Last week, New Hampshire's Department of Education announced it had set up an online portal where parents could lodge discrimination complaints against teachers. Now, the state's governor is slamming a local conservative group's response to that announcement, reports the AP. New Hampshire has a new law on the books that places limits on discussions in the classroom around "divisive" subjects such as systemic racism and other racial injustices, per the Complex. After that legislation recently took effect, the state's DOE put up a dedicated website for complaints related to the law, and the New Hampshire branch of Moms for Liberty eagerly responded.
"We've got $500 for the person that first successfully catches a public school teacher breaking this law," the group tweeted Nov. 12. "Students, parents, teachers, school staff ... We want to know! We will pledge anonymity if you want." The AP notes that the group followed up by telling supporters to send in online donations and to tag them "CRT Bounty's" [sic], with the "CRT" referring to the term "critical race theory" that has become a point of attack in conservative circles.
Republican Gov. Chris Sununu didn't appreciate the bounty comparison. "The Governor condemns the tweet referencing 'bounties' and any sort of financial incentive is wholly inappropriate and has no place," his spokesperson said in a statement. Sununu has stood up in the past to say he doesn't agree with the outright banning of conversations on topics regarding marginalized groups, racial inequality, and related themes. But he did later support language placed into New Hampshire's budget that "would prohibit teaching children that they are inferior, racist, sexist, or oppressive by virtue of their race, gender, or other characteristics," per the AP.
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Complaints from parents who use the DOE's new anti-discrimination portal will be funneled to New Hampshire's Commission on Human Rights, which will then move to investigate the complaints further or dismiss them. The state's Board of Education could use complaints filed as the foundation for disciplinary procedures against teachers, which could include taking away their licenses. The New Hampshire School Administrators Association is pleading with Sununu to make clear to teachers and families what can and can't be taught in the classroom. "Our state is at a turning point," the group said in a statement. "Do we allow these attacks to continue to drive good, caring teachers and administrators away from our schools?" (More critical race theory stories.)
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