NEA-New Hampshire Mid-Summer Legislative Update
Governor Vetoes Book Ban Legislation, Stopping Criminalization of NH Educators
Last week, Governor Kelly Ayotte vetoed HB 324, which would have banned books in New Hampshire public schools and criminalized educators, librarians, and even school board members. The state already has an objectionable materials law for public schools that allows any parent to opt their child out of any required coursework, curriculum, or material. This bill would have gone far beyond parental opt-out by potentially imposing one parent’s objections on other families. In her veto message to the Legislature, Governor Ayotte pointed this out, stating:
“Current State law appears to provide a mechanism for parents through their local school district to exercise their rights to ensure their children are not exposed to inappropriate materials. Therefore, I do not believe the State of New Hampshire needs to, nor should it, engage in the role of addressing questions of literary value and appropriateness, particularly where the system created by House Bill 324 calls for monetary penalties based on subjective standards.”
While there have been some major differences with the Governor on education policy, the Governor got it right on this one and some other major vetoes from last week. As NEA-NH President Megan Tuttle said in our press release: “Every student deserves to see themselves reflected in the pages of their books. NEA-New Hampshire applauds Governor Ayotte for standing up for the freedom to read in New Hampshire. We hope this book ban bill veto represents a changing tide at the State House and call on lawmakers to listen to Granite Staters who overwhelmingly oppose classroom censorship efforts.”
Governor Ayotte Also Vetoes Bills Weakening the Value of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey and an Anti-Local School Budget Bill
- HB 446 – This legislation would have changed the Youth Risk Behavior Survey from an opt-out to an opt-in. This bill was unnecessary because state law already allows an opt-out provision for any parent who does not want their child to participate in the survey. As educators, we know this anonymous, optional survey helps identify important trends in youth mental health, substance use, and more so that the state can create effective prevention programs. HB 446 would have greatly reduced participation in this survey and could have negatively impacted the ability to gather useful insights from the data that could ultimately harm New Hampshire youth.
- HB 475 – This bill would have reduced the default budget for municipalities and school districts by the amount of salary and benefit reductions as part of position turnover before the public hearing for the proposed budget takes place. This would have artificially reduced the default budget simply because someone leaves their funded job voluntarily or retires. With a significant number of vacancies and turnover happening in schools, this bill would have been devastating to local schools.
Other Major Education Vetoes from Governor Ayotte
-
HB 356 would have permitted partisan school board elections, which would have made these community positions unnecessarily political.
- HB 358 would have watered down the standard by which a parent can claim a religious exemption to opt their student out of required immunizations to enter school.
- HB 667 would have dictated to schools that they show students a computer-generated animation or ultrasound video that demonstrates the development of the heart, brain, and other vital organs during early fetal development.
Bills Signed into Law Impacting Education in NH
At this point in the summer, the Governor has received and acted on around two-thirds of the bills passed by the Legislature, dozens of which impact your job as an educator and/or public education as a whole.
We’ve created a special list on our bill tracker that will be updated throughout the summer where you can see the bills we followed throughout the session which have been signed into law.
Bills range from major legislation like the parental bill of rights, to numerous changes to special education law, to various changes to the school district and municipal budget laws, and more.
Visit our website to view the New Education & Labor Laws Adopted in 2025 | NEA-NH.
Also, stay tuned for our full summary of all new laws for 2025 impacting members coming up in August when all bills have been acted upon.
Note and Resources for Cell Phone Ban Implementation
One of the major provisions affecting many school districts this coming year is the new requirement passed in House Bill 2 prohibiting the use of personal electronic communication devices, including cell phones, throughout the entire school academic day, or “bell-to-bell”. While this new law is a statute supported by NEA-NH and many educators, the law still requires local school boards to develop policies to implement this new restriction.
As part of the law, school boards are required to develop them “in collaboration with school parents and teachers…”. You can make your voice heard along with your local union to ensure that school boards make clear where the administration is taking responsibility for its part in upholding and enforcing these policies to best support your fellow educators in your building.
RESOURCE: NEA has a wealth of information and sample policy language on their site that be helpful to members as school boards look to formulate their local policies to implement: Sample School Board Policies for Student Success | NEA.
Trump Administration Withholds $27 million in Federal Title Money to NH Schools
In case you missed it, the Trump Administration announced this summer it would not release almost $7 billion in federal education grants – including $27 million for New Hampshire public schools – that were previously approved by Congress to support English language learners, teacher training, and after-school programs.
Here’s a breakdown of where the Trump Administration's original funding pause was going hit New Hampshire schools:
- Professional development for educators (Title II, A): $10.8 million
- Services for English learners (Title III, A): $1 million
- Student support and academic enrichment (Title IV, A): $6.7 million
- Before- and after-school programs (Title IV, part B): $6.5 million
- Literacy and general instructional services for adult services: $1.9 million
- Migrant education (Title I, C): $100,000. This funding provides services for students whose families work in transient industries such as fisheries and food processing, requiring them to move from state to state during the year, according to Education Week.
In the last week, the USDOE has released the $6.5 million for before-and after-school programs (Title IV, part B) due to pressure put on them from the public and some members of Congress, but that still leaves a significant amount of funding many schools had been counting on for things like funding educator professional development in limbo.
We need your help to ensure that schools can access these funds for educators and their students. Please use our form to share how the withholding of federal education grants will impact your classroom and your school so we can elevate these consequences with lawmakers and the public.
Full NEA-NH Bill Tracker
You can also follow all the bills we are watching next week, by checking out our NEA-NH bill tracker.
NEA-NH Legislative Advocacy Toolkit
Most of the tools you need to be a legislative advocate for public education are right at your fingertips through NEA-New Hampshire. Check out our new NEA-NH Legislative Advocacy Toolkit here to get all the information you need on how to communicate with your state representatives and senators, support and oppose specific bills, and testify in Concord.
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].
