HB 309-FN - AS INTRODUCED

 

 

2023 SESSION

23-0466

09/10

 

HOUSE BILL 309-FN

 

AN ACT relative to civil rights education in public elementary and secondary schools.

 

SPONSORS: Rep. Ulery, Hills. 13; Rep. Cordelli, Carr. 7; Rep. A. Lekas, Hills. 38

 

COMMITTEE: Education

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------

 

ANALYSIS

 

This bill adds instructional requirements for civil rights and acts of discriminatory injustice to the course of instruction in schools concerning national and state history and government.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

23-0466

09/10

 

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

 

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Three

 

AN ACT relative to civil rights education in public elementary and secondary schools.

 

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

 

1  New Paragraph; Instruction in National and State History and Government; Civil Rights Study.  Amend RSA 189:11, I by inserting after paragraph II the following new paragraph:

III. The course of instruction required under subparagraph I(j) shall include studying the events of the civil rights movement from 1954 to 1968. This period in American history is known as the civil rights era because during this period reform-minded Americans organized to press for a rejection of the doctrine of “separate but equal” and to reform Jim Crow-era laws in the United States. One of the universal lessons of the civil rights era is that hatred on the basis of immutable characteristics, not just race or ethnicity, but also such characteristics such as nationality, religious belief, disability, or sex, can overtake any nation or society, leading to profound injustice. To reinforce that lesson, such curriculum shall include an additional unit of instruction studying other acts of discriminatory injustice, such as genocide, elsewhere around the globe. This unit shall include, but not be limited to, the Armenian genocide, the Holocaust, Chinese coolie labor in Cuba, the Uighurs in China, the Rohingya of Burma, and others. The studying of this material is a reaffirmation of the commitment of the free peoples of this state to reject bigotry, to champion equal protection under the law as a foundational principle of our republic, and to act in opposition to injustice wherever it may occur. The state board shall make available to all school boards instructional materials that may be used as guidelines for development of a unit of instruction under this paragraph. The instructional materials shall be subject to public disclosure under RSA 91-A.

2  Effective Date.  This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.

 

LBA

23-0466

1/4/23

 

HB 309-FN- FISCAL NOTE

AS INTRODUCED

 

AN ACT relative to civil rights education in public elementary and secondary schools.

 

FISCAL IMPACT:      [ X ] State              [    ] County               [    ] Local              [    ] None

 

 

 

Estimated Increase / (Decrease)

STATE:

FY 2023

FY 2024

FY 2025

FY 2026

   Appropriation

$0

$0

$0

$0

   Revenue

$0

$0

$0

$0

   Expenditures

$0

$100,000+

$100,000+

$100,000+

Funding Source:

  [ X ] General            [    ] Education            [    ] Highway           [    ] Other

 

METHODOLOGY:

This bill requires the state Board of Education to make available to all school boards instructional materials to be used to guide the development of a unit of instruction relative to civil rights. The Department of Education states purchasing instructional materials for distribution statewide would likely exceed $100,000 per year.  Additionally, the Department states it would likely need to hire a part-time employee to oversee this requirement.  The Department has not provided cost estimates for a part-time position.

 

It is assumed any fiscal impact would not occur until FY 2024.

 

AGENCIES CONTACTED:

Department of Education