Mouth of the River

The Oyster River Corporative School District (ORCSD) made a statement on August 7th, 2025, that announced the district would be joining an American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) lawsuit against the New Hampshire state government.  

The ACLU lawsuit was filed regarding the legality of House Bill 2 (HB2), a state budget bill where two sections directly prohibit Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs in public schools. These programs could range from DEI training to classroom curriculum, as well as many other clubs and organizations.  

The first section, 333 titled “Prohibition on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion,” speaks generally about state organizations including school districts. The second section, 334 titled “Prohibition on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Public Schools,” specifies public school districts.  

These sections outline what prohibiting DEI in public schools looks like, as well as what would happen if a school did not follow the guidelines. Part of the initial complaint that led to the filing of the lawsuit was that the language of the guidelines was too vague for school districts to follow, given the severity of the repercussions. The main repercussion stated was cutting state funding to any public school that went against the specificalities in the subsections.  

One reason why the ACLU initially filed the lawsuit was because of the vagueness of the two sections of the bill; that same reason applied for Oyster River. “Part of it is that the language that we are held to is difficult for anyone to understand or contextualize. They’re just statements about ideas or things that do not give guidance to what is permissible or not,” said Superintendent Dr. Robert Shaps.  

The lawsuit was filed against the Department of Education and the Department of Justice because they would be the ones responsible for enforcing sections 333 and 334.  

The bill was initially signed into law on June 27th, 2025 by Governor Kelly Ayotte. After seeing that the bill (HB2) passed directly contradicted the mission statement of “Oyster River High School seeks to provide a nurturing community where the uniqueness of each member is valued. In this spirit, we are committed to becoming educated, ethical, responsible citizens who are committed to contributing positively toward the betterment of our society and world,” the school board then unanimously decided to join the lawsuit as a plaintiff.  

Oyster River was the fourth school district to join the ACLU lawsuit, the other districts being Dover, Somersworth, and Grantham. National organizations such as the National Education Association – New Hampshire (NEA-NH), and New Hampshire Outright (a non-profit dedicated to helping LGBTQ+ students across the state that provides educational trainings to schools and organizations) were also involved in the lawsuit. As well as two professionals, representing themselves, who work with DEI in educational environments.  

After initially filling two injunctions delaying her final decision, on October 2nd, 2025, Chief Judge Landya McCafferty ruled in favor of the ACLU and other plaintiffs ordering a preliminary injunction preventing the four government agencies from enforcing any repercussions outlined in HB2.  

Mouth of the River (MOR) reached out to sponsors of the bill, other representatives on the Finance committee, and Governor Kelly Ayotte, but was unable to get in contact with anyone, nor was MOR able to determine who authored sections 333 and 334 of HB2.  

To read Bella and Elise’s perspective on writing and reporting for this article, read their features article coming soon to the MOR website. 

-Bella Jackman and Elise Bacon