nhsba

New Hampshire School Boards Association

Legislative Bulletin

February 13, 2015

  

A Brief Summary of Education Issues at the State House  

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Governor Hassan Delivers Her Budget Address: No New Funding for Education

The Governor's proposed budget continues funding for existing school building aid projects, but does not include funds for any new projects. It does increases the current cap on growth in adequacy payments from 108% to 115%, impacting approximately 20-30 towns annually, but funds this increase by decreasing stabilization grants (hold harmless) by 5% to districts with less than the state average of free-and-reduced-price-meal students. Vocational tuition and transportation aid, as well as catastrophic special education aid, are both level funded, while an extra $19 million is provided in charter school funding to accommodate growth in the population and allow for new charter schools.

The Finance Committee now begins deliberations on the state budget, which must be completed and sent to the Senate by early April. The Dept. of Education is making a budget presentation to the committee next Tuesday afternoon, February 17, at 2:45 pm.

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Issues at the State House

Retirement: These bills address issues of reform and revision to the state's public employee pension plan and program.

HB139 - This bill modifies the limitations on part-time employment under the New Hampshire retirement system during an emergency.

HB182 - This bill establishes a committee to study alternative public employee retirement plans.

HB239 - This bill establishes a statutory commission to study the creation of a state retirement security program for New Hampshire residents who do not have access to an employer-sponsored plan. The bill makes an appropriation for the purposes of the study.

HB369 - This bill establishes a defined contribution retirement plan for public employees and requires the issuance of a request for proposals for plan administration. Beginning November 1, 2015, all new hires by employers participating in the retirement system shall be enrolled in the public employee defined contribution plan.

HB396 - This bill modifies the annual hourly limit on part-time employment of a retired member of the New Hampshire retirement system and removes the weekly limit.

HB556 - This bill establishes a cash balance pension plan for all New Hampshire retirement system members hired on and after July 1, 2015.

SB85 - This bill establishes a statutory commission to study post-retirement employment of New Hampshire retirement system retirees.

SB129 - This bill allows a retired member of the retirement system to change an optional allowance after the 120-day grace period and redesignate the nonelection or election of an optional allowance where the executive director finds that circumstances require the change.

SB164 - This bill establishes terms for the retirement system's independent investment committee members and requires one member to be an active member trustee.

 

Right-to-Know: These bills address changes to RSA 91-A, Right to Know Law.

HB108 - This bill declares that minutes for nonpublic sessions under the right-to-know law shall be kept as provided for public session minutes and that a vote to seal nonpublic session minutes shall be taken in public session.

HB138 - This bill clarifies that a public body or agency shall not charge a fee to make a governmental record available for public inspection; provided, that a fee may still be charged for the actual cost of copying a public record.

HB181 - This bill declares that before a public body goes into a non-meeting pursuant to RSA 91-A:2, it must state the reason, limit discussion to the topic stated, take attendance, and keep a record of when the non-meeting begins and ends.

HB285 - This bill clarifies meetings with legal counsel under the right-to-know law.

HB606 - This bill declares that a public body shall only charge the actual costs of sending information filed electronically.

HB633 - This bill establishes the right-to-know grievance commission. The commission shall hear appeals from citizens relating to RSA 91-A. Decisions of the grievance commission may be appealed to the superior court. This bill also requires 72 hours notice of the meeting and the agenda before a public meeting held pursuant to the right-to-know law.

HB646 - This bill allows public bodies or agencies to charge for the costs of retrieval of public records under the right-to-know law under certain circumstances.

HB656 - This bill declares that a public body or agency shall not charge a fee to view a public record either in-house or online.

SB149 - This bill allows a school board to consider student tuition contracts in nonpublic session.

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Senate Adopts Bill to Prohibit the State from Requiring Common Core Standards

SB101 adds statutory language stating, "The common core state standards developed jointly by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers shall not be required by the department of education or the state board of education to be implemented in any school or school district in this state." While the bill makes an important policy statement, it does not change the current ability of boards to adopt standards, and makes no change in the statewide assessment that the state uses.

 

Also adopted by the Senate:

SB149 allowing a school board to consider student tuition contracts in nonpublic session under the right-to-know law.

SB151 allowing home educated pupils, who attend classes at a public school, to be included, proportionally, in the student count for adequacy aid calculations. The bill has been referred to the Senate Finance Committee for further review.

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Legislation Considered Next Tuesday, February 17, 2015, includes:

HOUSE EDUCATION, 207, LOB

10:00 a.m. Executive session

 

SENATE EDUCATION, Room 103, LOB

9:00 a.m. SB 25-FN, relative to epinephrine administered in schools.

9:30 a.m. SB 152, requiring the state police to disclose the results of a criminal records check to school officials.

10:00 a.m. SB 190-FN, relative to payment of costs for career and technical education center programs and administration by the department of education, and establishing a tax credit against business profits taxes for donations to such centers.

10:30 a.m. SB 227, relative to calculating the cost of an adequate education.

11:00 a.m. SB 228-FN-L, relative to the maximum total education grant, adjustment of stabilization grants, and adequate education funding for full-day kindergarten pupils.

EXECUTIVE SESSION MAY FOLLOW

 

LABOR, INDUSTRIAL AND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES, Room 307, LOB

In Representatives Hall

1:00 p.m. HB 402-FN, establishing the Franklin Partin right-to-work act.

 

Legislation Considered Next Thursday, February 19, 2015, includes:

HOUSE EDUCATION, Room 207, LOB

9:30 a.m. HB 604, relative to the use of mixed use school buses by special education pupils.

10:30 a.m. HB 471, relative to the powers of the state board of education and the duties of school boards.

11:15 a.m. HB 507, relative to teacher personally identifiable data.

1:00 p.m. HB 520, establishing privacy protections for student online personal information.

1:45 p.m. HB 527, establishing guidelines for school districts relative to the use of school resource officers.

2:15 p.m. HB 375, relative to providing information about effective forms of child discipline to parents.

2:45 p.m. HB 555, relative to participation of chartered public school students in school district co-curricular activities.

3:15 p.m. HB 578-FN, relative to state board of education compliance with unfunded federal education mandates.

Executive session on all pending legislation may follow.

 

LABOR, INDUSTRIAL AND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES, Room 206, LOB

10:00 a.m. HB 600-FN, relative to paid sick leave for employees.

10:45 a.m. HB 658-FN, prohibiting collective bargaining agreements that require employees to join a labor union.

 

Legislation Considered Next Friday, February 20, 2015, includes:

HOUSE EDUCATION, Room 207, LOB

9:30 a.m. HB 603, relative to student exemptions from assessments, questionnaires, or surveys.

9:55 a.m. HB 566-FN-L, relative to consolidation of school administrative units.

10:20 a.m. HB 611-FN, requiring legislative approval of all agreements, contracts, grants, or waivers involving the department of education or the state board of education.

10:45 a.m. HB 610, relative to a school board vote on the reassignment of a pupil.

11:10 a.m. HB 474, relative to grounds for denial of a chartered public school application.

11:35 a.m. HB 424, relative to the accessibility of assessment materials.

Executive session on all pending legislation may follow.

1:00 p.m. Executive session


For the complete text of any bill, go to the general court web site and enter the bill number, e.g. HB102, and make sure the Session Year is 2015. 

 

For more information on specific legislation, please call Dean Michener, NHSBA Director of Governmental Affairs at 603-228-2061, or email: [email protected]. 

Dean Michener
NHSBA Dir. of Governmental Affairs
[email protected]
603-228-2061