 Key
Legislation and Issues in New
Hampshire
The Executive Board of the NHCSS is working on behalf of
membership to stay abreast of current legislation and movements in New Hampshire. In
addition, Board members are actively involved to advance social studies
education in this state.
Follow the Child
Follow The Child
Department of Education Commissioner Lyonel Tracy is
proposing New Hampshire's
Follow The
Child initiative which emphasizes personalized learning, timely
interventions, and following each child's progress over time. The
Department of Education is pleased to announce that several schools have
received grant awards for implementation of activities that support,
measure and document the personal, social, physical, and academic growth of
their high school students. High schools receiving this award include ConVal,
Laconia,
Monadnock,
Newfound and Somersworth. Awards ranged from $8,000 to $15,000 for
activities through September
30, 2006. The Department plans to award a second round of
grants pending funding.
Contact: Paul K. Leather, 271-3801, pleather@ed.state.nh.us
State
Standards on the Social Studies
Now that the State Board
has adopted a new Social Studies Framework, it is time to consider next
steps.
How should the document
be “rolled-out?” What professional development is necessary to
implement the new framework? Should there be an ”addendum” to this
framework? How should the new framework be assessed?
The NH Department of
Education expects to constitute a committee to discuss these and related
issues. We are interested in volunteers and/or nominees to serve on
this committee.
Contact Kenneth Relihan, 271-6151, krelihan@ed.state.nh.us
New Middle School Certification
On September 7th
the new standards for teacher certification in Middle School English
Language Arts and Middle School Social Studies went into effect. The
Bureau of Credentialing is now offering certification for grades 5-8 in
both areas.
HQT
HQT
Plans
On July
7, 2006, the New Hampshire Department of Education submitted
its “Revised State Plan for Highly Qualified Teachers” for peer
review. In late July, the United States Department of Education
posted New
Hampshire’s
submission on its website (www.ed.gov). On
August 16, 2006,
the United States Department will notify New Hampshire
and other states of their HQT status. After the completion of the
peer review, findings will be available online at: http://www.ed.gov/programs/teacherqual/hqtplans/index.html.
Minimum Standards
On May 18, 2005 The
Minimum Standards for Public School Approval were adopted by the State Board of
Education. These new changes will be effective July 1, 2005.
To access the
new standards go to;
http://www.ed.state.nh.us/education/laws/Ed306Adopted.htm
The new social studies changes are that civics and
world history/global studies requirements replace the previous one
credit “elective” requirement. The number of social studies
credits remains the same:
Table 306-2 Required
Subjects and Credits for High School Graduation
Required Subject Credit(s)
US and NH history 1
credit
Economics ½
credit
US and NH government/civics ½ credit
(new)
World history, global studies, ½ credit
(new)
or geography
In
addition:
Ed 306.27 (d) By the 2008-2009 school year, the local
school board shall require that a high school credit can be earned by
demonstrating mastery of required competencies for the course, as
approved by certified school personnel.
By the 2008-2009 school year, the local
school board shall require that a high school have in place competency
assessments for all courses offered through the high school.
No
Child Left Behind Act
The NHCSS
Executive Board has been following closely how this federal legislation
affects social studies in New
Hampshire. Two major areas are:
- The New Hampshire
Legislature eliminated funding to the NHEIP thus eliminating the
social studies portion of the assessment.
- New Hampshire is required to abide by the
federal guidelines for a Highly Qualified social studies teacher. The New Hampshire
contact person for this is Tina Green who met with the Executive Board
on February 12th, 2004 . Plans are underway by the
Executive Board to assist New
Hampshire social studies teachers trying to
fulfill these guidelines.
Resources:
No Child
Left Behind Act
U.S. Department of Education
No Child Left Behind Act Web Site
Contact Information for Anne Davis
Phone: 603-271-6052
Email: adavis@ed.state.nh.us
HB1151
This final report
of the study commission charged by the New Hampshire
legislature to examine and assess the status of civic education in New Hampshire was
published on November 1, 2003. Several Executive Board members were involved
in this process. An informational session on the final report was conducted
at the NHCSS annual conference in November 2003. This report held
interesting data on the extent of civic engagement in New Hampshire schools. In its
recommendations, this commission strongly urged the DOE to adopt a one-half
credit requirement in Civic Education as part of the minimum standards. The
commission also endorsed the New Hampshire Alliance for Civic Engagement
(NHACE).
To view the
results of the Commission’s civic education survey, go to:
http://www.nheon.com/content/social/CivicEdSurvey/index.htm
Resources:
HB1151
New Hampshire
Alliance for Civic Engagement
State Assessment
In 2003, the New Hampshire
legislature reduced the funding for the New Hampshire Educational
Improvement and Assessment Program (NHEIAP) to $1. This effectively
eliminated the social studies portion of the assessment which, along with
science, will not be given as usual in May 2004. The Executive Board, the
NHCSS membership and other concerned educators lobbied strenuously against
this action.
Resources:
NHEIAP
Site
2004-2005
New Hampshire State Operating Budget for Education
Note: This is a PDF file.
You will need Adobe Acrobat to access
it.
New Hampshire State
Representatives/Senators
NH
House of Representatives Education Committee
2003-2004
Senate Committees
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