We now have most of the language for the new bills coming forward for the 2026 Legislative Session, as well as the bills that legislative leaders in the House and Senate intend to move forward that were held over from last year. As expected, the legislative priorities identified for NEA-NH are largely defensive ones because of attacks led by anti-public education and anti-union lawmakers.
The following is a set of priorities along with just a few of the examples of the kinds of bills that fall under our top issue areas:
Non-Negotiable Union Priorities
These bills directly impact our members, our students, and the future of public education. They require immediate and aggressive action.
- Defend workers’ rights and collective bargaining: We will fight to protect the right to organize, bargain collectively, and enforce contracts. Bills like HB 1704 aim to weaken public employees’ voices by dividing them. HB 1645 could also diminish your rights by giving the state board of education the power to unilaterally waive rules under different statutes that apply to schools.
- Protect local control and democratic governance: NEA-NH will oppose state overreach and defend the authority of locally elected school boards, educators, and communities to make decisions about their public schools. Returning bills like HB 675, which would impose arbitrary and draconian budget caps on schools without local voter approval, is a good example of what we need to battle right away when this bill hits the floor the first day of session (January 7). We are also seeing new efforts that seek to eliminate the default budget for SB 2 communities (HB 1355) and reach into local school districts to mandate no school start until after Labor Day (SB 430).
- Stop further privatization of public education: We will fight to block further voucher expansion and any policy that diverts public dollars away from public schools. Despite securing universal vouchers this year, anti-public education advocates are already back seeking to lift the soft cap on enrollment in the state EFA voucher program with SB 581. They are also looking at other methods to expand the program by seeking to make it easier to convert a public school into a charter school (HB 1358 and HB 1712).
- Protect students’ rights: We will defend students’ civil rights, freedom to read, due process, access to services, and inclusive, safe learning environments. Atlhough Governor Ayotte vetoed a book ban bill this year, some lawmakers won’t take no for an answer. Additional book ban bills have been filed (SB 33 and SB 434) as well as another repeat bill that would mandate educators out LGBTQ+ students (SB 430).
- Ensure safe and healthy working and learning conditions: NEA-NH is committed to advancing and defending enforceable standards that protect educators and students from gun violence and other preventable harms, including strong public-health protections such as school immunization requirements, and policies that keep schools safe, healthy, and focused on learning—not fear. We can support gun free schools by supporting SB 463 and protect educators and students from extreme classroom temperatures by advocating for HB 1451.
- Protect public schools: We will defend against efforts to dismantle public schools or restructure school districts that would be harmful to students and educators and weaken the delivery of public education in our state. Under this category, we see not only the legislation previously mentioned related to converting neighborhood schools to charter schools, but also new legislation that would irresponsibly consolidate school administrative units without using the input of educators, students, or community members, including HB 1331, HB 1644, and LSR 2026-3251.
- Protect and elevate the education profession: NEA-NH will support policies that respect educator expertise, improve recruitment and retention, strengthen professional autonomy, and oppose punitive systems and government overreach. Instead of lowering professional standards and weaponizing the code of conduct as some bill filings continue to propose, we will highlight bills that focus on trusting educators, such as HB 1669 - a teacher bill of rights. There are a variety of bills that also mandate certain curricula without involving educators in the process, such as HB 1122 which would mandate firearm curriculum in public schools.
- Win fair and equitable funding for public schools: We will continue the fight for sustainable, adequate, and equitable public education funding that meets student needs and supports competitive wages and benefits for educators. Several proactive pieces of legislation seek to fill the gap in key funding areas, such as special education aid, and other targeted revenues, including SB 584 and HB HB 1557, which are worth supporting.
It won’t be an easy legislative session, but educators’ voices will be critical in holding legislators accountable for their votes with the upcoming year also being an election year. Be sure to use our bill tracker, read our weekly legislative updates, and tune into the one-minute policy meetings and urgent action alerts on NEA-NH social media accounts, including Facebook and Instagram!
As always, please contact me with any questions or how you can help at [email protected].
