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Senate hearing: Education commissioner says state is preparing if U.S. Department of Education functions shift; some senators say formal report still needed
Summary
Senate Bill 303 would direct the New Hampshire Department of Education to report on the consequences for the state if the federal Department of Education were dismantled; Commissioner Frank Edelblou said his agency is preparing for several possible outcomes but several senators pressed for a formal study and specific data on fiscal impacts.
Sen. Rebecca Perkins Quocca introduced Senate Bill 303 asking the state Department of Education to assess the implications for New Hampshire if the federal Department of Education were dissolved or its functions shifted to block grants.
Perkins Quocca said federal education funding at risk includes approximately $61.1 million in IDEA funds for special education, $47 million in Title I grants, $7 million in career and technical education, and more than $326 million in Pell Grants—a combined figure she described as nearly $450 million in federal support that undergirds state education infrastructure.
Multiple witnesses from the education and disability communities testified in support of the bill and asked for clear guidance. David Trumbull highlighted the role of IDEA and Title I funds for special education and reading programs and warned that block grants could reduce dedicated funds for specific services over time. Vanessa Blaise, director of policy and planning for the New Hampshire Council on Developmental Disabilities, urged a transparent plan to answer parents’ questions about how individualized education program (IEP) protections and enforcement would be handled if federal arrangements changed.
Department of Education Commissioner Frank Edelblou told the committee the department has been preparing for possible changes and that many conversations with federal counterparts assume funds would be passed as block grants to states. He said New Hampshire already uses legislatively authorized infrastructure, such as the extraordinary needs grant, to pass funds to the school districts that would most likely need them if Title I became a block grant. "If these funds come down to the state as block grants ... the state already has in place a legislatively approved infrastructure," Edelblou said.
Senators pressed the commissioner about readiness and specifics. Edelblou said no federal decision to eliminate IDEA had been communicated to his office and that, in his conversations, accountability measures such as the NAEP assessment were expected to remain. But some senators said an agency report should still be required so the Legislature has concrete fiscal and programmatic projections.
During executive session the committee first voted on an "ought to pass" motion but that motion failed on a recorded 3–2 vote. The committee later voted to "inexpedient to legislate" (ITL) the measure, effectively recommending it not move forward at this time.
What’s next: The Department of Education said it is continuing planning conversations with federal partners and the Legislature; the committee voted to recommend ITL, but supporters argued the state should continue preparing detailed contingency plans and data-informed options.
