On Monday, September 16, 2024, the New Hampshire State Board of Education will consider requests on several highly consequential — and controversial — proposals from the New Hampshire Department of Education:
- Renewal of PragerU curriculum: PragerU, a far-right media company, is seeking renewal to offer a financial literacy course for public school students in New Hampshire through the state’s Learn Everywhere program. The application was brought forward by Education Commissioner Frank Edeblut in 2023, who defended the company and its financial literacy program against strong public opposition and State Board concerns despite the company’s mission to promote far-right propaganda. Approving the application would allow the company to offer programming in New Hampshire for five years under the state’s controversial Learn Everywhere program.
- Approving for-profit digital learning platform: Prospect Mountain Regional School District is seeking approval to start an “innovation school” program that would use Stride K12, a $3.4 billion for-profit education company, as the primary educational platform. The program would also require students to attend multi-day, in-person experiences at TL Storer, a former Boy Scouts organization, throughout the school year. The program would be open to all New Hampshire students in grades 7 through 12.
- Considering a final proposal for the minimum standards: The NHED is seeking the State Board’s consideration on the “second half” of the ED 306 proposal, which could eliminate state requirements for academic programs in the state’s public schools. The State Board could either adopt the final proposal, which is significantly different from one that was shared with the public earlier in the year or vote to discuss them as a board and vote on them in October or November.
- Approving a new charter school: The NHED and Community College System of NH are partnering to create the New Hampshire Career Academy, a charter school for high school seniors that will allow them to extend their enrollment to a 13th year and earn an Associate’s Degree in the process. The program started in 2020 as a partnership program, but the application would formalize the model as a charter school.
The meeting will be held at the NHED offices in Concord this upcoming Monday, September 16, starting at 9:30 a.m. and will be livestreamed on Zoom. Click here for the meeting materials and an agenda.
PragerU: A gateway to controversial content
PragerU, a far-right media and communications company founded by billionaire Dennis Prager, is seeking to renew its application to offer their 75-minute financial literacy video course to fulfill New Hampshire’s financial literacy graduation requirement. State Board members delayed, but ultimately approved, the program in September 2023, despite sharp public criticism and concerns around the rigor and content of the course.
Both the NH Department of Education staff who reviewed the application in 2023 and State Board of Education members have raised concerns that the content isn’t rigorous enough to replace a full financial literacy class. There are a total of 15, 5-minute videos on topics, and students receive credit by completing a 32-question, multiple-choice quiz, which is graded by software. Students who complete the quiz would fulfill their 0.5 credit requirement for the state’s personal finance literacy requirement.
According to the application, there have been a total of nine students who have received credit so far, but PragerU reports that 28 students are currently enrolled in the course. Two of the nine students noted that the content was out of date in their course assessments, with one saying:
“[G]et opinions from the newer generations for the rapidly changing economy. [Y]our courses are already out of touch.”
In addition to the concerns about the academic content, there has been sharp public opposition to the platform, focused on PragerU itself as a media company that intentionally and openly creates and disseminates far-right content. Those concerns have been validated by Dennis Prager, conservative talk show host and company founder, describing Prager as a company that “indoctrinates kids” at a Moms for Liberty conference last year.
Read more about PragerU in New Hampshire: Far-right media company’s application raises questions about what can, and should, constitute public school curriculum in New Hampshire
StrideK12: An “innovation school” program with a long history
Prospect Mountain Regional School District (PMRSD) is seeking approval for the state’s first “innovation school” program, taking advantage of a law passed in 2021 that allows school districts to start programs that could waive some statutory and regulatory requirements, while still receiving public funding.
PMRSD’s program, called the “Granite State Academy,” would be open to all students in New Hampshire in grades 7-12 and would be funded by state and local funds. In accordance with state law, students would not be charged tuition to attend.
The new program would use the Stride K12 digital educational platform’s Indiana program for the academic content, and would require students to attend an overnight camp six times per year in a program run by TL Storer, a former Boy Scouts organization.
Stride K12, a for-profit, publicly-traded educational software company, is among the largest educational software companies in the United States. However, it’s been mired with controversy since its opening in 2000, and underwent a rebrand in November 2012, renaming from “K12, Inc.” to “Stride K12.” The company kept most of its senior staff, who serve in their roles today.
The company has faced many challenges since its beginning, including:
- In 2011, a New York Times investigation found that their schools “were failing miserably, but still making investors and officers a ton of money.” In 2014, only 28% of their students met state standards in 2011-2012, according to another report.
- In 2012, Florida launched an investigation of the company and found them to be using
“uncertified teachers and asked employees to help cover up the practice,” and for inflating student enrollment numbers. - In 2013, the company settled a class action lawsuit in Virginia for $6.75 million after stockholders accused the company of misleading them about “overstating the academic performance of its students, and by not providing accurate information about student-to-teacher ratios and how students are recruited.”
- In 2016, the company was found to be lying about student enrollment and had to settle a lawsuit with the State of California for $165 million.
- In 2020, the Miami-Dade County School Board in Florida voted to discontinue its use of the company’s platform over concerns around the curriculum, content, and quality of instruction of K12.
The California-based Enterprise-Record published an investigative series on K12 in 2018, after the company settled a lawsuit with the state, and found:
“Although the schools are set up like typical charters, records show they’re established and run by Virginia-based K12 Inc., whose claims of parental involvement and independent oversight appear to be a veneer for the moneymaking enterprise.”
“The company — the subject of a two-part investigative series by this newspaper — says the schools operate independently and are locally controlled. But the academies’ contracts, tax records and other financial information suggest something entirely different: K12 calls the shots, operating the schools to make money by taking advantage of laws governing charter schools and nonprofit organizations.”
The State Board of Education will hold a public hearing on the innovation schools proposal on Monday at 11:30 a.m. Public comment may be made in-person at the New Hampshire Department of Education, 25 Hall Street, Concord, NH, 03301 or by submitting written testimony to Tim Carney at Timothy.C.Carney@doe.nh.gov
Final proposal for back-half of minimum standards
The NHED is presenting a new proposal for the second half of the minimum standards for public school approval, also known as the ED 306s. The proposed rules could have significant implications for school funding and minimum programmatic requirements.
The “first half” of the overhaul, which includes policy requirements and rules regarding how schools operate, was approved by the State Board of Education in August and is now going to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Administrative Rules, a panel of lawmakers that reviews the rules to ensure that they comply with state law. On Monday, the NHED will present the second half for the Board’s consideration.
Under current rules, local school districts create academic programs and design curriculum around minimum program requirements that are adopted by the State Board of Education. Those program requirements include assurances that every school provides academic programs in specific content areas, including instructional requirements, comprehensive curriculum, and assessment.
The program standards outline what a school is required to provide. They also outline what the state is required to fund.
However, the NHED’s newest proposal would shift the state’s responsibility to simply making sure that the school would “ensure” programs in the required areas, rather than provides them. It is unclear what the shift would mean in practice — but given larger and long-standing efforts to eliminate and narrow the state’s requirement to provide and fund public education, the subtle wording shift raises significant concerns.
The State Board has two options on Monday: it can adopt the NHED’s proposal and send it to the legislative oversight committee for further review, or, it can delay a vote until October or November, and work through the proposed changes and their implications.
If you have any questions about this content, please contact Christina Pretorius, Policy Director, at christina@reachinghighernh.org
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