Leaked Signal Chat Shows NH Education Chair Kristin Noble Backing 'Whites-Only' Schools

Alleged Chat Contents and Leak Details

The group chat excerpts surfaced in a Granite Post News article on Wednesday, with screenshots that purport to show members of the 'EdPolicy2026' Signal group discussing school segregation. According to the screenshots, a user labelled 'Kristin Noble' wrote: 'when we have segregated schools we can add all the fun stuff lol,' followed shortly by: 'imagine the scores though if we had schools for them and some for us.'

The implication drawn by critics, based on the context and phrasing, is of racial segregation in education, a practice outlawed in the United States following the Brown v. Board of Education (1954) decision that declared racially segregated public schools unconstitutional.

In the recording, another user identified as Rep. Katy Peternel, a Republican holding the vice-chair position on the education committee, reacted to Noble's comment with a laughing emoji. Efforts to independently verify the authenticity of the screenshots, including who provided them or how they were leaked, have not been confirmed by state officials at the time of publication.

Official Responses and Context

Following publication of the leaked chat, Noble's office released a statement through the New Hampshire House Republican Office in which she did not directly deny authoring the comments. Instead, the statement reframed the remarks as referring to political and ideological separation, not race. Noble wrote that Republicans have 'self-segregated out of the leftist indoctrination centres for decades' and suggested that if Democrats had their own schools and Republicans theirs, families could choose accordingly, citing the state's education freedom account programme.

Her statement criticised what she described as excessive focus on social justice in public education, including references to gender identity policies and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) curricula, arguing such emphases led to 'terrible test scores.' Republican lawmakers have otherwise been cautious in public articulation of support for Noble. Rep. Mike Belcher, another committee member, responded via email that he interpreted Noble's reference as a 'quip meant to be humorous', but declined to endorse ideologically segregated schools as policy.

Democratic Lawmakers and Broader Backlash

Democratic leaders in New Hampshire were swift and unequivocal in their criticism. State House Minority Leader Alexis Simpson, representing the Democratic caucus, issued a statement calling segregation 'a living scar carved into our schools, our communities and our democracy', and argued that anyone espousing such views should not lead the education policy committee.

Another Democratic representative on the committee, Dave Luneau, called the comments 'disgusting' and said they echoed a shameful chapter of US history rather than the inclusive principles expected of modern education officials. In the days since the leak, a Change.org petition has circulated calling for Noble's removal from the education committee, arguing that her remarks undermine public trust and equity in education.

The term 'segregated schools' carries specific historical weight in the United States. Following centuries of racially discriminatory policies, Brown v. Board of Education (347 U.S. 483) ended legal racial segregation in public education, establishing that 'separate educational facilities are inherently unequal'. Judicial and legislative actions since have reinforced that segregation on the basis of race in public schooling violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Even decades after the rulings, American schools remain segregated in practice through housing patterns and policy decisions, prompting ongoing activism and scholarship on educational equity. However, explicit advocacy for re-segregation along racial lines by an elected official has no precedent in modern state education leadership.

As the state's top Republican on education policy insists she was referring to ideological differences, critics argue her remarks echo painful historical injustices and jeopardise trust in the public education system.