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As the Legislative Session Ends, Two Education Bills Face Final Votes

Jun 2, 2026

The Final Week at the State House: What's at Stake for Public Education?

Final votes on HB 1300 and HB 751 could reshape local decision-making, school budgets, and public education across New Hampshire.

Why June 4 Matters

The Legislature enters its final days this week with votes scheduled on many significant education bills that could have lasting implications for local school districts across New Hampshire. The outcomes of these votes could shape how communities navigate school funding, local budgets, and educational opportunity for years to come.

Two major bills we have been following, HB 1300 and HB 751, are currently in the final stages of the legislative process. Last week, House and Senate negotiators met in Committees of Conference to resolve differences between competing versions of the bills. The resulting compromise proposals now return to both chambers for final votes on June 4. If both the House and Senate approve the Committee of Conference reports, the bills will advance to Governor Ayotte’s desk. If either chamber rejects them, the bills will die for the session.

While the bills address different issues, both raise important questions about local control, budget predictability, and the future of public education in New Hampshire.

HB 1300: A State-Mandated Tax Cap Vote

Communities already have the ability to adopt school tax caps through existing local processes. HB 1300 instead creates a new state-mandated ballot question that would be separated from the normal school budget and town meeting process. Significant questions also remain about how the proposal would work for cooperative districts and multi-town SAUs.

HB 1300 would require every community to vote on a school district tax cap question during the November 2026 and 2028 general elections. Supporters have framed the proposal as property tax relief, but the bill does not increase state funding for public education or address the underlying factors driving local property tax pressure.

Read more from our partners at Reaching Higher NH here.

HB 751: Open Enrollment Returns in a New Form

Earlier this spring, a broader universal open enrollment proposal failed to gain enough support in the Legislature after massive statewide opposition from over 600 school board members and Superintendents. But a revised version emerged from Committee of Conference last week.

The latest proposal would require districts with open enrollment policies to allow at least 10% outgoing enrollment, overriding decisions recently made by many local districts. According to Reaching Higher NH, more than 90 districts that adopted open enrollment policies this spring voted to limit outgoing enrollment to zero.

This spring, many communities voted to limit outgoing enrollment specifically because they were concerned about the financial risk created by town-to-town tuition payments. Under HB 751, those local decisions could be overridden while districts remain responsible for the costs, without additional state funding. That creates new uncertainty for local school budgets, shifts additional financial risk onto communities, and leaves districts with fewer tools to manage that risk.

A Common Theme: More Uncertainty for Local Communities

Although HB 1300 and HB 751 address different issues, they share a common theme. Both would create new layers of complexity and uncertainty for local school districts while doing little to address the underlying challenge facing communities across New Hampshire: a school funding system that continues to place the burden on local taxpayers.

What Happens Next?

The House and Senate are expected to vote on the Committee of Conference reports for both bills on June 4.

As lawmakers debate how districts spend money, how students move between districts, and how communities manage rising costs, the fundamental question of fair and adequate school funding remains unresolved. In different ways, both proposals ask local districts to absorb additional uncertainty without addressing the broader funding challenges already facing students, schools, and taxpayers.

Take Action

With final votes expected on June 4, now is the time to make your voice heard.

Contact your State Representative and State Senator: Final votes will happen on June 4. Urge them to vote NO on HB 1300 and HB 751 and explain how these proposals could affect your community.

Contact Governor Ayotte: If either bill reaches her desk, let her know New Hampshire communities need real solutions to rising property taxes and school funding challenges, not policies that shift additional burdens onto local taxpayers.

You can access our HB 1300 x HB 751 Action Page with talking points and a new legislator call list sorted by town/city.

Whether these bills advance or not, the questions they raise aren’t going away. Communities across New Hampshire will continue grappling with rising property taxes, public school funding, and the state’s role in supporting local districts.