AFT-NH Legislative Bulletin (2023-19)

NH House Rejects So-Called Parental Bill of Rights

NH House Delivers Huge Victory   This week as the so-called Parental Bill of Rights was not just defeated but a vote was taken to “indefinitely postpone” the bill. What does that mean? On an Inexpedient to Legislate vote, the bill could come back next year as long as it was deemed substantially different than the current version by the Speaker. On an indefinite postponement vote nothing can come back that even discusses the subject. This effectively means this bill is not only dead for this year but for next.

A deep breath can be let out by students, parents and school staff who want to make sure every child is protected, and that school staff can continue to build a safe and welcoming environment for all students. A big thank you to everyone who took action on this bill over the last many months. Your support made a difference today in this vote, and in the lives of Granite State Families.

Action Needed

Turning Our Attention to Vouchers   This week the full Senate voted to defeat HB 464, one of the voucher expansion bills that was introduced this session. The bill would have expanded the unaccountable, over budget and unproven voucher program to many categories of students and including geographic areas that could cover the whole state with no income eligibility limit. In essence it would have created a universal school voucher program in NH and even usual backers of school vouchers admitted it would drain the education trust fund and break the budget. It was defeated with a unanimous recommendation from the Senate Education Committee.

However, the Senate also passed HB 367 a bill that raises the income eligibility from its current 300% threshold of the federal poverty level to 350%. That increase may seem small, but it increases the threshold almost $20,000 for a family of four, increasing it to over $100,000. It is also mostly new spending from the state as about 85% to 90% of the students taking vouchers are already in private schools or being homeschooled and therefore not currently costing the state any tax expenditure. As this program grows, even without many students directly leaving public schools to take a voucher, it will increasingly compete with the public schools for the very limited state revenue spent on educating Granite State children.  As we all know, the State of New Hampshire continues to fail to meet its constitutional duty to adequately fund our public schools. It is irresponsible to spend any money on vouchers, never mind expand this program to even more families while 165,000 Granite State students and their families are still waiting for adequate public education funding.

The Senate Finance Committee is the next step in the process for HB 367 and we need for you to contact members of the Senate Finance Committee and ask them to vote NO on HB 367.  By taking this simple ACTION you can have your voice heard and stand up for your public schools.

We know when your elected representatives hear from you it does make a difference. There is no question that your engagement and activism was a critical component in helping defeat the so-called parental bill of rights. Now let’s turn our attention to HB 367 and let them know this bill warrants defeat as well. Thank you for your tireless efforts.

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You can also read written testimony submitted to the legislature at STATE HOUSE NEWS.

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