2026 Legislative Session

Fall marks an important return not just for students and teachers, but also for New Hampshire’s lawmakers, who earlier this month began to discuss tabled legislation and the filing of new legislative service requests (LSRs), which could become bills next year.

Many bills in 2025 were tabled, retained in committee, or referred back to committee. Lawmakers are currently discussing which of these bills will move forward in 2026.The text of a bill can change before it comes to the floor, but between the holdover bills from last year and the 800+ news LSRs that have been filed so far, we have a sense of the conversation that is brewing. Here are some topics we expect to hear about in 2026:

Expanding school choice even more (but with guardrails?):

New Hampshire’s  school voucher program hit its enrollment cap within weeks of universal eligibility becoming available. We can expect to see legislation aimed at removing that cap, expanding eligibility and spending that diverts funds from our public schools. Because of the substantial cost of the program (now at nearly $50 million of new spending), we expect to  see legislation that attempts to put guardrails around the program – it remains to be seen whether those efforts will get any traction.  In 2025, efforts to add accountability and transparency measures failed to pass.  

Pushing open enrollment:

A number of open enrollment bills are still on the table coming out of 2025, and though it’s unclear which versions might move forward, it’s likely open enrollment will be a key topic in 2026. Open enrollment – a system in which students can enroll in any public school in the state – would fundamentally change the public school system. In a state like New Hampshire, it would create gaps between those who can drive distances to access the school of their choice, and those who cannot. Given the number of small schools in the state, it’s also highly likely such a system would lead to school closures, as schools that lose a few students become financially unsustainable. While the specific impacts will depend on the policy details, it is hard to imagine a system of open enrollment that does not exacerbate opportunity gaps and consequently impact communities.

Monitoring teacher speech: Several LSRs attempt to build on the educator code of conduct amendments by dictating what educators can say and creating channels to discipline teachers seen to be in violation. Along with the laws passed this year, these bills will make it harder for teachers to do their jobs – and may ultimately drive people away from the profession. 

Continued funding debates:

Many of the bills currently being discussed in committee involving changing how public education is funded. Whether any of these bills make it to the floor is a question mark; this has been a decades-long debate with a recent Supreme Court ruling underscoring New Hampshire's funding formula is woefully inadequate and unconstitutional.  The number of bills and LSRs dealing with school funding indicate it’s an issue area for members of our state legislature but very little traction has been gained in developing a long-term commitment and solution for addressing the state’s funding formula.