HB 1255 sparks fear in educators, cheers from conservatives

HB 1255, an act pertaining to teacher’s loyalty, has stirred up concerns among educators, and cheers of support from conservative groups, as similar bills take hold across the United States. HB 1255 was introduced in November, and has not yet been voted into law.

The bill's prospects took a sharp blow on Thursday, when the state House Education Committee voted 19-0 to declare the bill "inexpedient to legislate," a move known as killing the bill. However, with similar efforts appearing in legislatures across the country, it's likely that this won't be the last time New Hampshire lawmakers consider such a bill.

The language of the bill is short, but direct, and is broken down into the following three sections.

I. No teacher shall advocate communism, socialism, or Marxism as a political doctrine or any other doctrine or theory which includes the overthrow by force of the government of the United States or of this state in any public or state approved school or in any state institution.

II. No teacher shall advocate any doctrine or theory promoting a negative account or representation of the founding and history of the United States of America in New Hampshire public schools which does not include the worldwide context of now outdated and discouraged practices. Such prohibition includes but is not limited to teaching that the United States was founded on racism.

III. A violation of this section shall be considered a violation of the New Hampshire code of ethics and code of conduct for educational professionals and shall justify disciplinary sanctions.

Many educators see the legislation as an underhanded way to freeze speech when learning about different political ideologies, and prevent teachers from openly discussing the United State’s more troubling historical aspects, from genocide to slavery, along with their rippling effects in the 21st century. 

“It's really unneeded,” said Megan Tuttle, president of the New Hampshire Teachers Association, “we see it really as an extension of the banned concepts bill. To find a solution to a problem that's not happening.”

The bill Tuttle referred to is 2021’s HB 544, which passed last year’s legislative session. HB 544 was a considerably longer bill than 2022’s HB 1255. 

In short, the bill was made to counter the teaching of ideas like white privilege, and certain theories regarding race, under the language of anti-discrimination. HB 544 lists a series of banned concepts that educators could potentially lose their license for teaching. Section IV of the bill provides a summary of 544’s goals.

“IV. 'Race or sex scapegoating' means assigning fault, blame, or bias to a race or sex, or to members of a race or sex because of their race or sex. It similarly encompasses any claim that, consciously or unconsciously, and by virtue of his or her race or sex, members of any race are inherently racist or are inherently inclined to oppress others, or that members of a sex are inherently sexist or inclined to oppress others.”

The language here is meant as a direct counter to theories that tend to occupy graduate and postgraduate academia like critical race theory, which suggests that many whites are inherently racist due to benefitting from racist institutions and structures. 

CRT, as it is more commonly known, has been the eye of a culture war storm across the United States over the past few years, with conservative groups crashing school board meetings to crusade against the teaching of CRT in middle, high, and elementary schools. However, CRT is a post undergraduate concept, and is not taught in public lower education. CRT  has also been around since the 1970s, but failed to stir up any kind of cultural combat akin to what the U.S. has witnessed over the past two years. 

After HB 544’s passing, educators can lose their teaching license if they are found guilty of violating the bill's language. “[HB 544] has changed their teaching,” said Tuttle. “They're not having open discussions and critical thinking, because they are afraid of being accused.” 

When HB 544 was launched, the New Hampshire Department of Education put up an online portal that allowed anyone to report a teacher for violating the new law. “The same day the website came out, there was a tweet from Moms for Liberty saying they would give 500 dollars to the first parent or person that caught a teacher doing that.” Tuttle said. “That’s a bounty. That’s what that is.”

Rachel Goldsmith, head of the New Hampshire chapter of the right-wing nonprofit Moms for Liberty, championed the law.

“Our stance on bills such as this one including the anti-discrimination act from last year is that they are important ways to confirm that what's being taught in public schools is aligned with the foundations of our country including American exceptionalism,” Goldsmith stated.

In regard to the $500 reward, Goldsmith stood by her group’s decision.  

“We are encouraging students and parents and teachers to help us find bad curriculum so we can modify it quickly,” Goldsmith said, citing anecdotal reports of anti-capitalist and anti-American educators. “I hear from teachers who say they have colleagues who are encouraging disparaging capitalism and the bootstraps values that are what made America possible.”

When asked for specific examples of problematic curriculum, Goldsmith couldn’t cite any. Instead, she referenced a letter of unity written by Litchfield’s Superintendent Mike Jette in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. 

“That included language that has red flags,” Goldsmith stated. “He's the superintendent. Encouraging people to internalize CRT as a truth instead of a lens through which we view the world.”

The bill’s primary sponsor, representative Alicia Lekas, also failed to provide any concrete examples or copies of pro-communist or socialist teaching, and instead provided more anecdotal stories. “Most teachers do a good job of objectively teaching history.” Lekas said in an email. “However, we have received complaints from students and parents in a number of school districts that that is not universally true.”

Tuttle remained skeptical of claims of socialist, communist or anti-capitalist indoctrination in the classroom. “I haven’t heard this is a problem in New Hampshire except from people who are trying to dismantle public education,” Tuttle said. “ I wish I could say this is where it's coming from, who it's coming from, but unfortunately, all we can hear about are ‘conversations’ that are being had. Again I still haven't heard anything.”

The origins of the bill seem to be as murky as the threats it proposes to counter. “Please understand I did not write HB 1255, even though I am the prime sponsor,” Lekas said. “It does not express my intent.” 

When asked who wrote the legislation, Lekas stated, “it was a group effort,” but failed to provide any names. She said that she was working on an amendment for the bill that would better reflect her intent.

For Tuttle, this revelation suggested that the bill may have been drafted in boiler plate style by a think-tank other advocacy organization. However, The Daily Sun was not able to find any other bills that matched HB 1255’s language verbatim to verify this suggestion.

Rep. Lekas provided the opening paragraph to her intended amendment, which reads: 

“I. This section is intended to buttress further discussion and understanding of the concepts presented in every classroom. Toward this end, a teacher shall not present as fact a theory which has not been proved true. In order to further discussion and thought by students, freeing them to form, and argue for, their own belief systems, a teacher shall not push or assert, advocate for, or compel students to express belief in or support for, any particular theory such as:... ”

“​​The intent was not to teach theories as facts, but to increase conversation and thought concerning any theory so that students can form and argue for their own belief systems,” Lekas said. “In order to do that, we need to increase discussion, not stifle it. We need to encourage student thought and inquiry by not compelling them to mimic a particular teacher's belief system.”