State House News

Defeat HB 1300 and HB 1792

We are in the final few weeks of the legislative session. Next week there will be a number of votes in House and Senate committees as both bodies must finish their committee work by the end of the week. 

On behalf of my members and the communities we serve, I respectfully urge you to oppose HB 1300. This bill harms public school students, interferes with local community control, and makes it harder for schools to meet their constitutional obligation to Granite State children.

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.

On behalf of our members, the public-school students and communities we serve, AFT–New Hampshire opposes SB 101, even with the amendment discussed on March 25. While the amendment changes how open enrollment would be funded, it does not change the fundamental impact of the bill. Mandatory open enrollment still threatens equal educational opportunity, undermines local public schools, and diverts scarce resources away from the students and communities who rely on them most.