AFT-NH Legislative Bulletin, 2021-17
April 26, 2021 - Bow, NH
I begin by giving a ‘shout-out’ and expressing sincere thanks to all the public-school educators across New Hampshire. Teachers, para-educators, support staff, and food-service workers, all of you have been tireless in your efforts to support students and to minimize the disruptions in education caused by the COVID pandemic. Many of you are on vacation this week and it is a well-deserved chance to decompress, to regather your focus and energies, and to prepare for the final 6-7 weeks to the end of the school year. And won’t we all breathe a huge sigh of relief when that day finally arrives.
The legislature was relatively quiet this past week, at least when it comes to public hearings. The House Education Committee did meet on Tuesday to complete the public hearings on bills sent over from the Senate. Two of the bills heard were Senate “omnibus” bills, combining a variety of disparate topics united only by their connection to education in NH. As always, there are issues raised in these hearings, but at present, none of this legislation raises any alarms with AFT-NH. What is most interesting, however, is to compare the complacency of House Republicans in dealing with 2021 omnibus bills as compared to last year’s fire & brimstone attacks on such bills as violating long-established House procedures. It would appear that once one is in the majority, the outlook is a bit different!
