There are a number of bills being discussed that could have a significant impact on SAU 29 school districts. The education tax credit bill House Bill 1607 and Senate Bill 372 would essentially move money from public schools to private schools in New Hampshire.

Senate Bill 373 will allow school districts to retain funds for emergency expenditures. Funds would be used as a revenue source for emergency expenditures or over expenditures.

Senate Bill 229 will establish a defined contribution retirement plan for all new hire public employees, to be implemented November 1, 2012.

House Bill 1382 would require a truant officer obtain a warrant or permission of a parent to return a child to school following truancies.

House Bill 1713 would abolish the Department of Education.

Several changes on the national level will impact our students. One significant change is the new Common Core Standards which were finalized and released in June of 2010, and adopted by the New Hampshire Board of Education in July 2010. The Common Core Standards have been adopted by New Hampshire as well as 43 other states. The National Governor's Association and Council of Chief State School Officers listed six reasons for their recommendation to move to the Common Core.

The reasons are as follows:

Student Mobility (disparate State standards) 

College Remediation

Entry-Level Workforce Deficiencies

21st Century Global Competition

Technology Impact on the Workforce

More than 1,000,000 military children move 6-9 times

The entire explanation can be found at www.corestandards.org.

Recently, it was reported that 10 states have been granted waivers so that they will not have to meet the performance standards set forth in NCLB. New Hampshire, in conjunction with Maine, opted not to seek a waiver, citing the fact that the current timeline and the waiver guidelines would not work for our states. The Commissioners have indicated the need to create an accountability system that meets the needs of all learners. The goal is to create a system that will assess both student learning and the learning strategies employed in our schools; to develop a differentiated identification and support system; to build capacity within our schools and districts to thoughtfully engage in improvement; to engage parents and community members; and to implement changes that are data-driven and effective. The intention is to develop new state accountability systems over the next 18 months for full implementation in the 2013-2014 school year.