On Thursday, June 13, the State Board of Education voted 4-3 in favor of the rules that would create the “Learn Everywhere” program.
Learn Everywhere would require public high schools to award credits toward high school graduation for programs that students attend at approved for-profit and nonprofit organizations separate from their school.
The board debated whether to require districts to accept credits from Learn Everywhere programs, acknowledging “overwhelming” opposition from the public, but ultimately decided to move forward with the rules. Reaching Higher NH will release a more comprehensive overview of the meeting next week.
Next Steps
Next, the Joint Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules (JLCAR) must review the rules to ensure that they are within the scope of the department. Specifically, the Committee must make sure that proposed rules are not:
(a) Beyond the authority of the agency;
(b) Contrary to the intent of the legislature;
(c) Determined not to be in the public interest; or
(d) Deemed by the committee to have a substantial economic impact not recognized in the fiscal impact statement.
JLCAR will accept public comment on the day they review the rules, which may be as early as Friday, June 21.
Reaching Higher NH will provide full coverage of the meeting. Sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date on the latest news!
How Learn Everywhere works
Students would be able to take any of their public school courses–including core courses like math, science, and Language Arts–through Learn Everywhere providers. There is no limit to the type of organization that would be able to apply–private schools, for-profit organizations, religious organizations, and out-of-state and online programs could offer programs for public school credit if approved by the NH State Board of Education.
Districts would be required to “accept at least one third, and may accept as much as 100% if approved by the superintendent, of the total number of credits required for high school graduation, if requested by a student,” according to the draft rules.
The most recent draft of the rules is available here, and is included in the SBOE’s public meeting materials.
Read more about the program:
