Last week, a highly contested bill concerning NH high school graduation requirements was proposed in the New Hampshire House of Representatives. While House Bill 283 was voted inexpedient to legislate on February 12th’s executive session, the proposal reflects growing national disagreement on education policy.
House Bill 283, proposed by Republican Representative Dan McGuire of Epsom, NH, suggested significant revisions to New Hampshire’s high school graduation requirements. Specifically, the bill proposed removing world languages, civics, government, geography, Holocaust and genocide education, arts, music, and more from the state-mandated components of an adequate education.
While the removal of these requirements from New Hampshire education appears drastic, the bill was conceived as a “well-intentioned attempt to refocus New Hampshire education on the fundamentals: reading, writing, math, science, and social studies,” according to Saint Anselm student and state Representative James Thibault.
“In light of the plummeting test scores among our students, the sponsor believed that the best way to improve education would be to refocus on the foundations of education. My biggest concern with the bill was the striking of language relating to civics and history education, in particular, in the section regarding social studies. While the removal in this statute would not mean schools can’t teach it, the fact that they won’t be required to specifically teach civics was disconcerting to me” Thibault elaborated.
The Prime Sponsor Representative McGuire reflected similar concerns regarding New Hampshire’s student performance in his opening testimony, stating that “barely 50% of school kids can do English at grade level, 40% math, and ⅓ science.”
Despite these frustrations on student performance, the bill generated immense criticism. According to an article from WMUR, “so many people wanted to testify about House Bill 283, that the hearing was moved to a larger room to accommodate everyone.”
Professor Sean Parr, Saint Anselm music professor and elected official representing Ward 2 on the Manchester Board of School Committee, recognized the widespread mobilization against this bill, “Our Board of course opposes this bill because of the potential negative effects on our students’ education. And over 30,000 citizens joined in their opposition to the bill, registering their concern in the State Legislature’s online testimony system. Only 71 citizens (0.2%) expressed support for the bill. This overwhelming show of state-wide concern for a strong public education—I believe this was a record public outcry—demonstrates that New Hampshire citizens support public education and feel strongly about public education remaining well-rounded.”
The overwhelming public response likely contributed to the bill being declared inexpedient to legislate, meaning it will likely remain indefinitely postponed.
While HB 283 is unlikely to advance, education policy remains a contentious issue in New Hampshire politics. When asked by The Crier about other education-related concerns, Representative James Thibault pointed to House Bill 402, which he believes could negatively impact school choice. “House Democrats are once again trying to attack students’ and parents’ right to school choice by attempting to make Education Freedom Account funds taxable income with HB402. This shameful attack will increase the financial hardship for parents seeking alternative educational pathways for their students,” Thibault stated.
Another major education policy debate involved the state’s voucher program. Professor Sean Parr highlighted concerns over expanding the program to universal eligibility. “One other initiative that’s gotten a lot of press is the proposal to expand the state’s voucher program to universal eligibility. This also threatens public education funding because money given to families to send their children to private schools would take funding away from public schools, hurting public schools, especially our most vulnerable students,” Parr explained.
With Donald Trump publicly questioning public school curricula, education has become a central issue in both state and national politics, with public officials advocating for the value of certain subjects
“I think there needs to be a discussion about what we teach in schools in general. We have too little focus on things, like civics and personal finance, that are critical to students’ future success and understanding of the world. When it comes to the arts in particular, I think it’s important to have them as an option for those passionate in those fields, to make them mandatory for those who have no interest, especially in high school, makes me wonder if that valuable class time would be better used studying a field that may help students in their future career path.” Representative James Thibault shared.
Professor Parr stressed the importance of supporting the arts in this political climate, “The arts are essential to a well-rounded education, and even though there will likely continue to be calls to cut the arts, the importance of the arts will continue to be fundamental to our humanity.”
With the Trump administration preparing an executive order to eliminate the Department of Education, education policy is undoubtedly at the forefront of political discourse. Opinions over what ought to be taught in schools and sentiments to eliminate state and federal control over education are stronger than ever. As discussions on education policy continue, the future of public education in New Hampshire remains a key issue, with debates over curriculum content, school choice, and state funding likely to persist.