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HB68 • 2026

making best interest placements within the same school district mandatory in the absence of a valid reason to deny the placement.

making best interest placements within the same school district mandatory in the absence of a valid reason to deny the placement.

Education Parental Rights
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Erica Layon (R), Judy Aron (R), Keith Murphy (R), Dan McGuire (R), Glenn Cordelli (R), Ruth Ward (R), Douglas Thomas (R), James Thibault (R), Victoria Sullivan (R)
Last action
2026-01-07
Official status
SENATE
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill was ultimately marked as 'Inexpedient to Legislate' and is no longer in effect.

Making Best Interest Student Placements Mandatory Within School Districts

This bill requires superintendents to approve student requests for reassignment within the same school district unless there is a valid reason not to do so.

What This Bill Does

  • Requires superintendents to approve student requests for reassignment within the same school district if it is in the best interest of the student.
  • Requires superintendents to provide written reasons to parents when denying a request for reassignment.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Students who want to change schools within their district
  • Parents or guardians of students requesting a reassignment
  • Superintendents

Terms To Know

superintendent
The person in charge of managing the operations of one or more public schools within a district.
school board
A group of people elected to oversee and manage the policies, procedures, and finances of a school system.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill was marked as 'Inexpedient to Legislate' by the Senate on January 7, 2026.
  • It is unclear how this legislation would be enforced or what consequences there might be for non-compliance.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

Amendment #2025-0103h : AA DV 201-160 03/20/2025 HJ 9 P. 36

Plain English: Amendment #2025-0103h : AA DV 201-160 03/20/2025 HJ 9 P. 36 1

  • The official amendment file could not be read automatically during the last sync, so only the official amendment metadata is shown right now.

Bill History

  1. 2026-01-07 S

    Inexpedient to Legislate, MA, VV === BILL KILLED ===; 01/07/2026; SJ 1

  2. 2025-11-25 S

    Committee Report: Inexpedient to Legislate; Vote 5-0; CC; 01/07/2026; SC 46

  3. 2025-05-01 S

    Rereferred to Committee, MA, VV; 05/01/2025; SJ 11

  4. 2025-04-17 S

    Committee Report: Rereferred to Committee, 05/01/2025; Vote 5-0; CC; SC 19

  5. 2025-04-10 S

    Hearing: 04/15/2025, Room 101, LOB, 09:15 am; SC 17

  6. 2025-03-24 S

    Introduced 03/20/2025 and Referred to Education; SJ 9

  7. 2025-03-20 H

    Amendment #2025-0103h : AA DV 201-160 03/20/2025 HJ 9 P. 36

  8. 2025-03-20 H

    Ought to Pass with Amendment 2025-0103h: MA RC 217-156 03/20/2025 HJ 9 P. 36

  9. 2025-02-06 H

    Majority Committee Report: Ought to Pass with Amendment #2025-0103h 02/03/2025 (Vote 10-8; RC)

  10. 2025-02-06 H

    Minority Committee Report: Inexpedient to Legislate

  11. 2025-01-29 H

    Executive Session: 02/03/2025 01:00 pm LOB 205-207

  12. 2025-01-22 H

    Public Hearing: 01/27/2025 01:00 pm LOB 205-207

  13. 2024-12-23 H

    Introduced 01/08/2025 and referred to Education Policy and Administration HJ 2 P. 4

Official Summary Text

making best interest placements within the same school district mandatory in the absence of a valid reason to deny the placement.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
HB 68 - AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE

20Mar2025... 0103h
2025 SESSION
25-0053
02/05

HOUSE BILL
68

AN ACT
making best interest placements within the same school district mandatory in the absence of a valid reason to deny the placement.

SPONSORS: Rep. Layon, Rock. 13; Rep. D. McGuire, Merr. 14; Rep. D. Thomas, Rock. 16; Rep. J. Aron, Sull. 4; Rep. Cordelli, Carr. 7; Rep. Thibault, Merr. 25; Sen. Murphy, Dist 16; Sen. Ward, Dist 8; Sen. Sullivan, Dist 18

COMMITTEE: Education Policy and Administration

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ANALYSIS

This bill requires superintendents to approve student requests for reassignment within the same school district, and requires superintendents to provide written reasons to parents for denials of requests.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in
bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [
in brackets and struckthrough.
]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
20Mar2025... 0103h 25-0053
02/05

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Five

AN ACT
making best interest placements within the same school district mandatory in the absence of a valid reason to deny the placement.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 Change of School or Assignment; Best Interest of Student. Amend RSA 193:3, I(c) to read as follows:
(c) Prior to or at such meeting, the parent or guardian shall make a specific request that the student be re-assigned by the school board to another public school, public academy, or an approved private school within the district or to a public school, public academy, or an approved private school in another district.
If such request is made to re-assign the student to another public school or public academy within the school district, the superintendent shall approve the request unless it fails to meet the requirements under this section.

2 Change of School or Assignment; Finding Not in Best Interest. Amend RSA 193:3, I(i) to read as follows:
(i) If the superintendent does not find that it is in the best interest of the student to change the student's school or assignment, the parent or guardian may request a hearing with the school board of residence to determine if the student is experiencing a manifest educational hardship under paragraph II.
Within 10 days following such decision, the superintendent shall provide a written report to the parent or guardian providing the reasons why the request cannot be accommodated.

3 New Paragraph; Failure to Meet Requirements. Amend RSA 193:3 by inserting after paragraph I the following new paragraph:

I-a. If the superintendent fails to meet any requirements under this section, the request shall be approved.

4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.