This Week's Recap: Mandatory Open Enrollment Fails but School Tax Cap Vote Requirement Advances
The final day of the 2026 New Hampshire Legislative Session saw the hard-fought failure of statewide mandatory open enrollment (HB 751), however, mandatory tax cap votes and several other anti-public education bills passed which means we must now turn our attention to the Governor as she prepares to act on these bills.
HB 751: Inadequate Statewide Mandatory Open Enrollment Bill Dies on the Senate Floor
After much behind the scenes disagreement, the Senate tabled a last minute “compromise” proposal on HB 751. The proposal would have required that open enrollment school districts accept a minimum of 10% of its current pupil enrollment count, pay for a minimum of 10% of its students to attend another open enrollment school (currently the minimum is 0%). Effectively, this bill would have mandated open enrollment tuition payments from all school districts.
As we’ve said throughout this session—statewide mandatory open enrollment was not ready for prime time and would have irrevocably harmed the delivery of public education in our state. NEA-New Hampshire remains committed to working with lawmakers across the political spectrum to advance student-centered solutions that expand opportunity responsibly while protecting educational quality and stability for all students.
Read our full press statement here.
HB 1300: Mandatory Tax Cap Vote Passes Both Chambers – Heads to Governor
The House and Senate voted to move a compromise proposal on HB 1300 forward. As adopted, it would require communities to hold school tax cap votes at each of the next two even year General Elections; November of 2026 and 2028. These caps specifically target school districts with arbitrary caps that don’t address the real issue of public education funding inequities in our state. The bill also contains a number of convoluted provisions that would make it very difficult to administer in school districts with more than one town.
Click here to urge Governor Kelly Ayotte to veto HB 1300!
Other Committee of Conference Bills That Passed
Here is an update on several other Committee of Conference reports that we opposed that passed both chambers and are now headed to the Governor’s desk:
- HB 340 makes changes to the law around the prohibition on electioneering by public employees while in the course of their duties. We still have concerns that the changes proposed in this bill are not only unnecessary but are vague and subjective.
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HB 1374 would lower the standards for a town to unilaterally withdraw from a cooperative school district. We are concerned that this proposal lacks enough safeguards given the ramifications of a community withdrawal and believe we should stick with current law. It also creates a confusing voter petition process to initiate school closures.
You can see the full list of bills we were tracking on this last day of session here.
Have You Ever Thought About Running for Office?
New Hampshire's educators see firsthand how decisions made in Concord affect students, schools, and communities. If you've ever considered running for office, we'd like to hear from you!
What You Need to Know
The candidate filing period for New Hampshire's 2026 state elections runs from June 3 through June 12, 2026. Filings made on the final day must be completed in person by the candidate no later than 5:00 PM.
Candidates for the New Hampshire House of Representatives may file with their local town or city clerk where they are domiciled, or with the Secretary of State's office. The filing fee for State Representative is $2.
Before filing, candidates should be prepared to complete the required candidacy paperwork and statement of financial interests. Additional information is available through the New Hampshire Secretary of State.
NEA-NH Action Center
Most of the tools and information you need to be a legislative advocate for public education are right at your fingertips through NEA-New Hampshire. Check out our NEA-NH Action Center to get all the information you need about issues we’re tracking at the State House, how to communicate with your lawmakers, and how to take action on specific bills.
Questions?
If you have questions on any of these bills or ones not mentioned here, please feel free to contact Brian Hawkins, NEA-NH Director of Government Relations at [email protected].
Need help signing in on legislation? Follow these comprehensive instructions (details for public hearings are contained in each action request).
For House hearings:
1. Visit this link: https://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/committees/remotetestimony/default.aspx
2. Enter your personal information
3. Select the hearing date
4. Select the committee
5. Choose the bill
6. I am - A member of the public
7. Choose who you are representing - Myself
8. Indicate your position on this bill
9. Upload remote testimony (Optional)
10. Review information and click submit
For Senate hearings:
1. Go to https://bit.ly/3S4Cof1 and click the date that the bill you are interested in is being heard
2. Select the committee that is hearing the bill
3. Select the bill you are interested in
4. Select a category – Member of the Public
5. Indicate your position on this bill
6. Click continue
7. Enter your name and contact information
8. Click continue
9. Carefully review the information to ensure it is entered correctly. If it is correct, check the box and click continue.
