Newform Dedekind sums are a class of crossed homomorphisms that arise from newform Eisenstein series. We initiate a study of the kernel of these newform Dedekind sums. Our results can be loosely described as showing that these kernels are neither too big nor too small. We conclude with an observation about the Galois action on Dedekind sums that allows for significant computational efficiency in the numerical calculation of Dedekind sums.