Legislative committee plans to decide on rules Thursday morning

By Rhianwen Watkins-Granite State News Collaborative

Long-awaited updates to New Hampshire’s education minimum standards for schools, otherwise known as the 306s, are being voted on this Thursday by the Joint Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules, known as JLCAR. 

On Aug. 14, the State Board of Education approved the first half of the 306s, which was then sent to the JLCAR, which ultimately decided to table the rules until it received the second half of the standards in order to  review the changes in full.

The second half was approved by the State Board of Education on Sept. 16 and is being brought in front of JLCAR this Thursday, Nov 21. 

Reaching Higher, a statewide public education advocacy nonprofit, hosted a webinar on Oct 27, at which its director of public relations, Kelly Untiet, stated that the organization expects JLCAR to vote on both sections of the proposed rules during Thursday’s meeting.

For the rules to pass, they must be approved first by the Legislative Oversight Committee, then by JLCAR. After initially raising multiple concerns about significant areas of the rules, the Legislative Oversight Committee ultimately voted to approve the rules on Oct 27. Now the proposed changes are in JLCAR’s hands.

What are JLCAR’s criteria for approval?

The proposed updates have been the target of overwhelming criticism from educators, including superintendents, teachers, other school administrators, school board members and parents. 

Among the chief critics is Christine Downing, director of curriculum, instruction and assessment for the Cornish, Grantham and Plainfield school districts. She sent the committee considerable written testimony based on comments made at numerous educator review sessions she held across the state. Educators say they’re particularly concerned about the removal of caps on class sizes, wording changes that eliminate requirements for certain program elements, and changes in the qualifications of educators.

On Thursday, JLCAR will review the proposed changes and vote based on four outlined categories: public interest, financial cost, legislative intent and agency’s authority.

What might JLCAR object to?

During the Oct. 27 webinar, Reaching Higher outlined why JLCAR might object to the rule changes, based on these categories:

 • First, are the rules in the public’s interest? Reaching Higher said that, based on the hundreds of pages of public feedback opposing the rules, they may not be. In addition, the consensus among educators across the state is that the rules are unclear and ambiguous in multiple places. Reaching Higher said that could lead to “inconsistent application.”

• The second category concerns whether there is a financial cost that was not outlined in the proposal. Reaching Higher worries that ambiguity and lack of detail in certain areas could result in financial burden for taxpayers. For example, if specific program elements are removed or made optional, then the state may not be responsible for funding them.

• The third category concerns whether the rules support current legislation around education standards, or if they conflict with it. One concern Reaching Higher raised is whether proposed graduation requirements align with state laws. In addition, many educators and even lawyers have expressed concern over whether the proposed rules will meet the New Hampshire Constitution’s requirement for the state to provide an adequate education for every child. This relates to finances. If certain program requirements become optional and are not state-funded, the result could be discrepancies in access to resources among school districts, based on the level of affluence, or lack thereof, in specific communities.

• The final category is whether the proposed standards are within or beyond the authority of the N.H. Department of Education to implement. The department does not have as much authority as lawmakers when it comes to imposing rules. One concern with the revised proposal is that it often refers to “state academic standards” when discussing criteria for what elements particular education programs must cover. Those standards differ from the 306s in that they determine only what students are required to learn, not what the state must fund — which is what the 306s determine. Reaching Higher is concerned that, if the 306s proposal does not define what program requirements must be offered for various subjects — such as an arts education, for example — and instead only refers to the academic standards, there will be questions about to how to deliver these programs and the state won’t be required to fund them. In addition, the academic standards are vastly outdated, with some dating back to the early 2000s. 

Downing is also preparing to testify at Thursday’s meeting about why she thinks the proposed rules changes do not meet the criteria in all four categories.

The JLCAR meeting and hearing will begin 9 a.m. on Thursday in Room 306-308 of the Legislative Office Building in Concord. The proceedings are open to the public. As of this writing, no agenda had been set for Thursday, but it has been confirmed the JLCAR plans to vote on the rules.

These articles are being shared by partners in the Granite State News Collaborative. For more information, visitcollaborativenh.org.