OPPOSE HB90, relative to the definition of part-time teachers.

Talking Points for HB90:

• HB90 would authorize anyone to be employed or contracted as a part-time teacher (20 hours or less) without training or professional development, with no requirement for a path to licensure.

• From NEA-NH: As originally written, this bill would create the status of a part-time unlicensed teacher if they work no more than 20 hours, seek a criminal history records check, adhere to a code of conduct, and are employed or contracted as a full-time or adjunct faculty member by the university system or the community college system. While the House passed an amended version of the bill, it only adds some soft additional requirements around those who may teach in a dual and concurrent enrollment class, but there are no time limits or pathways toward the benefits of licensure. Unfortunately, a bipartisan amendment offered by the sponsor to narrow the scope of the bill was rejected.

• While NH is grappling with a teacher shortage issue, this bill is misguided and will negatively impact Granite State students by lowering standards for teachers in our public schools. According to experts, waiving certification and licensure requirements for teachers won’t solve long-term teacher shortages and could create even more barriers.

• Studies have shown that teacher quality is the powerful indicator of student achievement within the school. NH teachers are professionals who have completed high-quality education programs to build the skills and knowledge necessary to effectively serve their students.

• HB90 is sponsored by Liberty Alliance* State Rep. Rick Ladd (R-Haverhill). It is another attack looking to undermine our public schools - step by step, brick by brick - in this case, by weakening teaching standards

* Founded by the Free State Project in 2003, the New Hampshire Liberty Alliance (NHLA) refers to itself as a non-partisan alliance that supports libertarian candidates running for local and state office.

NOTE: When using talking points, please take an extra minute or two to put thoughts into your own words rather than copying and pasting. There are many legislators who will discount viewpoints if they see it is exactly the same as that received by others. Thank you! 

OPPOSE HB667-FN, relative to health education and requiring the viewing of certain videos demonstrating gestational development from embryo to fetus through birth by public school students. This bill specifies required instruction under the public school health curriculum and requires public school students to watch a simulated or ultrasound video demonstrating gestational development.

Talking Points for HB667:

• HB667 requires instruction under the public school health curriculum and requires public school students to watch a simulated or ultrasound video demonstrating gestational development, clearly geared toward indoctrination of young minds.

• There are no age limits on this requirement. In addition to younger students in middle and high schools, HB677 requires all public college and university students to be subjected to anti-abortion propaganda materials as a graduation requirement – which is government overreach. As part of the bill, it would also mandate the New Hampshire public universities and colleges have a process to certify that students have seen the video.

• This is not a "homegrown" bill. This legislation is part of a national push by the anti-abortion movement. Right now, across 20 states, extremist legislators have introduced 33 bills designed to force anti-abortion disinformation into our classrooms under the false label of sex education. These bills mandate medically inaccurate fetal development lessons and forced ultrasound videos, including Live Action’s discredited “Meet Baby Olivia” video, as part of required health or sex education courses.

• These bills are designed to replace comprehensive sex education with ideology, eroding science-based curricula and silencing honest, affirming conversations about identity, relationships, and health.This nationwide, coordinated effort distorts reproductive health care, reinforces abortion stigma, and blocks young people from receiving comprehensive, inclusive, and science-backed sex education. Young people deserve an accurate curriculum that equips them to make informed, healthy decisions and build the futures they want.

• The "Meet Baby Olivia” video is not medically accurate and has not been endorsed by any unbiased medical organization. The video cited in the bill was developed by the organization Live Action, which describes itself as committed to “pro-life advocacy.”  Medical experts state the video is inaccurate, including the way it depicts the range of motion of a fetus. 

• Schools should be places of learning, not venues for ideological propaganda that prioritizes politics over students’ well-being.

• This isn’t education. It’s disinformation designed to shame students, confuse science, and deny young people the tools they need to make informed decisions about their health, their bodies, and their futures.

• Sara McNeil, a former nurse, testified in the hearing on the House side, “Calling an embryo a baby and giving it a name – Baby Olivia – is totally misleading and likely to be confusing to some children."

• HB667 would represent a departure from New Hampshire’s emphasis on local control in education. It should be the responsibility, obligation, and requirement of a local school board to identify the specific curriculum for each subject area that needs to be taught within their local community, including Health Education. “This is a very prescribed curriculum, eroding local control decisions on what is best for local communities,” said Jerry Frew, the Associate Executive Director of the New Hampshire School Administrators Association.

• The bill comes with an anticipated price tag of at least $245,000 per year because it requires the Department of Education to conduct an annual audit of each school district and the state university and community college systems to verify that the graduation requirement has been met. The fiscal note states that the audit would cost the Department of Education at least $102,000, and the graduation requirement verification would cost the community college system between $10,000 and $100,000 and the university system $135,000 per year per fiscal notes. At the same time, NH's Republican lawmakers announced a two-year, $50 million cut to the state university system.

You may watch House hearings live or recorded here. 
You may watch Senate hearings live or recorded here. 

Info Sourced from Hillsborough County Democratic Committee