AFT-NH Testimony Opposing SB 578
From Debrah Howes, President AFT-NH
March 30, 2026
To: Chair Noble and members of the House Education Policy and Administration Committee
My name is Debrah Howes, President of the American Federation of Teachers–NH. I speak on behalf of our 3,500 members who work in preK through grade 12 public education, in public services, and in private and public universities across the Granite State. We are taxpayers and citizens of New Hampshire, and many of us are parents or grandparents of public-school students.
SB 578 is a well-intentioned bill. It reflects a broad agreement that students, especially the youngest learners, need movement, play, and time to reset in order to learn. Educators support those goals and support the well-being of public-school students. However, SB 578 goes beyond encouraging good educational practices we can all agree on. Instead, it imposes new mandates without providing the resources needed to implement them effectively or even responsibly.
While we support these educational practices in principle, the bill’s shortcomings force us to oppose it. SB 578 fails to recognize that play-based, student directed learning works best in small classes of roughly 13 to 17 students. It also overlooks the fact that recess requires adult supervision, regardless of how it is labeled. Finally, the bill ignores the federal and state testing and accountability systems that continue to drive instructional practice in elementary schools.
SB 578 requires recess for all students in kindergarten through eighth grade, which includes middle school students. Many schools do not currently have recess built into middle school schedules. Adding it will require major restructuring of that school day, cuts to instructional or intervention time, and additional supervision responsibilities.
At any grade level, recess requires adult supervision, which means staffing. SB 578 provides no funding to hire additional teachers, paraeducators, or recess monitors, and no time for school districts to plan or train staff. This will increase workload for current educators and paraeducators who are already stretched thin.
The bill also expands play-based instruction through grade three. Done well; this shift requires smaller class sizes, additional teachers and paraeducators, professional development, and changes to curriculum and assessment. A true commitment to play based learning is not compatible with the current regimen of state standardized assessment in elementary school. SB 578 makes none of these changes and provides no resources to support them.
Finally, SB 578 takes effect just 60 days after passage. That timeline is unrealistic. Schools need time to redesign schedules, revise policies, bargain workload changes, train staff, and communicate with families.
Good intentions are not enough. Unfunded mandates place strain on public schools and undermine the very goals they seek to achieve. Educators and paraeducators deserve a voice, fair working conditions, and the resources necessary to serve students well.
For these reasons, I urge the committee to oppose SB 578 or amend it to include funding, planning time, and meaningful educator input.
Sincerely,
Debrah Howes
President, AFT-New Hampshire