FILE - Frank Edelblut listens during a public hearing on his nomination to lead New Hampshire’s Department of Education, Jan. 31, 2017, in Concord, N.H. On Monday, June 24, 2024, a private school teacher who says she was fired after driving an 18-year-old student to get an abortion filed suit against New Hampshire’s Department of Education and officials, including Edelblut, she claims falsely suggested she circumvented state law.
“We are confident that when presented with all of the evidence in this case, an impartial hearing officer will determine that Ms. Doe did not violate the Code of Conduct for New Hampshire Educators, and that no sanction is warranted,” he said in an email. “In the meantime, Ms. Doe is excited to get back into the classroom to do what she loves: teaching New Hampshire’s students.”
In her lawsuit, the teacher said the education department exceeded its authority and violated her due process rights by revoking her license without a fair and impartial process. And it accuses Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut of pushing a false narrative of her conduct via an opinion piece he published in April.
New Hampshire law requires parents to receive written notice at least 48 hours before an abortion is performed on an unemancipated minor. But in this case, the student wasn’t living with her parents and was a legal adult, according to the lawsuit. The teacher said she provided the student with contact information for a community health center last fall when the student disclosed her suspected pregnancy and later gave her a ride to the appointment in October. The school fired her within days and referred the matter to the Department of Education.