New Hampshire HB 1524: requiring a logic and critical thinking course within the state high school education curriculum.

Bill Text

HB 1524-FN - AS INTRODUCED

2026 SESSION

 26-2673

 12/06

HOUSE BILL 1524-FN

AN ACT requiring a logic and critical thinking course within the state high school education curriculum. 

SPONSORS: Rep. Read, Rock. 10; Rep. Wheeler, Hills. 33

COMMITTEE: Education Policy and Administration

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ANALYSIS

 This bill requires that a logic and critical thinking course be taught as a part of the curriculum for all high schools in the state. The bill also directs the state board of education to develop policy guidelines for the teaching of logic and critical thinking.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

 Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

 Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

 26-2673

 12/06

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty-Six

AN ACT requiring a logic and critical thinking course within the state high school education curriculum. 

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

 1 New Paragraph; Criteria for an Adequate Education. Amend RSA 193-E:2 by inserting after paragraph VII the following new paragraph: 

 VIII. Skills in logic and critical thinking, as defined in RSA 193-E:2-a, VI(f) and RSA 193-E:2-a, VI(h). 

 2 New Subparagraph; Substantive Educational Content of an Adequate Education. Amend RSA 193-E:2-a, I by inserting after subparagraph (a)(11) the following new subparagraph: 

 (12) Logic and critical thinking, provided that a minimum of 54 hours of learning in logic and critical thinking shall satisfy the educational content needed for an adequate education, as required by this section. 

 3 Substantive Educational Content of an Adequate Education. Amend RSA 193-E:2-a, I(b) to read as follows: 

 (b) Teachers shall use academic and applied instruction to teach the learning areas under subparagraph (a). [The following] Computer use and digital literacy skills shall be integrated into the learning areas of logic and rhetoric[:] 

 [(1) Computer use and digital literacy.]

 [(2) Logic and rhetoric].

 4 New Subparagraph; Education; Adequate Public Education; Substantive Educational Content of an Adequate Education. Amend RSA 193-E:2-a, VI by inserting after subparagraph (g) the following new subparagraph: 

 (h) "Critical thinking" means the skill in understanding and seeking out the appropriate kinds of evidence needed to support or challenge a given argument, the ability to distinguish valid from invalid arguments based on logic, the habit of questioning the evidence, rationale, and motivation of one's own and others' beliefs, and the awareness of how social media and other sources of information can often be unreliable and promulgate psychological traps and logical fallacies that lead to the formation of unreasonable beliefs. 

 5 New Subparagraph; Accountability for the Opportunity for an Adequate Education. Amend RSA 193-E:3-b, I by inserting after subparagraph (a)(13) the following new subparagraph: 

 (14) Logic and critical thinking. 

 6 New Paragraph; Studies. Amend RSA 189:10 by inserting after paragraph III the following new paragraph: 

 IV. The school board shall ensure that logic and critical thinking courses approved pursuant to RSA 186:11, XXXVIII are taught as a part of the curriculum for all high schools in the state. Logic and critical thinking skills already being taught in high schools shall be embedded in a logic and critical thinking course, pursuant to RSA 186:11, XXXVIII. 

 7 New Paragraph; Duties of State Board of Education. Amend RSA 186:11 by inserting after paragraph XXXVII the following new paragraph: 

 XXXVIII. Logic and Critical Thinking Courses. Approve and distribute policy guidelines to school districts regarding courses and content standards for the teaching of logic and critical thinking. 

 8 Application. The requirements of this act shall not apply until the 2026-2027 school year. 

 9 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage. 

 LBA

 26-2673

 12/2/25

HB 1524-FN- FISCAL NOTE

AS INTRODUCED

AN ACT requiring a logic and critical thinking course within the state high school education curriculum. 

FISCAL IMPACT: This bill does not provide funding, nor does it authorize new positions.

 Estimated State Impact

FY 2026

FY 2027

FY 2028

FY 2029

 Revenue

$0

$0

$0

$0

 Revenue Fund(s)

None

 Expenditures*

$0

$1,081,000+

$85,000

$89,000

 Funding Source(s)

General Fund

 Appropriations*

$0

$0

$0

$0

 Funding Source(s)

None

 *Expenditure = Cost of bill *Appropriation = Authorized funding to cover cost of bill

 Estimated Political Subdivision Impact

FY 2026

FY 2027

FY 2028

FY 2029

 Local Revenue

$0

$0

$