Sponsor seeks to extend high‑school civics exam to public college graduates; universities warn of costs and autonomy concerns

Representative Mike Moffett introduced House Bill 112, describing it as a “sister measure” to an existing high‑school civics requirement and saying it would require public college graduates to pass the same naturalization‑style civics examination now required of New Hampshire high‑school graduates.

Moffett, who identified himself as a longtime postsecondary educator, said the bill addresses what he described as an “ignorance crisis” among some college graduates about how government works and argued the test would raise the value of a New Hampshire degree. He disputed figures in the bill’s fiscal note, telling the committee that he was told by the Office of Strategic Initiatives that some institutions estimated $130,000 per‑institution staffing costs to administer the test. “How is it that every high school in the state now gives this test ... without having to spend $130,000 to hire somebody to give the test?” he asked.

Why it matters: The bill raises issues familiar to higher‑education policy: balancing statewide learning expectations against the autonomy of largely self‑governing institutions, and the operational costs of new requirements versus their intended civic benefits.

University and community‑college officials cautioned that the bill’s objective does not mean implementation is cost‑free. Katherine Preventure, chancellor of the state university system, said the system is opposed for two main reasons: the requirement would impose administrative and technology costs, and it raises a precedent issue because statutes that create universities’ enabling frameworks assign curriculum and graduation‑requirement authority to the institutions. “The fiscal note reads that it’s indeterminable,” she told the committee, saying the administration provided a range of roughly $100,000 to $500,000 in potential initial costs and emphasized the need for a robust compliance and tracking system if the measure moved forward.

Representatives of the Community College System echoed the goal and recommended specific changes to reduce implementation burdens: limit the requirement to degree‑seeking students and allow batch exemptions for recent New Hampshire high‑school graduates so colleges would not need to individually verify each student’s high‑school record. Shannon Reed, director of government affairs for the community colleges, said the system could absorb some new responsibilities but asked for clarifications and transitional tools to avoid adding uncompensated labor to staff already managing competing priorities.

Sponsor’s response: Moffett said the assessment already exists online and suggested it could be administered with existing online and registrar processes; he argued the high fiscal estimates were a “poison pill” by opponents and that the Legislature had precedent to set educational expectations for public degrees.

What happens next: The committee closed the HB 112 hearing after receiving testimony from the university system and community colleges. Committee members asked staff and the sponsor questions about accommodations for students with documented disabilities, alternatives to an exam (documented coursework or equivalent), and the accuracy of the fiscal assumptions in the note.

Provenance: Transcript testimony and Q&A, SEG 021–SEG 1008.