Current Issues

See all the bills before the legislature this year at the General Court website, available here.  Here are some samples of our testimony.

Keep Public Kindergarten

Dear Chairman Balboni and members of the Committee,

 My name is Erika Argersinger and I’m the Policy Director for the Children’s Alliance of New Hampshire.  We are an independent research-based advocacy organization that promotes policies and practices that enable all children to lead healthy and productive lives and reach their full potential.  Public access to kindergarten is a critical element in ensuring children are ready for school and future success in work and life – and for this reason the Children’s Alliance opposes House Bill 631.

 The research on this issue is clear: students who attend kindergarten do better than their peers who do not both academically and socially, and they enter first grade more prepared and ready to learn. Children who attend kindergarten are more likely to attend high school and are more frequently able to support themselves in the future through employment.  In fact, the empirical evidence in support of early education is so strong that all 50 states in the nation have passed laws to ensure that all children are guaranteed this firm foundation; many offer full-day kindergarten, and some are moving toward universal pre-k.

 But the positive impact of public access to kindergarten is not just about benefits to individual children.  It is about jobs and our future economic health and competitiveness.   Low graduation rates and educational achievement gaps threaten New Hampshire’s future workforce.  An educated workforce helps New Hampshire businesses prosper and will help attract business to our state, bolstering our future economy.  Alternately, if New Hampshire repeals the mandate to offer public kindergarten, it will become the only state in the nation that does not guarantee this access and will put our children at a competitive disadvantage when it comes to job readiness.

 One argument for this bill is that it will help the state address the current budget shortfall by cutting state spending.  I urge you to consider that this is a very shortsighted view.  A Department of Education study showed fewer placements in special education classes and institutional care, fewer grade retention cases, and fewer arrests among students who attended kindergarten.  So providing all children access to kindergarten actually translates into saving the state money in the future in the form of reduced costs associated with special education, juvenile delinquency and future public assistance.  The benefits of fewer grade retention cases alone will save the state about $2.5 million annually, according to the Department of Education study.

 Since the state guaranteed public access to kindergarten, nearly 1,500 more children have benefited from attending public kindergarten than were prior to the mandate.  In 2009, there were more than 13,000 children attending kindergarten in New Hampshire, with just 9 percent, or 1,200, being served by private options.  Research shows that those students who grow up in a lower socioeconomic status reap the biggest impact from the benefits that kindergarten offers – it provides them the opportunity they need to compete with their peers. These are the very students least likely to be served by private options, so even in a community where many students are accessing quality kindergarten, those who stand to benefit the most are left behind in a system without public access.

 Repealing the requirement that school districts provide kindergarten will not save the state money in the long run – it will only serve to deprive most of New Hampshire’s youngest citizens an equal opportunity to learn and grow, and be prepared to be contributing members of our state’s workforce. The Children’s Alliance of New Hampshire urges you to ensure that your community has preserved its future.  Please oppose this bill.

2010 Session

HB 1598, ensure TANF funds support
HB 1523, reduce bullying
SB  436,  improve children's health insurance
HB 1479, reducing the risk of childhood obesity
HB 1156, creating better judicial guidelines for court-ordered children
SB   396, prohibiting dangerous restraint practices

2009 Session

HB 332, establishing a commission to study school discipline

HB 414, establishing a commission to study preventing dental disease among New Hampshire’s children

HB 658,relative to housing assistance for recipients of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF)

Priorities for New Hampshire’s Children

The Priorities for New Hampshire’s Children is an annual child-centered plan of action for New Hampshire developed and led by the 100+ partners of the New Hampshire Child Advocacy Network.