State House News

Contact Governor Ayotte Now

Oppose SB 101 (Open Enrollment)

The full House meets this week and will vote on SB 101- the open enrollment bill. To recap where this bill stands, if you choose to be an open enrollment student, the state will pay the district to transfer into at least $9,000 towards your education. 

Need for Action on Open Enrollment – Oppose SB 101

Contact Governor Ayotte

We now have less than two months until the end of the legislative session. We will see more bills being voted on by their committees and then by the full House or Senate in the coming weeks as they get through the rest of the bills. 

AFT-NH opposes HB 1132 because it harms students by interfering with the ability of public school school staff to create warm, welcoming school communities that acknowledge all students and their families. Schools are not just places of instruction. They are places where all children need to feel safe, seen, and respected. Visual symbols such as flags and banners have meaning to students, to families and to communities: whether they are for pro-sports teams, states, countries, causes or beliefs. Limiting which students and families can be recognized and how sends the not so subtle signal that some are not welcome in our public schools.

We are deeply concerned about SB 434. Although the bill appears to simply require school districts to adopt a policy and procedures for reconsidering library and instructional materials, its practical impact would be far broader and more harmful. As written, SB 434 threatens students’ access to information, undermines teachers’ professional judgment, and exposes school districts to legal risk, all while diverting time and resources away from teaching and learning.

Legislature Convenes

HB 675 State-Mandated School Budget Caps Defeated

Huge Victory

The legislative session began on January 7^th and scores of retained bills from the 2025 session were addressed. The BIG news of the week is that HB 675 which would have established mandatory budget caps for public schools was defeated this week. The defeat of this harmful legislation only happened because you answered the call to contact your state representative. A big thank you for all your work. It was a great victory to start the session and we know we can count on you all to step up as we see the continued attacks on public education and workers’ rights.

On January 7^th, the NH House will vote on HB 675 which would establish state-mandated budget caps for local school districts despite the will of the voters. This bill would strip away local control from voters and limit school district budgets to an unreasonable state formula that does not reflect what NH students really need. We need to preserve local control and protect public schools.

"At AFT-NH, we strongly support every student’s freedom to explore the world through reading. School libraries play a vital role in this mission—they are often the only place where students can freely choose age-appropriate books without having to purchase them.

“Universal school vouchers are turning out to be exactly what we said they would be:” said Deb Howes, President of AFT-NH. “They are a government handout to mostly well-off families to pay for private school tuition, homeschooling, summer camp or enrichment activities that families previously paid for on their own."

AFT-NH is looking forward to learning more about the nominee for Commissioner of Education Caitlin Davis and her view of how the commissioner should lead the Department of Education. Because of her extensive background, working diligently and successfully in various divisions within the NH DOE, and her reputation of fostering strong, cooperative working relationships with the Granite State’s public school districts, we feel she is a candidate uniquely suited to lead the department and support our public school educators and students in these difficult times.