[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6635167,"mediaKeyId","2650864-ce9da7f8df075539169ae6c385b2526c","parentId",2650864,"title","Heated testimony as committee reconsiders Holocaust and genocide curriculum; sponsor seeks narrower, adjudicated list","audioSeconds",465,"startMs",2205000,"endMs",2670000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2650864-ce9da7f8df075539169ae6c385b2526c&start=2205&end=2670","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2650864-ce9da7f8df075539169ae6c385b2526c/thumbnail_2205000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6635167/New-Hampshire/Heated-testimony-as-committee-reconsiders-Holocaust-and-genocide-curriculum-sponsor-seeks-narrower-adjudicated-list","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6635167-5aa69e446481150cd60215ba51a68e48/orig.mp4?Expires=1770434784&Signature=kk4OT~IQVvQbSX821fhj8veWJ47DxI3Rc5UxJuuEfmFW9G-CSnZfsiBLkSNrDWlutacrKFhctaVNVwzXFbCazTFCZ9gLOmfyXtNhvVLn0UrEcQTx54TdwgrO1Gp4Q8xnT57LBBoDy6r3vq56c-9CBkmvHy6HEDh6fjMfcFtpd1-PDH9P0-hG4UOh~9pPlw4nON1vSxqWDzDVMKOQj5w6b9gPgPGLohRKv7P00kZkLx4IdiaMTqbV2bWg7dhSdXRE5Jenh47fCrLAqghtUCtefA-pXSoau4mEpTTJGW7UtisGoE0ZDiXwh~dDsZjoXt~eQcZKgWIyDY6-LOpq4a-3yw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","New Hampshire Legislature","date","2025-03-04T18:57:36.14Z","article","Representative Ellen Reid told the committee she introduced House Bill 555 and an accompanying amendment to strengthen Holocaust and genocide instruction by specifying the U.N. definition of genocide and by requiring instruction on commonly accepted stages and tools used in genocidal campaigns.

“In my view, if there is one lesson we must teach, it is how we must live with one another,” Reid told committee members, urging a standard definition and materials so students can recognize warning signs of mass atrocity.

Reid’s amendment would direct teachers to use the U.N. Genocide Convention definition and to present the internationally recognized stages and “tools” of genocide so students could identify early warning signs. Her draft also sought to avoid naming or adjudicating contemporary conflicts within state statute by deferring to incidents that have been adjudicated by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or similar international tribunals.

The bill generated an extended and emotional public record. Witnesses speaking against the bill — or against the amendment’s proposed reliance on United Nations or international court lists — warned the change would politicize classrooms and could inflame antisemitism. Several Jewish community members described a rise in antisemitic incidents in New Hampshire schools and warned that introducing contentious, unresolved international characterizations could increase hostility toward Jewish students.

“I am personally aware of some of the incidents occurring in our state in schools, elementary, middle, and high schools,” said Steve Nutter, who described local antisemitic episodes and urged caution about inserting contested international findings into New Hampshire statutes.

Others urged a still-broader approach. A number of witnesses said U.S. history contains episodes (including policies toward Indigenous peoples and historical acts of forced removal and mass killing) that schoolchildren should study as part of genocide and human-rights education. One speaker, who said he had researched “crimes against humanity” in the United States, pressed lawmakers to require fuller coverage of domestic history so students understand the “good, the bad, and the ugly.”

Members asked how the amendment’s reliance on ICJ adjudication would operate in practice and whether that reference would import inconsistent international legal standards into state education law. Rabbi Jonathan Spiro Sivet, a member of the state’s Holocaust and Genocide Education Commission, urged focus on established instructional standards and on implementation; he said the commission’s work and the board of education’s rules already provide a carefully developed framework.

No committee vote was taken at the hearing. The testimony included a broad range of community voices — survivors’ descendants, Jewish communal leaders, educators and parents — and the sponsor said she would work to refine language after the hearing.

Why this matters: Holocaust and genocide education is part of New Hampshire’s graduation standards. The debate at the hearing centered on how to teach the subject: whether statute should mandate specific legal definitions and an adjudicated list of genocides or whether curricula should rely on board of education rules, commission guidance and local professional judgment.

Speakers quoted are recorded in the committee transcript.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","House Education Policy and Administration (03/03/2025)","oneSentenceSummary","Representative Ellen Reid proposed an amendment to HB 555 that would require schools to teach the U.N. Genocide Convention definition and recognized stages/tools of genocide and to base lists on incidents adjudicated by international courts.","taxTitle","Education, House of Representatives, Committees\t, Legislative, New Hampshire","taxId",17745,"location","New Hampshire","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6635177,"NH committee hears hours of testimony on local education freedom accounts; bill retained for more work",10730,120000,10850000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2650864-ce9da7f8df075539169ae6c385b2526c&start=120&end=10850","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2650864-ce9da7f8df075539169ae6c385b2526c/thumbnail_120000.jpg","/articles/6635177/New-Hampshire/NH-committee-hears-hours-of-testimony-on-local-education-freedom-accounts-bill-retained-for-more-work","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6635177-b0955cedca458bf9e2c0d61bfd1f0e78/orig.mp4?Expires=1770434784&Signature=HFff45CpAp1ll1kcLTvPv6Q3lXxIHhaH6~bwHjwfKEHeie8N-6Nl0RqVpElYeLyCad1B4WFwXwPxNNxQxg3o57P2FV1lC96MUv8FevNuR1Y-4gRu6BlOex0HVZyzG6rayEvxU2D5-mAjfBoz5wUx74oVNet4XACbrwyhajmzX2sRHnDcw-A97jFm9xRMhKDklWUY3rDzCE1L68Aro8WeSxNDnCpIexXeZv1Krt1TIHkHmCplbC4qVf5P24DGpScJxoh9VtATdeYxR5sCSKkuSIPgHvaar0qPnMtGZJataoRGnZOYU~TGVaJhyyIGAidRnH9Cq4ksByssoH9ZxncgfA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Representative Kevin Verville, the bill’s prime sponsor, opened testimony on House Bill 748, saying the measure would let New Hampshire communities enable local “education freedom accounts,” or LEFAs, by local ballot and that the state adequacy grant would be a pass-through into those accounts.

“Public education in New Hampshire means that each local community has an obligation to educate the children in their community,” Verville told the committee, and, he said, LEFAs are intended to shift funding to families as an option while preserving local oversight of special education and requiring statewide assessments for accountability.

The bill drew extensive public comment and sharp questioning from committee members. Opponents included retired and active teachers, school board and budget committee members, special-education directors and parent advocates who described problems with the current statewide Education Freedom Account program and warned the local version would magnify them.

Patty Long, a retired public-school teacher, said the scholarship organization that administers EFAs spends substantial amounts on administration and that current allowable purchases include items such as ski passes and Amazon purchases. “This voucher program or EFA or LEFA has not been tasked. They have not tasked any of the parents to do any of the above,” Long said, adding her opposition to expanding the program.

Teachers and special-education directors told the committee they feared additional unfunded charges on local budgets and confusion about who must provide services when a student uses a LEFA. Becky Wilson of the New Hampshire School Boards Association told lawmakers that, under the bill’s language, resident districts could remain financially responsible for special-education services even when the student is educated elsewhere — a structure school leaders said would increase costs without reducing obligations.

Supporters and some speakers said LEFAs would increase options for families who now lack affordable choices. A resident who testified in favor noted that private-school tuitions cited from the state list can be comparable to district per-pupil spending in some towns and argued local control over funding could be an efficient alternative.

Committee members repeatedly pressed the sponsor about special-education funding, transportation, how differentiated aid and state adequacy payments would flow, and how later enrollments and repeals would be handled. Verville said the LEFA grant would equal twice the state adequacy number and that other differentiated aids (free-and-reduced-price meals, ELL, special-education differentiated aid) would still flow but would not be doubled; he also said LEFA participants would still be counted in average daily membership for state funding purposes.

After the hearing the committee met in executive session and voted to retain HB 748 for further consideration; the motion to retain passed on the committee floor. The committee record shows the motion to retain the bill was approved (committee recorded vote: 10 yeas, 8 nays).

Why this matters: The measure would change how some public education dollars are spent in local districts and raises questions about the long-term fiscal impact on already-stretched local budgets and about how special-education obligations would be enforced and funded.

Speakers quoted in this report are identified in the committee transcript. The committee did not advance the bill to a floor recommendation; it retained HB 748 for additional work and clarifications.","Representative Kevin Verville, the bill’s prime sponsor, opened testimony on House Bill 748, saying the measure would let New Hampshire communities enable local “education freedom accounts,” or LEFAs, by local ballot and that the state adequacy grant would be a pass-through into those accounts.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6635172,"Committee hears bill to require AEDs and CPR-trained staff at school sports events; advocates stress quick access and training",2280,8640000,10920000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2650864-ce9da7f8df075539169ae6c385b2526c&start=8640&end=10920","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2650864-ce9da7f8df075539169ae6c385b2526c/thumbnail_8640000.jpg","/articles/6635172/New-Hampshire/Committee-hears-bill-to-require-AEDs-and-CPR-trained-staff-at-school-sports-events-advocates-stress-quick-access-and-training","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6635172-83d5d8b9161aa3b65e2bb9eca9d3c607/orig.mp4?Expires=1770434784&Signature=JrPQjR7Az5rOLpHa3XzY99U5-Rc9zAENgGvZazmkrfUlENAEm9XDkj48w39R3LtXt65ZtBjVuzq~ZYXXMqSURIPs-hf9jcidOkuHqqnHLDRbyw8ZnzA2wIQ0nRCADMhMgjo21dwi5Q9NfhVrSqnIeW4t1QwUkoAm1QQix0vmmKUtQpAM2IZkp6Vgt~Ma0tIreu8oypro1OpK-9CJFQcJD6sz1Kigz-3NsUoZY~sG8f2SabNRDeyF348HoQese7q4b9ZJs4d5C89aZMgpK4CLXGz8yCws6BSGnAte9~OmJ8V1ovnphBrAO98xxPT-5Hf2Aw48jA2xMfWEKz1ltP3lyg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Representative Margaret Drei, prime sponsor of House Bill 763, asked the committee to require schools to follow evidence-based guidance for automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and cardiopulmonary resuscitation at school sporting events and practices where pupils participate.

The bill text, as presented, specifies that schools and school districts should have AED devices and at least one person trained in CPR available for activities “in which pupils of the school are participating.” Drei said most New Hampshire schools already have at least one AED but the bill would focus resources, including a modest state appropriation, on ensuring coverage for every venue and event where pupils are present.

Nancy Vaughan and Nancy Vaughn (American Heart Association, New Hampshire) spoke for the association, outlining a formula the AHA uses nationally and noting the New Hampshire Department of Safety maintains an AED purchasing contract that substantially reduces per-unit cost for local purchasers. Vaughn said the AHA’s priority is getting an AED and trained rescuers close enough to a cardiac arrest for the device to be effective; high-quality CPR plus AED use substantially improves survival.

Committee members pressed sponsors on logistics: whether every practice field must have a device, how districts with multiple off-campus fields should comply, and whether a single device may be sufficient when venues are adjacent. AHA representatives and the sponsor said the statutory intention is to follow national response-time guidance — locating AEDs so someone can reach them in minutes — and that public-health guidance informs where purchase and training resources should be prioritized rather than strictly requiring one device per field in all configurations.

No formal committee action was taken on HB 763 at this hearing. The committee received technical questions about definitions and logistics and the sponsor said sponsors would work on clarifying language and potential appropriations.

Why this matters: Sudden cardiac arrest is rare in youth but survival depends on rapid CPR and early defibrillation. The bill aims to standardize access and funding to reduce preventable deaths and serious injuries during school-sponsored athletic activities.

Speakers quoted are identified in the committee record.","Representative Margaret Dreis's proposal would require schools to follow evidence-based guidelines on automatic external defibrillators and CPR at athletic events; the American Heart Association supported an appropriation for high-need schools and said New Hampshire EMS offers reduced-price AED purchasing.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Heated testimony as committee reconsiders Holocaust and genocide curriculum; sponsor seeks narrower, adjudicated list

NH committee hears hours of testimony on local education freedom accounts; bill retained for more work

Committee hears bill to require AEDs and CPR-trained staff at school sports events; advocates stress quick access and training