News – Politics – Opinion – Podcasts
Doris Hohensee 
On October 13, 2021, NH State police arrested nine members of the public during a regularly scheduled open public meeting of the NH Executive Council with Governor Sununu. To put this in perspective, the event occurred during the Covid “emergency” shutdown of the state, during which time Governor Sununu, acting as Emperor, issued 90 Emergency Orders, which … Read more
Stolen Rights over Public Education Without consent, government has no legitimacy. In 1968, our fundamental rights over public education were stolen by an amendment to the NH Constitution. Usually, amendments enshrine or expand our rights. It’s very unusual to remove fundamental rights from a state constitution, let alone do it by stealth. In an effort … Read more
Allowing parents to send their child to another district, is a great idea. But the current open enrollment program undermines our right to local self-governance. It forces parents to pay taxes to the district they are trying to leave, and disenfranchises them in the district they want to join. They become outsiders without a voice … Read more
There’s been a lot of discussion about the Home Education Freedom Act, House Bill 1268, which recently passed the NH House. It recognizes a parent’s natural right to establish a home education program for their child, “regardless of ability, disability, developmental status, or educational need.” Parents will no longer be required to seek state permission … Read more
Charlie would never have favored a bill that uses force to promote ideological change. He recognized different viewpoints, and used persuasion, or withdrew without forcing his will upon others, as House Bill 1792 proposes to do. The bill identifies controversial ideologies that are currently being promoted in public schools. That’s a serious concern which needs resolution. The … Read more
State legislators are proclaiming that one-size-fits-all education isn’t suitable for all children. That’s pretty ironic, given that the state systematically adopted a series of uniform mandates on curriculum frameworks, competency grading, behavior modification, and even restorative justice discipline to create a one-size-fits-all adequate education. Now, legislators are trying to somehow “save” our children by letting … Read more
Voters were not informed in 1968 when they amended Article 6, Part 1. They believed the amendment removed “obsolete sectarian references,” which was 4 words: Deity, protestant, Evangelical, and Christians. Another 154 words were deleted without any public discussion or debate. There was no discussion in the major state newspapers at that time. No further … Read more
In 1968, our state constitution was radically amended. Voters were not fully informed of the consequences of the proposed changes. The voters’ guide said the amendment would “remove obsolete sectarian references.” There were exactly four sectarian terms (evangelical, Deity, protestant, and Christians), yet 140 words were removed from Art. 6 P.1 of the NH Constitution … Read more
Since at least 2000, our governors have knowingly usurped the Executive Council’s power to nominate judges. Courts are an essential branch of government, but we’ve learned the hard way that our rights are no longer sacrosanct in the NH courts. Nominating and appointing the best judges is critically important. The NH Constitution says that all … Read more
Funding should not be the defining issue in public education. But it is, because the state government is addicted to federal funds and imposes endless mandates on school districts. Many of these mandates aren’t fully funded, in violation of Article 28-a Part 1 of the NH Constitution. Taxpayers are screaming about skyrocketing property taxes. The … Read more
The NH Department of Education (DOE) collects hundreds of data points on every pre-K to 12 grade student in public school, plus 10,000 Education Freedom Account students attending private and home schools. The data is entered into a Statewide Longitudinal Data System (SLDS) and then shared with the federal government and other “designated” private researchers … Read more
With State Funding Comes State Regulation Every recipient of a state-funded Education Freedom Account (EFA) is considered to be a “public education student”, even if they attend a private school, according to our former Commissioner of Education. This is because public money is being used to fund their non-public education. A unique student identifier number … Read more
The Bill of Rights in the NH state constitution was written to protect citizens from state establishment of religious values, attitudes, and beliefs. In Part 1, the founders tried to protect Inalienable Rights of Conscience in Art. 4, Religious Freedom in Art. 5, and to tolerate a variety of sects and denominations without compelling anyone … Read more
No one’s left to defend educational freedom, except for a motley group of independent, unfunded homeschoolers teaching their kids at home. Given that they broke free of centralized control and approvals of their home programs, many have a healthy mistrust of state control over education. Most folks never read, or understood, history. They simply trust … Read more
State legislators have a limited understanding of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) mandates which have been imposed upon our public schools. They deal with many issues and it’s difficult to research each one in detail. Nor is it likely that legislators realize that federal ESSA mandates are already in place and ready to be … Read more
In 1993 the NH Supreme Court discovered a “hidden-in-plain-sight” constitutional “duty” of our State “legislators” to “cherish,” i.e, fund, an “adequate” education in “public schools.” Historically public schools were locally funded. Despite two ongoing lawsuits disputing the amount of State funding necessary for this obligation, legislators now propose to expand taxpayer obligations to fund both … Read more
Rep. Rick Ladd, Chairman of the House Education Funding Committee, argues that Universal Education Savings Accounts (EFAs) are needed because: A “one size fits all” system of education is not the best learning environment for all students. (House Calendar No. 15, March 7, 2025, HB 115 on pg. 13) Chairman Ladd knows exactly why public … Read more
What’s to be done? Parents are distraught, school district budgets and property taxes are skyrocketing, and there’s bullying and declining academic outcomes in public schools. State legislators shrug their shoulders. They don’t know what to do. Most of them don’t even think they’re responsible for the mess. It “just happened.” But the problem is “so … Read more
D.O.G.E. just cut $900 million from an agency, the Institute for Education Sciences (IES), which tracks American student data. Did the cuts go deep enough to eliminate funding for the State Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDS) ? This system tracks student data from all fifty states, despite the fact that the federal government has no constitutional … Read more
Many people are giving up on public schools. Districts demand more and more money; student proficiency keeps dropping; and federal mandates keep stacking up, distracting students away from academics and towards social-emotional learning, behavior modification, and other federal agendas. Rather than fix the public schools, some prefer universal Education Freedom Accounts, really vouchers, without any … Read more