AFT-NH Legislative Bulletin (April 6, 2026)

Contact Governor Ayotte

No to SB 101

Open Enrollment.  The House Education Policy and Administration Committee concluded the second day of public hearings on SB 101, Open Enrollment, and again encountered overwhelming opposition to the bill. After two days of testimony, only ten people spoke in favor of the bill. Opposition dominated the hearings. School board members, administrators, teachers, special education advocates, local property taxpayers, and many others expressed serious concerns about the proposed bill and amendment and the havoc which would result in our local schools.

This bill would create unpredictability for planning and budgeting for school districts and ultimately lead to local property taxpayers again being left holding the bag with higher taxes. Those opposed made it clear they support strong public schools. This open enrollment proposal would yet again drain away state funding from public schools and fracture our neighborhood schools. Our public schools are not adequately funded by the state now and this is yet another significant challenge that would harm local school districts and property taxpayers to handle on their own.

The next step for this bill is that it will get a vote in committee before the bill goes to the full House in the next few weeks. This bill maintains the same problem it had last week, that special education students will be left behind, that it will cause struggling districts to struggle more and raise property taxes and of course sets a preposterous standard where the state continues to pay more you to leave your school than it would pay to ensure you have the best education if you stayed in your district. We don’t know what the committee will recommend but now is the time to contact Governor Ayotte and let her know that Granite Staters strongly oppose open enrollment. 

Please let Governor Ayotte know that SB 101 will gut your school budget. No to SB 101.

Other bills to watch next week: 

SB 434 is another book ban bill being heard on Wednesday, April 8^th at 11:30 am before the House Education Policy and Administration Committee. Parents should be involved in what their kids are reading and if they do not want their child to read a book, they have that right and can let the school know BUT one parent should not decide for all kids what they are or are not allowed to read. AFT-NH opposes this bill 

HB 1132 is being heard on the April 8^th at 9:10 am before the Senate Executive Departments and Administration Committee. This bill bans flags from being flown in classrooms that are not related to something that is being taught. Besides being classroom censorship, the bill does not take in account if a local sports team wins a championship, or if someone from New Hampshire participates in the Olympics and a teacher wants to display the Olympic flag or anyone of 1,000 scenarios we can think of that would be good for a flag to be displayed.  AFT-NH opposes this bill 

Thank you for taking action on these very important bills. Please also review the list below for upcoming hearings on other priority bills.

Submitting Your Position and Testimony

Here is easy access to submit your position on bills before House and Senate Committees. 

Remember, if a bill is already scheduled for an Executive Session, you will not be able to submit your position.

To submit your position, click SUBMIT YOUR POSITION TO A HOUSE COMMITTEE HERE. 

To submit your position, click SUBMIT YOUR POSITION TO A SENATE COMMITTEE HERE.

• Fill in your Personal Information
• Select the relevant date and committee for the hearing by clicking on it in the Meeting Schedule Calendar (make sure you are on the right week). [Select Bill # and select the date].
• In the dropbox below "Select the Committee," select committee. 
• In the dropbox below "Choose the Bill," select the appropriate time and bill number. 
• Select the appropriate option for the "I am" dropbox (likely "Member of the Public").
• Fill in the content box under "I'm Representing" with the business, organization, or group you are representing. If you are representing yourself only, write "myself."
• Under the “Indicate Your Position on this Bill,” check the circle stating your position on the bill. “I Oppose this Bill” or “I Support this Bill”
• After filling in all of the appropriate drop boxes, click “Submit.”
• After clicking submit, you will be brought to the next page, where you will fill in the content boxes with your first and last name, as well as your town, state, and email address.
• Press “Continue.”
• If you wish to speak during the hearing to present your testimony, you will need to attend in person at the State House, but you upload your testimony if you cannot attend.
• If you wish to submit testimony on the bill, email the relevant committee and upload the testimony file from your computer (if you need assistance in this, we are happy to help).

AFT-NH Legislative Hearings

Week of April 6, 2026