AFT-NH Legislative Bulletin (March 21, 2026) Action Needed on Open Enrollment

Open Enrollment Scheduled for a Public Hearing

Action Needed

Open enrollment is back. Next Week Senate Bill 101 will be heard in the House Education Committee. A quick recap of where we stand on Open Enrollment. Back in January, the Senate attached open enrollment to an unrelated bill HB 751 with the intent on ramming it through the legislature and quickly getting it to the Governor.

The rush was to pass a statewide open enrollment law before voters at annual school district meetings had their say on whether they wanted to pay for any student who decided to transfer to another public school anywhere in the state for any reason. Almost all rejected it. At the same time, the Senate passed HB751, they also passed SB 101, with all the same policies, just moving through the normal legislative process. It became clear that HB 751 would not quickly make it through the legislature because s there are numerous problems with the policy. Now HB 751 is waiting for a committee of conference and SB101 is due for a public hearing.  Please make your voice heard. 

Talking Points In Opposition to SB 101

1. Open enrollment is an option only a comparatively few students could use because families would be responsible for transporting students every day to the receiving school. Most of the families of the 160,000 students relying on our public schools to provide well-rounded education for all would not be able to use the open enrollment option, even if they were interested in it. With students taking the full cost of local funding with them, all those students remaining in the resident district would be making do with even less in an already underfunded public education. Why is the legislature working so hard to help a few public-school students instead of doing more to help all of the public school students?
2. For students with disabilities, open enrollment would split responsibility between districts, which would slow down and complicate services. A student’s home district would still be legally responsible for making sure the student receives a free appropriate public education and all the services in their Individualized Education Program (“IEP”), even if the student attends school somewhere else. That means districts would need to write and oversee IEPs in schools across the state, which increases the chances of miscommunication, delays, and inconsistent services. Districts already face these problems with current cross‑district placements, and open enrollment would make them exponentially worse.  
3. Because tuition dollars would move out of already underfunded districts, schools would have even fewer resources to meet federal requirements for students with disabilities. This could lead to more situations where students do not receive the specialized instruction or related services they are entitled to, which increases the risk of legal challenges against districts.
4. Open enrollment, as presented in this bill, creates a tuition paywall for families seeking to enroll in a higher‑cost district. If the receiving district’s per‑pupil cost exceeds that of the sending district, families must pay the difference each semester. This predictably blocks many students from accessing an educational opportunity in a public school because their family cannot afford the difference in tuition. Public education exists to ensure equal access to educational opportunity, not to offer minimal schooling to many students while reserving the best options only for those whose families can afford them. When access to open enrollment hinges on the ability to pay, the result is predictable: public school students are further segregated by income and need, and inequity is baked into the system.

To register your opposition to SB 101, click here.

• Fill out your information in the content boxes.
• Select March 25^th in the calendar.
• Select House Education Policy Administration in the dropdown box.
• Select SB 101 1:00 PM from the “Choose the Bill” dropdown box.
• Use the “I am” dropdown box to select who you are (likely member of the public).
• In the “I’m Representing” box, write your organization, or choose to write “Myself”.
• Click the “I Oppose this Bill” circle.
• If you have testimony to submit, you may upload it using the “Choose File” button or type into the content box any message that you would like to share with the committee members (talking points can be found below).
• Under “Step 5. Final Review” click the “Submit” button.
• You will then be asked to confirm your submission.

Thank you for taking action on this very important bill. Please also review the list below for upcoming hearings on our 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 March 23, 2026