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New installments in our competency-based learning series

Minimum standard revisions and the Constitution

Lawyers and lawmakers assert the Department of Education is on the verge of violating the law: New Hampshire’s state funding of public schools is the lowest in the nation, despite the state Constitution requiring the state government to finance an adequate education for every child. Now, the N.H. Department of Education is updating its minimum standards for public schools, a process that occurs once every decade, and lawyers and educators assert that the department’s revised minimum standards will reduce funding even further. The revisions, they say, water down the requirements for an adequate education and shift even more responsibility onto local taxpayers to fund public schools.

Ed commissioner grilled by skeptics

For the first time, education commissioner speaks publicly about minimum standards revision, but he faces skepticism: MANCHESTER—After an hour-long public conversation with the commissioner of the N.H. Department of Education, school board members in Manchester – the state’s largest school district– remained frustrated by a lack of clear answers and unconvinced that proposed revisions to the state’s minimum standards for public schools, known as the 306s, will improve education in the Granite state.

Food waste in New Hampshire

The impact: What the science says

A landmark 2023 EPA study laid out over three decades of research about the impact of food waste and its connection to methane emissions. The study is unique in part because, as the EPA acknowledges in its summary, “there is no other peer-reviewed national reference point for the amount of methane emissions attributable to food waste” in American municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills.

Taking on NH’s mounting food waste puzzle

Solving the food waste problem in New Hampshire one step at a time: On Feb. 1, 2025 the first food waste ban that was passed last summer will go into effect in New Hampshire. It is focused on entities that generate as much as one ton of food waste a week. That food waste will be prohibited from being sent to landfills. It’s also a solution that needs a major expansion of infrastructure.

Partner Podcasts

Strengthening local journalism

How Civic Documenters empower communities and strengthen local news coverage: Justin Silverman of the New England First Amendment Coalition, Melanie Plenda of the Granite State News Collaborative and Laura Simoes of the Nackey S. Loeb School of Communications are partners in the Civic Documenters program, helping train community members to participate in reporting on local government.

China and land ownership in NH

Should NH ban Chinese companies from buying land in the state? Amidst rising concerns over Chinese espionage, American lawmakers are advocating for strict measures, including prohibiting Chinese companies from purchasing land near military installations and critical infrastructure. In New Hampshire, a bill has swiftly passed through Senate but state representatives have concerns.

Seawall Breakdown

Navigating Climate Challenges: State Takes Action to Protect Scenic Route 1A from Flooding: On this episode of The State We’re In, Melanie Plenda discusses Route 1A and the plans to improve the seawalls with Department of Transportation Commissioner Bill Cass, Assistant Director of Development Tobey Reynolds and the agency’s administrator of the Bureau of Environment, Kevin Nyhan.

Watch the State We’re In Here!

My name is Caitlin Agnew, and as a freelance Assistant Editor at GSNC my mission is clear: to foster enhanced communication between us. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns my email is always open caitlin.agnew@collaborativenh.org

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