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- The American Federation of Teachers New Hampshire called on the state's education commissioner to resign.
- The commissioner created a new website that makes it easier for parents and students to report teachers for alleged discrimination.
- The movement to ban critical race theory in schools has become an ongoing and divisive issue in schools across the US.
New Hampshire's second-largest teacher's union is calling on the state's education commissioner to resign over a new website that makes it easier for parents and students to report teachers for alleged discrimination.
The American Federation of Teachers New Hampshire president Deb Howes released a statement Thursday stating New Hampshire's education commissioner Frank Edelblut "declared a war on teachers."
The website is the state's latest addition to a recent law that bans specific kinds of teaching about race, racism, and sexism as part of a larger movement to prevent critical race theory from being taught in schools. The law, which is called the Right to Freedom from Discrimination in Public Workplaces and Education, aims to "prevent public school teachers from teaching that one group of people is superior or inferior to another group, or that certain groups are inherently oppressive, among other concepts," according to New Hampshire Public Radio.
On the New Hampshire Department of Education website, parents or students who believe a teacher has broken this new law can fill out and submit a form, which is sent to the state's Commission for Human Rights for investigation, according to the Concord Monitor.
"It was bad enough that the law tried to find a problem that doesn't exist-no teacher in New Hampshire teaches that any group is inherently superior or inferior to another," Howes wrote. "That false flag has now been made worse with Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut launching a webpage to encourage parents to file complaints against teachers who allegedly teach so-called divisive concepts."
Edelblut AFT-NH's invitation to meet with them about the law, the statement says.
Howes and Edelblut did not immediately respond to Insider's request to comment on the website or AFT-NH's efforts.
Parent groups, such as Moms for Liberty NH, a group in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire that advocates for parental rights at all levels of government, has been an outspoken supporter of Edelblut's new website and the state's law. The group tweeted that they are offering $500 to the first person who successfully catches an educator violating the law.
-Moms for Liberty NH (@Moms4LibertyNH) November 12, 2021
While some have equivocated the cash prize to a "bounty on teachers' heads," others on social media have vocally supported the groups' incentive. Moms for Liberty NH did not immediately respond to Insider's request to comment.
The movement to ban critical race theory in schools has become an ongoing and divisive issue across the US. While critical race theory examines how America's history of racism continues to impact the country in the present day, many vocal Republicans have suggested that children are being indoctrinated with the theory in America's schools, Insider reported. By doing so, Republicans have generated outrage from parents in a number of communities across the country.