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HB 719 · 2025 · House · Education Policy and Administration Committee

Charter school facility access repeal

AI-generated

repealing the use of unused district facilities by chartered public schools.

Removes the right of first refusal for chartered public schools to use unused school district facilities.AI-generated

Status

Killed in the House — Inexpedient to Legislate · March 6, 2025
  1. ✓Introduced
  2. ✕House
  3. Senate
  4. Governor
  5. Law

Analysis

This bill removes the right of first refusal for chartered public schools regarding unused school district facilities.

From the bill's official ANALYSIS section.

Official record

Bill page — docket & status

gc.nh.gov · the authoritative source

Sponsors

Rep. Michael CahillDPrime
  • Rep. Jim MaggioreDDeputy Ranking Member· Municipal and County Government

Public testimony

372 signed in online · 45 wrote testimony

95% support5% oppose0% neutral

In their wordsVerbatim, exactly as submitted

“I am writing in strong support of HB719, which proposes the repeal of RSA 194:61, granting chartered public schools the right of first refusal to utilize unused school district facilities.…”
— Tonja Neve, Strathamsupports
“How could this be a requirement?! That's absurd - no public institution, such a school district, should be REQUIRED to offer charter schools the right of first refusal.”
— Lyssa Bayne-Kim, Durhamsupports
“Charter schools should not be required to have a first right of refusal”
— kim rosenfield, hanoversupports
“Testimony in Opposition of HB719-FN I would like to express my strong opposition to HB 719-FN, which would repeal the right of first refusal for charter schools to access unused district school buildings.…”
— Jodi Adams, HIllsboro · NH Alliance for Public Charter Schoolsopposes
“By repeating the use of currently unused facilities, the future use of those facilities are restricted as well. Charter schools are public schools and should have the resources available as such.”
— Sam Morrison, Plymouthopposes
“I oppose HB719 to repeal the right of first refusal for charter schools in NH to access unused district school buildings.…”
— David Gambaccini, Bedford · Spark Academy of Advanced Technologiesopposes

Verbatim excerpts of submitted testimony, quoted from the testimony tool.

Read the testimony · as of Aug 12, 2026

Votes

yeanay
Starting text: Bill as introduced
  • Feb 18, 2025HouseCommittee report· consent calendar: Inexpedient to Legislate17–1
    Overall
    94% yea
  • Mar 6, 2025HouseVoice voteInexpedient to Legislateadopted

Hearings and debates

  • Feb 12, 2025Public hearingHouse Education Policy and Administration5:21:39–5:40:1218m 33slocated in the stream transcriptPublic Hearing
  • Feb 18, 2025Public hearingHouse Education Policy and Administration1:19:26–1:23:284m 2slocated in the stream transcriptCommittee Report: Inexpedient to Legislate; Executive Session
  • Mar 6, 2025Floor debateHouse floorWatchnot located in the transcript — opens the full streamInexpedient to Legislate — adopted, voice vote

Timestamps locate where this bill is taken up in the chamber's YouTube stream.

Legislative history

  1. Jan 9, 2025HouseIntroduced (in recess of) 01/09/2025 and referred to Education Policy and Administration HJ 3 P. 24
  2. Feb 12, 2025HousePublic Hearing: 02/12/2025 02:30 pm LOB 205-207
  3. Feb 18, 2025HouseExecutive Session: 02/18/2025 09:30 am LOB 202-204
  4. Feb 18, 2025HouseCommittee Report: Inexpedient to Legislate 02/18/2025 (Vote 17-1; CC) HC 14 P. 6
  5. Mar 6, 2025HouseInexpedient to Legislate: MA VV 03/06/2025 HJ 7 P. 7

Coverage

No reporting linked yet.

Background reading

Evergreen reading on the policy area — spanning perspectives — not coverage of this specific bill.

  • What Are Charter Schools?Explainer

    Education Week — A plain-language primer on how charter schools are funded and governed, and the tradeoffs of their independence.AI-generated

  • National Charter School Study III (2023)Academic — national evidence

    CREDO · Stanford — The most-cited national study of charter outcomes: charter students gained modestly more in reading and math than matched public-school peers, with special-education students an exception.AI-generated

  • Key Conclusions from the New Orleans school reformsAcademic — the all-charter precedent

    Education Research Alliance for New Orleans (Tulane) — Nonpartisan researchers' findings on what happened when New Orleans became the nation's only all-charter district — the one real-world analog to HB 1358's proposal.AI-generated

  • The New Orleans Case for All-Charter School DistrictsPro-charter

    Education Next — A reform-oriented argument that district-wide charter conversion drove measurable gains in New Orleans and offers a model for other systems.AI-generated

  • School Choice and Segregation: Evidence from New OrleansCritical

    Brookings — Analysis warning that charter-based choice — including in New Orleans — tends to modestly increase school segregation rather than reduce it.AI-generated

  • Public Charter Schools in New HampshireNH context — official

    NH Department of Education — The state's own overview of how NH's ~38 public charter schools are authorized, governed, and funded (state pays roughly $10k/pupil vs. ~$19k in districts).AI-generated

Documents (PDF)

Bill text & amendments link direct to gc.nh.gov; committee reports stream from the state record.