A bill its backers tied to Charlie Kirk and aimed at restricting what it calls leftist teaching passed the New Hampshire House, the New Hampshire Union Leader reported. House Majority Leader Jason Osborne (R-Auburn) said parents want such measures in the classroom. After initial approval, the bill was sent for further committee review, the outlet noted.
The vote put one of the session’s most contested education measures on a path through the House. As the New Hampshire Union Leader reported, the bill drew sharp debate over the role of public schools, with supporters casting it as a check on ideological instruction and opponents warning it would chill classroom speech.
As the New Hampshire Union Leader reported, Osborne said parents are pushing for the change as a way to reshape what is taught in public schools.
House Majority Leader Jason Osborne, R-Auburn, said parents are clamoring for the legislation to take political wokeness out of education.
the New Hampshire Union Leader
The bill drew additional review after its initial passage, according to the New Hampshire Union Leader.
The House initially approved the bill, 184-164, and House Speaker Sherman Packard, R-Londonderry, referred it to the House Finance Committee for more review.
the New Hampshire Union Leader
A supporter on the floor described the stakes as the bill’s backers saw them, framing the debate in stark terms.
“They claim that hate has no place here, what they mean is they will be kind, loving and tolerant if we blindly follow their ideology,” Peternel said.
the New Hampshire Union Leader
Osborne posed what he cast as the central question over the purpose of public education.
“What is the purpose of a public school? Is it to teach students to read, write, do math understand science or history, or sort students by their skin color and tell them who is the oppressor and who is the victim?” Osborne asked.
Jason Osborne
As the New Hampshire Union Leader reported, the bill was named in honor of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk and styled the CHARLIE Act, or HB 1792, which would bar the teaching of critical race theory and certain other frameworks in public schools. The outlet noted the measure won initial approval largely along party lines, with nearly all Republicans in favor and every House Democrat opposed, while critics argued it was vague and would undermine local control and free speech in the classroom.
The full story at the New Hampshire Union Leader details the vote, the referral to the Finance Committee, and the arguments lawmakers made for and against the measure.
For supporters, advancing the bill represented a response to what they described as growing parental frustration with classroom content. The measure, as the New Hampshire Union Leader reported, still faced additional committee review, but its initial passage signaled that the issue would remain near the top of the House’s agenda.
The bill’s path now runs through additional committee review before it can return for further action, according to the New Hampshire Union Leader. Supporters cast the measure as a response to parents who want more say over classroom content, while opponents argued it would discourage open discussion and intrude on decisions best left to local schools and teachers.
Read the full story at the New Hampshire Union Leader.
