. District Court in Concord to dismiss AFT-NH’s lawsuit and a similar one by the American Civil Liberties Union. MORE

Welcome back to all of our teachers, paraeducators, and school support staff. We know the last few years have been full of new challenges every day and that through it all you have done everything for your students to help better their education and learning.  We wish you all the best in the upcoming year and hope for an easier, less tumultuous school year ahead.  MORE

CONCORD, N.H.— Today, the Department of Education released its latest data on the voucher program enacted by Republicans in last year's budget. AFT-NH President Deb Howes released the following statement: “The numbers show a disturbing trend of the vast majority of vouchers being used by students who were already in private school or already being homeschooled.  The voucher program has cost the state $14.7 million since its inception, a tab local property taxpayers will be forced to absorb in their city and town budgets. All of this while we know our local neighborhood public schools continue to support the majority of our students in New Hampshire. The state should be focusing on how to support the almost 170,000 public school students so that every child in New Hampshire is receiving the best education possible instead of just focusing on a few students who use a voucher.” MORE

School Assessment Scores Show New Hampshire Public Schools Are In A Strong Position With More Work To Be Done  (AFT-NH President Deb Howes) CONCORD, N.H.— Yesterday, the New Hampshire Department of Education released assessment data showing that New Hampshire’s public schools continue to make improvements getting closer to pre-pandemic levels of achievement. AFT-NH President Deb Howes released the following statement: “It is no secret that the last three years have been difficult on students, teachers, school support staff, and administrators. This past year in particular teachers had to focus not just on the content that they are required to teach but also on content that may have been missed due to hybrid and remote learning. Teachers, support staff, and students worked overtime re-establishing safe learning communities and focusing both on relationships and academics. MORE