Jennifer Bliss

I am writing in opposition to Senate Bill 33-FN, a bill that seeks to regulate public school materials. The standards outlined in the bill are extremely vague which could allow for legitimate education materials to be wrongfully stripped from school curriculum. New Hampshire already has statutes with clearly defined standards for what information can and cannot be disseminated to the public. The standards outlined in statute are much clearer than the language in the bill and already apply to any public spaces which would by definition include in public schools, so this bill is unnecessary as written. Part of the bill that leaves each determination up to individual school principals, and the lack of definitions in the bill provides no meaningful standard for school principals to determine whether a piece is appropriate or not, leaving the basis of decisions regarding the removal of books and other materials to personal interpretation. The ambiguity also opens the door for one vociferous child's parent(s) to get a book removed for all other children at the school which is not consistent with the interests of parents, because it allows one family’s opinion to supersede all others. This could allow for certain ideologies to be removed from schools based on personal bias.