An organization that describes itself as “the world's leading conservative nonprofit that is focused on changing minds through the creative use of digital media” may become an approved part of New Hampshire’s public education.

PragerU, whose videos and online material have recently been approved as supplemental curriculum in Florida, wants some of its online videos to be accepted as sufficient material for students to receive the new financial literacy certificate needed to graduate high school here.

The application, on the agenda for the Thursday meeting of the state Board of Education, says students could get the required half-credit for financial literacy by watching 15 videos, each about 5 minutes long, that comprise what it calls its Crash Course. The videos are free and their use is self-directed. 

There would also be “an associated worksheet that functions as check-for-understanding questions to ensure comprehension,” according to the application. The worksheets would not be graded “nor factored into certificate eligibility.”

If the application is accepted, PragerU could become an approved program offering credit courses as part of the state’s Learn Everywhere program, alongside organizations like FIRST Robotics and the Seacoast Science Center and non-profit educational groups like Izzit.org and the New Hampshire Academy of Sciences. Use of its material would be voluntary.

Despite the name, PragerU is not a university nor an accredited academic institution and doesn’t grant certificates or diplomas. Its website says it “offers a free alternative to the dominant left-wing ideology in culture, media, and education.”

Founded by conservative talk show host Dennis Prager in 2009, it is best known for five-minute videos with titles like “Make Men  Masculine Again,”  “Healthcare Is Not a Right” and “The Inconvenient Truth About the Democratic Party,” as well as videos that question the reality of climate change and the role of slavery in the Civil War.

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