Continuing on the path of transparency concerning how our elected representatives vote on such important issues as gun violence prevention, women’s reproductive rights and voting rights, this article showcases the slow, but methodical, dismantling of our public education system. Under the questionable “leadership” of Education Commissioner Frank Edleblut, a man whose seven children were home schooled and who has never taught anyone in a classroom setting, one common sense education bill after another has been defeated while bills such as those damn vouchers move merrily along and are passed.
There is quite a list of bills, which means there will be two articles devoted to this issue alone. Saddle up! Here we go . . .
HB 601 was proposed legislation that would have made all school children who are eligible for Medicaid to automatically become eligible for free or reduced price lunch. The prime sponsors were Democrat Reps. Mary Heath, Patricia Cornell, Kate Murray, Mary Freitas, David Luneau and Jacqueline Chretien. The lone Republican sponsor was Rep. Rick Ladd. This bill was defeated.
HB 1084 was proposed legislation that would have required certain minimum credentials for the position of Education Commissioner. The prime sponsors were Democrat Reps. Loren Selig, Corinne Cascadden, Mary Heath, Maria Perez, Pat Cornell, Mel Myler, Peggy Balboni and Nick Germana. This bill was defeated.
HB 628 was proposed legislation that would have required “certain non-public schools or education service providers that accept public funds (taxpayer money) to perform background checks on all employees and volunteers.” The prime sponsors were Democrat Reps. Linda Tanner, Mary Heath, David Luneau, Pat Cornell, Sallie Fellows and Hope Damon. And yet, RSA 189:13-a requires that the school administrative unit (SAU), school district, or chartered public school complete a criminal history records check on every selected applicant for employment in any position in the school. The proposed bill was not outside of the already established law (RSA 189:13-a) but it was defeated anyway.
The “Divisive Concepts Law” was passed in NH in 2021. It bans public school educators from endorsing established positions in relation to gender, race and other protected classes. The fallout has been uncertainty for teachers who struggle with knowing how to manage assignments that may mention “sensitive” topics. HB 1162 was proposed legislation to repeal this law. The prime sponsors were ten Democrat Reps., most of whom have been listed in the above mentioned bills. Needless to say, this bill was defeated.
HB 1592 and HB 1594 were two pieces of proposed legislation having to do with those damn school vouchers again! HB 1592 would have banned taxpayer money from being diverted to non-public schools. HB 1594 would have established a yearly review that would determine a family’s eligibility to take part in the school voucher program. Naturally, both bills were defeated.
HB 1665 was proposed legislation that would increase the family eligibility for school vouchers up to 500% of the federal poverty level from $109,500 to $156,000 for a family of four. The prime sponsors were Republican Reps. Glenn Cordelli, Rick Ladd, Joseph Pitre, Kristin Noble, Julius Soti, Kevin Verville, Jacob Brouillard and Alicia Lekas. (Cordelli, Noble, Soti and Lekas are members of “Young Americans for Liberty.” Pitre, Noble, Verville and Lekas are members of "Liberty Alliance".) Now this bill passed and will become more of a burden on the backs of property owners.
This is a lot to take in all at once which is why it will be done in two articles.