Samantha Beauchemin

I am writing to express my strong opposition to this bill. As we have observed in other states that have enacted similar laws, this bill would open the door for book bans in schools based on complaints from any one parent. For example, under North Carolina SB49 has allowed for the banning of several books, in some cases after only one single parental complaint. Florida's HB 1557 has led to over 200 books being banned from schools and libraries. This bill threatens imposing a similar effect on New Hampshire, and thus infringes upon US Constitutional first amendment rights of every other student and parent who would like for an objected book/topic to be taught in school. Additionally, Allowing parents to seek damages over subjective religious or ideological disagreements is harmful, and will further strain NH judicial and educational funding which will now have to account for litigation. When I was educated in a NH school I read Fahrenheit 451 as part of the curriculum, which talked about the dangers of government overreach as it pertains to book banning and the control of information. Now, our state representatives have concocted a bill that opens the door to that exact behavior. As explained in the methodology section of this bill, much of these proclaimed parental rights already exist under other sections of NH law. If a parent is dissatisfied with their child's education prospects or materials, they have other options available to them through private schools or homeschooling. The recourse is already available for parents looking to closely monitor or change their child's education material. Lastly, there is already a teacher shortage. Forcing our educators to work under constant threat of litigation based on subjective parental complaints will only exascerbate that issue. Ultimately, this bill would result in a decrease in the quality of education in New Hampshire schools, and a decrease in availability of education due to the strain on teachers and school funding. This serves no benefit to the state of NH or its residents.There is no logical basis to infringe on every other parents' and students' first amendment rights based upon the complaints of a vocal minority. Let's spend our time focusing on issues that actually impact the day to day lives of NH residents such as cost of living, and move on from this ideological polarization.