Education reforms dominated the NH Legislature this year, most efforts failed

Education issues have been front and center across New Hampshire this legislative session, with Republicans vowing to expand school choice and Democrats fighting to prioritize public education. While a few bills await action from Gov. Kelly Ayotte, the parties failed to get many of their legislative initiatives to her.

Here are three takeaways as the legislative session winds down.

1. Lawmakers showed no appetite for new public school mandates.

A proposal from a pair of House Democrats would have required school students to study critical thinking and logic for at least 54 hours during high school.

The bill would have cost the state $1 million just to develop content and standards, according to the state Department of Education.

Republicans tried to make several of their own curriculum changes. One would have required high school students to take four years of math instead being able to substitute one year with another subject that included math, such as accounting. Two bills sought to require firearms safety courses, including a repeat from last year.

Lawmakers also rejected bills that would have protected recess. One bill would have required at least 45 minutes of recess a day until 7th grade. Another would have prohibited public schools from punishing students by denying them recess.

2. Republicans failed — so far — to expand education options for students and families.

Republicans prioritized open enrollment legislation, which would have made it easier for New Hampshire students to attend any public school in the state and harder for their districts to stand in the way.

The legislation failed in the eleventh hour last week when the state Senate opted to table it rather than risk a veto from Ayotte who said it was “not ready for primetime.”

Efforts to further expand the state’s Education Freedom Account school voucher program also failed.

One bill would have abolished the enrollment cap. Another would have guaranteed access for children from active-duty military families.

Republicans are awaiting Ayotte’s decision on another voucher bill that would allow students who receive a voucher, which average $5,000 a year, to also take public school courses at no cost. Currently, public school districts are allowed to charge students tuition if they are in the Educational Freedom Account program.

3. School vouchers will continue with limited state oversight.

Democrats continued to target the state’s Education Freedom Account program, which is run by the Children’s Scholarship Fund, a nonprofit with limited state scrutiny.

They tried to move the program to the state Department of Education to ensure the financial records would be available to the public. Another bill would have required the Children’s Scholarship Fund to disclose records measuring students’ educational progress. A pair of identical bills sought to make that information available to lawmakers.

Those measures failed but lawmakers may get some of the answers they are seeking in the coming months.

State auditors were tasked in 2022 with reviewing the Education Freedom Account Program. That audit is underway and has recently been expanded to ensure that students receiving vouchers live in New Hampshire and are meeting educational standards.