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State board approves final education freedom account rules
The New Hampshire State Board of Education approved formal rules for the state’s education freedom accounts program Thursday, completing the latest stage in a program that has seen higher than expected interest. The new regulations – if fully approved by lawmakers in the coming months – will provide clarity to the voucher-like program. Currently, the […]
Executive Council approves extension of Prenda learning pod program
The Executive Council voted Wednesday to extend a $5.8 million contract with a national company that provides “learning pods” to public schools, advancing a school choice program even as take-up in the existing program has been slow. In a 4-1 party-line vote, the council authorized a two-year extension of the state’s existing contract with Prenda. […]
Bullying reports plummeted during remote learning school year, state numbers show
Reports of bullying in New Hampshire schools plummeted in the 2020-2021 school year as most schools entered remote learning, according to recent numbers from the Department of Education. With most students learning via video screens, and many classrooms abandoned for the majority of the school week, elementary schools recorded 364 reported incidents of bullying of […]
Squirrels, hares, and bears: As a new session approaches, a look at under-the-radar legislation
While proposed legislation suggests COVID-19, voting rights, and abortion will consume much of the legislative debate once lawmakers reconvene in January, there are at least 800 proposed bills focused on other matters, like snowshoe hares, funeral processions, and utility companies hoping to fell trees on private property. We read through the 874 proposed pieces of […]
Amid COVID-19 exposures, State House contact tracing questioned
When Beverly Cotton got the call telling her of a potential COVID-19 exposure at a legislative committee session, it didn’t come from the New Hampshire House. It came from a fellow audience member. Cotton, of Weare, had joined a dozen other lobbyists, advocates, and reporters on Nov. 12 to watch the Friday morning proceedings of […]
School enrollment decline persists despite return to classrooms
Enrollment has dropped slightly in New Hampshire public schools this year, continuing a years-long trend that appears to have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. From the 2020-2021 school year to this fall, the number of students in New Hampshire public schools fell from 160,715 to 159,334, according to numbers released by the Department of […]
Poll: Twice as many Granite Staters hosting or traveling for Thanksgiving this year
For most New Hampshire families, the 2020 Thanksgiving dinner table was abnormally empty. This year, that caution has mostly disappeared. Nearly twice as many Granite Staters are planning to travel or host people in their homes this Thanksgiving than were last Thanksgiving, according to a poll by the University of New Hampshire, suggesting a broad […]
Bill would let school districts divert local tax money to private education
For decades, “public education funding” has carried a simple connotation: money, raised by state and local taxpayers, going to local public schools. But Rep. Kevin Verville sees that as a flawed definition. And he’s betting that his fellow Republican legislators do, too. “When I hear the term public education, I hear that we are going […]
Uproar over form to report teachers puts state’s Commission for Human Rights in the spotlight
Ahni Malachi doesn’t have time to wade into political disputes. As executive director of the New Hampshire Commission for Human Rights, Malachi, her staff, and her panel of commissioners field around 200 allegations of discrimination every year – evaluating claims by tenants, employees, and patrons. “I kind of come in every day and put my […]
O’Neill to step down as director of the Office of the Child Advocate
Moira O’Neill, New Hampshire’s director of the Office of the Child Advocate, will not seek a second term in the role, she announced Wednesday – three years after she started as the watchdog agency’s first director. “This opportunity was the capstone of a career and scholarship,” O’Neill said in a statement, thanking Gov. Chris Sununu […]
‘Veto Day’ scheduled for Jan. 5 and 6
It won’t be one day, but two, and there won’t be many vetoes to speak of. But after months of delay, New Hampshire’s “Veto Day” finally has a calendar date. Lawmakers in the House and Senate will be returning Jan. 5 and 6 to take up the seven vetoes issued by Gov. Chris Sununu over […]
House committee recommends ending ban on campaign paraphernalia in polling places
New Hampshire’s ban on voter-worn campaign clothing and paraphernalia on Election Day could be eliminated under a bill recommended on party lines by a House committee Friday. Voting 11-9, the House Election Law Committee recommended “ought to pass” on House Bill 87, which would strike out a law prohibiting the items inside polling places. The […]