Teachers, Parents File Lawsuit Against New Hampshire’s ‘Divisive Concepts’ Law – By Lauren Camera (US News) / December 13, 2021
New Hampshire is one of eight Republican-controlled states that’s passed laws aimed at restricting how educators teach racism, sexism, discrimination and other topics related to inequality.
A group of educators and parents in New Hampshire, backed by the American Federation of Teachers, filed a federal lawsuit Monday challenging the state’s restriction on teaching “divisive concepts” in public schools – one of the first lawsuits in the country to take on the wave of contentious legislation stemming from the GOP-backed culture war against critical race theory.
“This law has created fear among teachers who are not actually violating any New Hampshire law but fear they could be targeted without evidence by people with a political agenda,” Deb Howes, president of New Hampshire’s AFT chapter, said on a call Monday. “Educators are terrified of losing their teaching license over simply trying to teach.”
The lawsuit, filed Monday morning in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire in Concord, alleges the law is at odds with the state’s Constitution, prevents teachers from meeting certain education standards and violates their constitutional rights to free speech and due process.
New Hampshire is one of eight Republican-controlled states that’s passed laws aimed at restricting how educators teach or talk about racism, sexism, discrimination and other topics related to inequality. At least a dozen other states are considering similar measures.
