"Unproved theories" bill in New Hampshire rejected

The New Hampshire State House.

New Hampshire's House Bill 1206 was rejected by the House as "inexpedient to legislate" on a voice vote on February 8, 2024, following the recommendation of the House Education Committee. If enacted, the bill would have prohibited educators from presenting "unproved theories as fact" and "educators and school administrators from pushing or asserting, advocating for, or otherwise compelling belief in, any particular theory or ideology."

No criteria for ascertaining what theories are unproven, what constitutes a theory or ideology, and whether a given educator's practice counts as indoctrination rather than education were provided, and no theories or ideologies were identified in the bill. Evolution and climate change are frequently misrepresented as unproven theories, however. The bill was sponsored by Alicia Lekas (R-District 38) and Oliver Ford (R-District 3).

Glenn Branch
Short Bio

Glenn Branch is Deputy Director of NCSE.

branch@ncse.ngo