AFT-NH Legislative Bulletin (March 27, 2026)

SB 101 OPEN ENROLLMENT HEARING RESUMES ON APRIL 1^ST

Open enrollment continues to dominate the education space in the State House with a new amendment and scheme introduced this week. Basically, instead of using local property taxpayers to directly pay for a student to attend a public school in a different district, the amendment provides open enrollment students with twice the state adequacy aid than is received for students enrolled in their own school district. The state is now offering to pay twice the adequacy amount if you want to attend a charter or if you want to go to a different public school but refuses to change the state funding amount to ensure every child can have a fully funded and great education at their local neighborhood school.

In addition, the bill as amended leaves numerous questions. One of the biggest is how districts will deliver the needed special education services so that all students can succeed. Stating that sending districts will cover the costs of special education needs does not answer the practical question of who will make sure the qualified staff are on hand and have room in their schedule to work with the student. This scenario will likely leave the sending district with unanticipated special education costs. And as is the case with any open enrollment scheme, the bill as amended does nothing to solve the disparity in our school districts and in fact exacerbates it. Districts that struggle financially will lose funding, and other districts that don’t, stand to gain.

The hearing for open enrollment has been continued to April 1^st, so if you have not signed in opposed to SB 101 you can still do that using the instructions below.

Other bills to watch out for next week:

SB 578, relative to play-based curriculum and physical education curriculum. The concept of this bill may have its merits. We know especially for younger students, play based curriculum can be very beneficial. However, as written this bill lacks any funding as schools transition curriculum, purchase new necessary materials and does not address how less time in the classroom will correspond with preparation for state standardized testing requirements. The hearing is scheduled for Monday, March 30^th at 10:20 am before the House Education and Policy Committee. AFT-NH Opposes this bill.

SB 580, relative to establishing a school cooperative purchasing program still has very problematic language of state takeovers of schools. AFT-NH opposes this bill.

Breaking News

After a four-hour public hearing with overwhelming public opposition to HB 1815, the NH Senate quickly passed the bill this week and this afternoon Governor Ayotte signed the bill which shows the GOP’s lack of commitment to ever properly funding our public schools. You can read AFT-NH President Deb Howes Statement on this action.

Sign in Opposed to SB 101 Amendment (Open Enrollment)

To register your opposition to SB 101, click here.

1.    Fill out your information in the content boxes.

2.    Select April 1st in the calendar.

3.    Select House Education Policy Administration in the dropdown box.

4.    Select SB 101  10:00 AM from the “Choose the Bill” dropdown box.

5.    Use the “I am” dropdown box to select who you are (likely member of the public).

6.    In the “I’m Representing” box, write your organization, or choose to write “Myself”.

7.    Click the “I Oppose this Bill” circle.

8.    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).

9.    Under “Step 5. Final Review” click the “Submit” button.

10.  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 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 March 30, 2026