InDepthNH.org (https://indepthnh.org/author/katharine-webster/)
In sometimes emotional testimony, parents of school children spoke Thursday at a Senate Education Committee hearing for and against House Bill 324, which would ban “obscene,” “harmful” and “age-inappropriate” materials from schools and school libraries.
Children’s access to “obscene” or “harmful” materials in schools and school libraries is the focus of three bills this legislative session, with House Bill 324 causing some drama last week when its author read graphic scenes from two young adult novels on the House floor.
Seventeen towns have passed warrant articles asking state officials to hold off on expanding the school voucher program until there is greater public accountability for how those taxpayer funds are being spent and whether students who receive them are getting a good education.
Should the fact of whether or not a patron has a library card and active membership in a city’s or town’s public library be private or public information, and should people be punished for releasing it?
The culture wars have come for several public libraries in New Hampshire, turning elections for library trustee into referendums on censorship, parental rights, budget cuts and membership in the American Library Association (ALA).
The audit by the Office of the Legislative Budget Assistant, found that the agency “was inefficient and ineffective in investigating complaints and closing cases in a timely manner.”
Hundreds of angry homeowners from Danville, Sandown, Atkinson and Plaistow drove on icy roads to the Timberlane Performing Arts Center that evening, on a mission to cut and cap their property taxes.
But a bill introduced this year by state Rep. Margaret Drye, R-Plainfield, would carve out a narrow exception, allowing 17-year-olds to marry with their parents’ permission if they or their intended spouse is on active military duty.
A bill that would exempt 17-year-olds on active military duty or their partners from a new state law banning underage marriage drew emotional testimony from both sides on Tuesday.