Legislative Update: Senate Budget Passes, Controversial Education Bills Move Forward, Mandatory Firearms Training in Schools Tabled

June 7th, 2025

The New Hampshire House and Senate voted on some of the most controversial education legislation of the 2025 session this week:  universal school vouchers, state mandated open enrollment, prohibition on teaching discrimination, parental bill of rights, and mandatory firearms training in schools. Here’s a look at what happened and what comes next:

Budget Moves through the Senate

The Senate debated and passed their version of the State Budget bill, which includes nearly  $15.9 billion in spending. Most of the day's debate focused on the Senate's choice to increase spending on school vouchers by expanding  to universal eligibility while simultaneously cutting funding for special education and failing to add additional funding for housing and the Department of Corrections.

Universal School Vouchers: HB 295 & HB 115-FN

On Thursday, June 5, the House voted to pass SB 295, which will remove the income cap for NH’s school voucher program known as Education Freedom Accounts (EFAs), making school vouchers available to all students in the state, regardless of family income or financial need. Under current law, a family of four with an annual income of $128,000 qualifies for the program. That amount is higher than NH’s median household income which is $95,628. Universal eligibility allows the state’s wealthiest families to use state funding for private, Christian, and home education expenses.  The bill proposes a cap of 10,000 students, with an automatic 25% expansion if enrollment nears capacity.  Some lawmakers categorized this cap as “a visor.” “Instead of calling this a cap it is more appropriate to call it a visor because a visor has no cap but it does shield the eyes from the light of what is actually going on,” stated Representative Murray (D-New Castle).

The Senate amended and passed HB 115-FN, the original House version of the universal voucher bill. The amendment replaced the bill language with the exact language of SB 295 making the bills identical and doubling down on voucher expansion. According to our analysis, the expansion of universal school vouchers could cost the state over $100 million per year. 

Open Enrollment Expansions Tucked into SB 99 & SB 210

Two Senate bills voted on yesterday in the House include significant open enrollment provisions, a policy that would allow students to attend public schools outside their home district. Initially rolled into the House version of the budget but removed by the Senate, Representative Cordelli (R-Tuftonboro) presented a non-germane floor amendment re-attempting to pass the expansion of state-mandated open enrollment for all public schools in SB 210.  SB 210 was originally drafted as a bill to create a study committee on bullying and cyberbullying.

          Read Reaching Higher’s analysis of open enrollment here.

          The non-germane floor amendment may be found here.

While another bill that passed the Senate earlier this session, SB 99, a bill aimed at Career and Technical Education (CTE) opportunities, was amended to require regional CTE agreements to be re-negotiated to include the creation of an “Access Program.”  The “Access Program” charges tuition back to the sending district for students to take non-CTE courses at the receiving high school.  Critics of this bill claim the bill will do just the opposite and create more barriers by mandating a state imposed tuition formula for part and full-time students to enroll in non-CTE classes at the host high school the CTE Center is attached to.  The state currently does not meet their obligation in funding CTE tuition and transportation.  The balance is charged back to the sending school.  SB 99 imposes another tuition charge on the sending district.   Some lawmakers highlighted the charge for a single non-CTE course per pupil could be as high as $4,600.    

Over time, Open Enrollment dismantles local community schools, and according to our fiscal analysis, even a small shift in the number of students enrolling in an open enrollment program can cost districts thousands of dollars. 

Parental Bill of Rights Clears Both Chambers

On Thursday, two versions of a “Parental Bill of Rights” moved forward:

  • HB 10, already passed by the House, cleared the Senate and was immediately concurred on by the House (210–160), this bill now makes its way to the Governor’s desk.

  • SB 72, a separate version, passed in the House as well.

The passage of a “Parental Bill of Rights” has been a multi-year effort of Republican legislators.  Asserting that “it is a fundamental right of parents to direct the upbringing, education, and care of their minor children,” the bills are intended to create a comprehensive list of parental rights in regards to education and health care services, many of which are already in law. Nationwide, similar efforts, built on model legislation provided by American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a conservative lobbying group, dating back to 2022 including Florida’s controversial “Don’t Say Gay” law.

Educators, advocates, and legal experts warn that both of these bills could erode student/teacher relationships, infringe on student privacy, and put school staff in difficult or risky legal situations. Recognizing the importance of student/teacher relationships, the New Hampshire Department of Education has invested considerable funding into the One Trusted Adult program since 2022. The contract, approved by the Governor and Executive Council, “includes online, on-demand professional development training for educators and parents, guardians and families, so that everyone in a young person’s life is offered tools and strategies to build strong connections and healthy boundaries with young people.” Speaking of the program, Deputy Commissioner Christine Brennan said, “When communities understand the importance of youth development and are invested in strong relationships, there tends to be less isolation and hopelessness. These connections may help prevent children from making risky decisions that could drastically impact their future.” Should the Parental Bill of Rights be signed into law by Governor Ayotte, the future of the program is uncertain.

Firearms Training in Schools? SB 54 Gets Tabled

A controversial non-germane amendment to SB 54 proposed adding mandatory firearms training to public school programs, sparking immediate debate. A motion to table the bill passed overwhelmingly (256Y-106N), halting its progress for now. This amendment is a trend in other states, which are pushing for armed teacher training or school-based firearm instruction.  

Next Steps

Next week, both the House and Senate will have full sessions on Thursday, June 12th. During these sessions, each chamber will review legislation to determine whether they:

  • Concur - agree with the changes made to the bill by the other body, effectively moving the bill to the Governor’s desk;

  • Nonconcur - disagree with the changes, killing the bill;

  • Nonconcur and enter a Committee of Conference to try and resolve the differences between the chambers.

Committees of Conference (CoC)  must be formed naming members by Thursday. These committees will meet the week of June 16 to June 19, and their reports must be complete by Thursday, June 19.

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