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Boston Globe
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Ayotte vetoes N.H. book ban legislation, citing concern about subjective standards around age-appropriateness
Ayotte said she doesn't think the state should get involved in 'addressing questions of literary value and appropriateness,' particularly with legislation that includes 'monetary penalties based on subjective standards.' Advertisement While proponents said Get N.H. Morning Report A weekday newsletter delivering the N.H. news you need to know right to your inbox. Enter Email Sign Up 'Every student deserves to see themselves reflected in the pages of their books,' said Megan Tuttle, president of the NEA New Hampshire, a teachers union, in a statement applauding Ayotte's decision. 'We hope this book ban bill veto represents a changing tide at the State House and call on lawmakers to listen to Granite Staters who overwhelmingly oppose classroom censorship efforts,' she added. This legislation would have required local school boards to adopt policies for handling complaints from parents who allege a particular piece of content is 'harmful to minors.' Those unhappy with the local board's handling of a complaint would then have been able to file an appeal with the state board of education, whose seven members are appointed by the governor. Advertisement Although Under existing state law — which borrows language from the US Supreme Court's What implications the phrase 'for minors' might carry for discussions of age-appropriateness would seem to be open to interpretation. The legislation said complaints would be decided first by the school principal, then by the local school board, and ultimately by the state board of education. Barrett M. Christina, executive director of the New Hampshire School Boards Association, said on Tuesday that his group questioned whether HB 324 was even constitutional. In some ways, its vague standard looks like the state's so-called 'divisive concepts' law, which a federal judge Christina said the NHSBA appreciates Ayotte's veto as an affirmation that 'local education decisions are best made my locally elected school board members, and not the New Hampshire legislature or the State Board of Education.' Related : Advertisement Under HB 324, if a school were to fail to follow the correct process, then anyone claiming to be aggrieved would have been authorized to sue for $1,000 per violation, plus costs and legal fees, according to the legislation. And educators would have faced the potential for professional discipline. Ayotte said she was concerned the legislation had envisioned potentially extensive civil action, 'which could open the door to unnecessary litigation from out-of-state groups.' Ayotte said an If lawmakers conclude the current law isn't being implemented adequately, the appropriate course would be to amend that law, Ayotte said. Republican state lawmakers — who hold a comfortable majority in the 400-seat House and a super-majority in the 24-seat Senate — had framed their support for HB 324 as an anti-smut campaign. 'We're not talking about 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' or some poetry that has some innuendos in it,' Republican Senator Victoria L. Sullivan of Manchester said during debate on the bill. 'We're talking about flat-out pornography.' Republican Senator Daryl A. Abbas of Salem similarly said this legislation aimed to get rid of obscene materials like 'Hustler' magazine, not ban books like 'To Kill a Mockingbird' or any of William Shakespeare's works. Advertisement His point was rhetorical. No one claimed school libraries offer 'Hustler' to kids. But others have offered more literal examples of materials they view as inappropriate for K-12 school libraries. Republican Representative Glenn Cordelli of Tuftonboro, the prime sponsor of HB 324, cited New Hampshire writer Jodi L. Picoult, whose acclaimed novel ' Picoult joined with other bestselling authors who live in New Hampshire to In a wry post Advertisement 'Now that kids can't get porn on their phones while at school,' he said, 'at least they can still find it in the library.' Steven Porter can be reached at
Boston Globe
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
New Hampshire still ranks last in state-level share of K-12 education funding
The state's current education funding model Get N.H. Morning Report A weekday newsletter delivering the N.H. news you need to know right to your inbox. Enter Email Sign Up Megan Tuttle, president of NEA New Hampshire, said some state lawmakers 'keep failing to adequately fund public education,' and the state's overreliance on local property taxes means students receive differing opportunities based on their ZIP codes. Advertisement 'For example, students in property poor and lower-income communities often don't get to take AP courses or join extra curricular activities,' she said. 'Differences in funding levels across the state also impact educator salaries, leading to serious recruitment and retention issues that directly harm student learning.' Advertisement Whether the current model should be replaced with a system that requires the state to contribute more funding and distribute SWEPT revenues more equally is the subject of a pair of disputes While the state's share of K-12 public school spending is relatively slim, the overall amount that New Hampshire schools spend per student is higher than most other states. New Hampshire ranked seventh in the US last school year, spending $22,252 per pupil, according to the NEA data. That was slightly more than Maine schools spent per pupil and a few thousands dollars less than Massachusetts schools spent per pupil. Republican state lawmakers have advocated for caps to limit the growth of school spending at the local level. They have also proposed universal eligibility for the Education Freedom Account program, which would allow all families to take the state's share of education funding and use it for private school or other education expenses. Democrats have advocated for their own legislative proposals to increase education funding at the state level and distribute SWEPT revenues more evenly. A wide variety of factors, including In terms of Advertisement This article first appeared in Globe NH | Morning Report, our free newsletter focused on the news you need to know about New Hampshire, including great coverage from the Boston Globe and links to interesting articles from other places. If you'd like to receive it via e-mail Monday through Friday, Steven Porter can be reached at
