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New Hampshire

Greater educational freedom is coming to New Hampshire

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Greater educational freedom is coming to New Hampshire


Last night, in a 14-10 vote, the
New Hampshire
Senate
passed legislation
to expand the
school choice
system in their state.

Specifically,
the bill
will raise the household income cap under which students qualify for Education Freedom Accounts, which are essentially vouchers. Previously, a student’s household income had to be less than 300% of the federal poverty line to be eligible for the program. But, under the new legislation, the number was raised to 350%.


VIOLENCE AGAINST TEACHERS CANNOT BE TOLERATED


Fox News reports
that last year, the number of students in the program nearly doubled to 3,025. However, hundreds of students were turned away because their families made too much, “including about 100 whose income would have qualified under the proposed higher cap.”

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The bill passed the state legislature earlier this year, and it is now headed to Republican Gov. Chris Sununu’s desk, where he will sign it into law.

This is clearly a small step towards universal school choice, but it is nonetheless a welcome one.

I say it is a welcome development because parents know best what educational environment their child will thrive in. However, under the status quo, students are too often forced to go to particular schools based on nothing more than their zip code.

The reason for this is straightforward: the government has a monopoly on K-12 education. Consequently, parents are often deprived of the right to choose which school their children will attend, unless they can afford otherwise.

New Hampshire’s school expansion means a greater number of families will soon be eligible for Education Freedom Accounts, which means a greater number of students and parents will have a genuine choice about what school to attend, whether it be private or public.

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Scholar and activist
Corey DeAngelis
has led a largely successful effort over the past few years to transform how we think about school choice. It is often painted as “taking money away from traditional public schools.” However, DeAngelis points out that the primary goal of education policy is to educate students — not to ensure a certain number of dollars goes to one school or another. As such, a set amount of public money should follow the child to whatever school he or she attends. Those who have tried to convince the public otherwise — groups such as teachers’ unions — have a personal stake in keeping the money flowing toward traditional public schools.

As an expression of this, he coined the
phrase
“fund students not systems.”

And the movement toward school choice is growing. Over the past few years,
dozens
of
states
have passed legislation to expand school choice. Additionally, some states, such as New Hampshire, have moved to expand their already existing school choice programs.


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The only way these moves can be successful, though, is if there is
buy-in
from the public. It is a good thing surveys consistently show that school choice is popular among those of all political stripes. A June 2022 poll
found
that 67% of independents, 68% of Democrats, and 82% of Republicans support school choice. Each of these numbers represented an increase relative to April 2020.

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It is clear that school choice is winning across America. The only question is, which state will be next?

Jack Elbaum is a summer 2023 Washington Examiner fellow.





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New Hampshire

Police shoot and kill man following standoff at NH bed and breakfast

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Police shoot and kill man following standoff at NH bed and breakfast


Police shot and killed a man following an hourslong standoff at a historic bed and breakfast in New Hampshire’s White Mountains region early Thursday morning.

The New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office said in a 3 a.m. press release that they were responding to a report of a fatal police shooting that occurred early Thursday morning in Plymouth. They said an adult male was fatally shot at the Federal House Inn on Route 25.

The identity of the person who was shot is being withheld pending notification of family, the attorney general’s office said. An autopsy will be conducted by the chief medical examiner’s office.

The attorney general’s office said police responded to the area following a disturbance call at the inn on Wednesday afternoon. When they arrived, they found a man armed and barricaded inside.

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No law enforcement officers were injured in the incident, according to authorities.

The name of the officers involved in the shooting and what agencies they were associated with have not been released and the exact circumstances remain under active investigation, the attorney general’s office said.

Plymouth police said in a Facebook post around 9 p.m. Wednesday that they responded around 2:40 p.m. to a report of shots fired with injury in the area of Route 25 and the traffic circle. They said the nearby Mountain Village Charter School and numerous surrounding businesses were placed in lockdown as a precaution, and all children have since been reunited with their families.

In a follow-up post at 3:50 a.m. Thursday, the department added that Route 25 from the traffic circle to Hawkenson Drive in Rumney remains closed. Motorists are urged to seek an alternate route.

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New Hampshire State Police had provided several updates on the incident on social media on Wednesday night.

Their first post around 4 p.m. Wednesday said that state police troopers had responded to reports of shots fired and a barricaded subject on Route 25 in Plymouth near the traffic circle. They said the subject was contained and there was no threat to public safety.

In subsequent posts later in the evening, state police said the situation was “active and ongoing” and the road remained closed.

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New Hampshire

Standoff after report of gunshots in downtown Plymouth, NH, police say

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Standoff after report of gunshots in downtown Plymouth, NH, police say


Police were in a standoff with a barricaded person near downtown Plymouth, New Hampshire, Tuesday evening and night.

People were urged to avoid the area of the Plymouth traffic circle because of the standoff on Route 25, New Hampshire Police said.

It wasn’t immediately clear if anyone was hurt, but police said the incident, while active, was contained.

Plymouth State University is near the town’s traffic circle, but there was no immediate indication the incident involved the school, which didn’t post any security alerts as of Wednesday night.





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New Hampshire

3 people rescued as fire burns through NH building under construction, neighboring home

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3 people rescued as fire burns through NH building under construction, neighboring home


Three people had to be rescued when a fire burned through an unoccupied building under construction and spread to a neighboring home in Rye, New Hampshire, early Tuesday morning.

The Rye Fire Department said they responded to the area of 1595 Ocean Boulevard (Route 1) around 1:20 a.m. Tuesday for reports of a building fire. Firefighters arrived at the scene and saw a home that was under construction and unoccupied fully engulfed in flames.

The fire had spread to a neighboring home that was occupied due to strong winds in the area. Firefighters immediately entered the home and were able to safely rescue three residents who were inside. They then began attacking the fire and were able to stop it from spreading to any other properties.

Photos from the scene showed a wall of flame erupting from the buildings at the height of the fire.

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New Castle Fire Department

All three residents were taken to Portsmouth Regional Hospital, and have since been released. No firefighters were injured battling the blaze.

Crews remained on scene throughout the day Tuesday monitoring hot spots. The area remained closed to traffic on Wednesday morning.

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The occupied home has been declared uninhabitable, and the fire department said the three residents who were displaced are being assisted by the American Red Cross.

An underground propane tank was also affected by the fire. The fire department said the tank is in stable condition but they would continue to monitor it until it has been emptied of its contents. They said there are no immediate concerns to the community.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Mutual aid was provided by 10 area fire departments, including Portsmouth, Seabrook, Hampton, North Hampton, Greenland, New Castle, Kittery, Newington, Newmarket and Stratham.

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