USA TODAY: NH Teacher Bounty Group Pushes Agenda Nationwide

In case you missed it, USA Today published a story detailing the political work of Mom’s for Liberty, the dark money backed group behind the $500 bounty program targeting New Hampshire teachers who ran afoul of Governor Chris Sununu and the NH GOP legislature’s recent law prohibiting discussions of racial equity in the classroom. New Hampshire Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut — a Sununu appointee with no education background — has appeared with the group several times. The organization also has ties to the Free State movement. Read the full story here.

Key Excerpts:

• Maurice Cunningham, a retired associate professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts at Boston and author of “Dark Money and the Politics of School Privatization,” called Moms for Liberty “a prefabricated front” representing GOP interests, especially those of DeSantis.

• Colin Booth, communications director for the New Hampshire Democratic Party, doubts Moms for Liberty will see future growth in the state. “New Hampshire has some of the best schools in the country, and the level to which Moms for Liberty has been meddling in those schools, people aren’t happy about it," he said. "I think you’ll see a major backlash this fall.”

• Meanwhile, Booth said the state is enduring reputational harm “because of these extreme far-right activists’ willingness to put a torch to public education for a very short-term political gain. We’re already losing a generation of talented young teachers because they’re terrified of what could happen to their careers, and to them personally.”

Background:

Business Insider: New Hampshire Moms for Liberty chapter offers $500 to anyone who can catch teachers breaking a new 'discrimination' law The Hill: Moms group puts $500 ‘bounty’ on teachers who teach ‘divisive concepts’ Forbes: New Hampshire And Moms For Liberty Put Bounty On Teachers’ Heads