Committee Summary for Senate Education (01/27/2026)

Bill/Time	Type	Title	Sponsor
SB433 00:02:31.280 - 8:16:17 AM	Public Hearing	establishing the seizure safe schools act.	Lang, Timothy(R)[B-]2025
SB579 00:30:20.000 - 8:44:06 AM	Public Hearing	modifying the language for intra-district public school transfers to include schools within school administrative units.	Sullivan, Victoria(R)[A-]2025
SB580 00:45:29.359 - 8:59:15 AM	Public Hearing	establishing a school cooperative purchasing program.	Sullivan, Victoria(R)[A-]2025
SB517 00:58:53.119 - 9:12:39 AM	Public Hearing	relative to the responsibility of local school districts to provide meals to students during school hours, reimbursing schools for meals provided to students at no cost, and making an appropriation therefor.	Fenton, Donovan(D)[F]2025

SB433: Senator Tim Lang, District 2 Support00:02:31.280 - 8:16:17 AM; Senator Lang introduces SB 433FN, the Seizure Safe Schools Act, based on his personal experience as a soccer coach witnessing a student's seizure without knowing proper response. He notes that 25 states and DC have similar laws, with Maine recently enacting one. Key statistics include 1 in 10 Americans experiencing a seizure, 1 in 26 developing epilepsy, and over 1500 NH children with epilepsy. The bill has four parts: seizure recognition and first aid training for school personnel, including seizure action plans in student files, administration of FDA-approved medications, and age-appropriate awareness programs for students. Training and materials are free. He urges support for Ought to Pass (OTP) and answers questions on adding DOE website resources and alignment with prior emergency plans like AEDs and EpiPens.
SB433: Dorothy Crow, Meredith, NH, Epilepsy Foundation Advocate Support00:10:41.760 - 8:24:27 AM; Dorothy shares her lifelong experience with epilepsy since age four, involving over 20 medications and surgeries, including right temporal lobe removal 10 years ago, making her seizure-free. Epilepsy impacted her learning speed, requiring an IEP for extra test time and notes through college, but even double time at Plymouth State was insufficient for double-checking work. Her family's advocacy ensured school staff and classmates knew how to respond from kindergarten, with her father educating peers via stories and Q&A, evolving from questions about contagiousness to offers of help. Classmates assisted post-seizure, like carrying her backpack. Without the bill, families must advocate; she knows a peer abused due to lack of awareness. She urges passage for safe environments and equitable education for epilepsy students.
SB433: Mary Cra, Winnisquam District, Retired Teacher and Epilepsy Foundation Educator Support00:16:40.240 - 8:30:26 AM; Mary, Dorothy's mother, testifies as a parent, retired middle school teacher in Senator Lang's district, and Epilepsy Foundation trainer. As a parent, the community remained vigilant about Dorothy's seizures. As a teacher, she handled students with seizure disorders due to her knowledge, emphasizing epilepsy doesn't define students and they need to feel safe. As an educator, she trained hundreds of teachers statewide from Keene to Berlin on recognizing 3-5 common seizure types (beyond convulsing), first aid, action plans, and support, often at schools' request. Trainings last 60-90 minutes, build confidence, and are free; she even trained soccer teams. She stresses the bill's free resources reduce burden on teachers and ensure awareness without relying solely on parents.
SB433: Parker Pat, Dober High School Senior Support00:23:03.039 - 8:36:49 AM; Parker, 18, diagnosed with epilepsy at age 9, describes daily seizures varying from obvious to subtle (e.g., staring), creating fear at school due to staff's potential lack of recognition or response knowledge. As a military child, she adapted to multiple schools but faced uncertainty about safety. In NH for surgeries (two in 6th grade including craniotomy, third in 8th grade laser ablation), she's now mostly seizure-free, achieving driver's license, job, National Honor Society, varsity soccer, and UNH bioengineering acceptance, after therapies for lost hand function. Parents advocated for staff training at each school. The bill ensures recognition of seizure types, proper response, and protection, preventing tragedies from ignorance. It allows focus on learning over survival; she urges passage for prepared schools.
SB579: Senator Victoria Sullivan, District 18 (Manchester and Litchfield) Support00:30:20.000 - 8:44:06 AM; Senator Sullivan explains that SB579 corrects a previous bill to include SAUs in intra-district school choice, allowing families within the same SAU to access other schools. She addresses questions on funding, noting that agreements between districts would handle tuition and EFAs, similar to existing administrative contracts, without diluting programs or exceeding capacity.
SB579: Barry Christina, Executive Director, NH School Boards Association Oppose00:37:53.359 - 8:51:39 AM; Mr. Christina opposes SB579, distinguishing intra-district transfers (no cost) from inter-district within SAUs (involving tuition costs that districts may not budget for). He raises concerns about open enrollment implications, including budgeting disruptions post-July 1, inequity in access due to transportation barriers, and undefined capacity. He notes existing laws already allow reassignments for best interest or hardship without needing this bill.
SB580: Senator Victoria Sullivan, District 18 (Manchester and Litchfield) Support00:45:29.359 - 8:59:15 AM; Senator Sullivan introduces SB580, which enables cooperative purchasing through state administrative services to give small districts like Litchfield the buying power of larger ones for items like curriculum and supplies. It clarifies local school board duties based on consultations with the Department of Education, similar to corporate responsibilities. It also provides for state board receivership in struggling districts like Claremont to offer oversight and support.
SB580: Brian Hawkins, NEA New Hampshire Oppose00:52:26.240 - 9:06:12 AM; Mr. Hawkins opposes sections three and four of SB580, arguing that section three grants overly broad rulemaking authority to the state board of education on matters like teacher employment and budgeting without legislative guidelines. Section four lacks detail on receivership processes, appointment, and standards for intervention, potentially handing over policymaking to the state board.
SB580: Barry Christina, Executive Director, NH School Boards Association Information Only00:56:50.160 - 9:10:36 AM; Mr. Christina has no position on the cooperative purchasing aspect, viewing it positively for cost savings. On school board duties, he notes most are already in current rules or best practices, suggesting clarifying language if intended for local boards. He is neutral on receivership provisions, tracking multiple related bills.
SB517: Senator Donovan Fenton, District 10 Support00:58:53.119 - 9:12:39 AM; Senator Fenton presents SB517 as an optional program allowing school boards to extend free meal eligibility to 200% of federal poverty level, with the state covering 50% of additional costs beyond federal reimbursements. It preserves local control, improves application processes with online/paper options and DOE assistance, and addresses food insecurity to enhance student learning without mandating participation.
SB517: Riona Core, New Hampshire Hunger Solutions Support01:01:35.280 - 9:15:21 AM; Riona Core from New Hampshire Hunger Solutions urged passage of SB 517, noting it passed the Senate last year as SP 204. She highlighted increasing school meal debt across over 50 schools they work with. The bill offers an opt-in program to help schools with debt and provide meals to students up to 200% of the federal poverty level, aligning with SNAP direct certification. It includes online application ease and a fiscal note covering 100% costs, though some schools may not opt in, inflating the estimate. She addressed questions on child hunger stats, estimating based on Medicaid numbers around the 185-200% FPL gap (about $40,000 annual income threshold), and clarified schools opt in, not parents.
SB517: Nancy Vaughn, American Heart Association Support01:04:48.079 - 9:18:34 AM; Nancy Vaughn, Government Relations Director for the American Heart Association, supported SB 517 as a first step to feed more children through school meals. She emphasized that healthy school meals promote lifelong healthier food preferences, better academic outcomes, and overall health. She noted the large fiscal note but suggested alternatives like reducing the poverty level to 185% for reduced-price students to make it feasible this year. Schools opt in, but parents can opt their children into the program; many don't due to various reasons. She advocated for state coverage of costs to encourage participation and offered to work on compromises. During Q&A, she discussed school meals' nutritional benefits over home-packed lunches, food waste issues post-2014 USDA changes, the need for parental education, multifaceted approaches including SNAP education, and adherence to USDA guidelines to avoid unhealthy options like sugary cereals.
SB517: Jim O'Connell, Vice Chair, Manchester Board of School Committee Support01:15:22.159 - 9:29:08 AM; Jim O'Connell supported SB 517, citing Manchester's $380,000 school lunch debt this year and ongoing issues like serving alternative meals to indebted students, which was rejected. He stressed child hunger in New Hampshire is real, countering denials, and estimated 8,000 students could qualify via Medicaid direct certification like in 43 other states. Extending to 200% FPL would help more, though application habits declined post-COVID universal free meals. Manchester has 750 homeless or housing-insecure students, making outreach challenging amid multiple family priorities. He praised the opt-in nature allowing districts like Manchester to decide based on economics, emphasizing the need to address hunger so children are ready to learn.

Ward, Ruth(Chairman)(R)[B-]2025	Sullivan, Victoria(V Chairman)(R)[A-]2025	Prentiss, Suzanne(D)[F]2025
Altschiller, Debra(D)[CT]2025	Abbas, Daryl(R)[B-]2025