This story is part of a series of check-ins on where things stand on big issues like housing, immigration and the environment at the midpoint of the State House calendar. Find more stories at NHPR.org/crossover.
Education has been such a big topic in the New Hampshire Legislature this year that the House created a new committee just to focus on the funding side of that issue. As they continue to tackle perennial questions about how the state pays for schools, lawmakers are also working on a range of other policies that could have significant impacts on young people, their families and the education system. Here’s how some of those proposals are taking shape at the midpoint of the legislative calendar.
Education funding, both local and state
In the coming months, the New Hampshire Supreme Court will decide two consequential cases that could drastically change how the state pays for education and how much it spends. Yet, that’s not been a focus of State House debate this year, and lawmakers have largely voted down bills that would rethink the state’s approach funding schools.
Meanwhile, House Republicans are pursuing bills that would have significant impacts on school spending.
One bill would let the state — rather than local voters — cap local school budgets by limiting what districts spend on each student.
That’s already an option under a law passed last year. We saw voters in at least seven districts consider it this year — and reject it. Republicans now want to make that cap mandatory, not optional. Districts could override it with a two-thirds majority vote — a threshold critics say is out of reach.
Education choice a big focus
It looks likely we’ll see some kind of expansion of the state’s voucher-like Educational Freedom Accounts this year.
Gov. Kelly Ayotte has proposed eliminating income caps for only students in public schools. Republican lawmakers are proposing lifting income caps for all students.
Currently students must be at or below 350 percent of the federal poverty level — or about $112,500 a year for a family of four — to qualify for education vouchers. Approximate 5,300 students participate, each receiving about $5,000 a year from the state.
Democrats object to the program because they want that state money going to public schools.
Special education
Special education is getting a lot of attention this year from school districts trying to pay for services and parents who want more services.
In November, New Hampshire Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut told local school leaders they’d have to pay an additional $16 million in special education costs because the state would not be covering a spike in expenses.
That looks unlikely now, thanks to pushback from school leaders and disability rights advocates. Both the governor and lawmakers proposed potential solutions. The governor included $16 million in her budget to cover the shortfall for two years. Lawmakers appear to favor a longer-term, less expensive approach that would allow the governor to pull a much smaller amount of money from the general fund on an ongoing basis.
Policing cell phones in schools
Cell phones in schools have been a hot topic on both sides of the aisle. It looks likely we’ll see a bill requiring schools to restrict phone use in the classroom. But the proposed House budget cuts the $1 million the governor wanted to give schools toward that effort.
The debate over this will be interesting because parents, schools, and students aren’t fully aligned. Some parents worried about school violence want their children to have their phones all day in case of an emergency. For teachers, it’s a struggle to manage cell phones in a classroom. Students have been divided on restrictions.
Restricting classroom material
We’ve also seen lots of efforts in recent years to restrict certain books or other materials in New Hampshire schools, and those efforts seem to be picking up steam in this legislative session.
House and Senate Republicans have proposed a pair of sweeping bills that would prohibit “harmful” materials in public schools. This would include depictions of nudity — except images of breast feeding — and other sexual conduct.
Under both bills, schools would have to create a process to challenge materials, which would include books, performances, statues, and internet sites. And the school’s principal would be charged with deciding which materials were “harmful” under the law.
Materials would qualify if they are “offensive” or appeal to the “shameful” interests of minors, which are not well–defined. Expect the legislation to be challenged as too broad and vague.
Youth health risks
Republican lawmakers are again targeting the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, an anonymous questionnaire given to high school students every other year.
Questions touch on a wide range of issues, from social media use and dating violence to assault and substance use. The most recent results showed increases in texting or emailing while driving, dating violence and bullying. The responses drive critical policy and intervention decisions.
Some Republicans and parents have pushed to eliminate the survey because they see it as an invasion of privacy - even though it's anonymous.
There’s been an effort to address that by allowing parents to see the questions in advance and exempt their child from taking it.
Lawmakers want to flip that and require parents to permit their child to take the survey. Critics worry that will jeopardize valuable data because busy parents can forget to return permission slips.
