HB 1129
authorizing superintendents or their designee to allow limited use of personal laptops and tablets in schools and establishing that such use is exempted under school cell phone use policies.
Official record at gencourt.state.nh.us ↗Open this bill in the searchable view → · Follow this bill by RSS
On the record
Quoted from the General Court bill status page, not worked out from the docket.
| Status | HOUSE |
|---|---|
| In the House | INEXPEDIENT TO LEGISLATE |
| Introduced | 1/7/2026 |
| Floor date | 3/5/2026 |
| LSR number | 2348 |
| Local government impact | no |
| Committee code | H62 |
Where it stands
House: INEXPEDIENT TO LEGISLATE
Every floor vote on this bill was a voice or division vote, so there is no record of how individual legislators voted.
Sponsors
Hall, Muriel(D) Merr 9, Balboni, Peggy(D) Rock 38, Cornell, Patricia(D) Hills 22, Damon, Hope(D) Sull 8, Kluger, Lee Ann(D) Hills 6, Murray, Megan(D) Hills 37, Raymond, Heather(D) Hills 5, Woodcock, Stephen(D) Carr 1
Prime sponsor in bold. From the General Court sponsor file.
What happened
Every action recorded in the official docket, in order. Each line ends with the journal or calendar that recorded it; where we have the document, that citation links to it.
- January 7, 2026Introduced 01/07/2026 and referred to Education Policy and Administration
- January 12, 2026Public Hearing: 01/12/2026 10:45 am GP 232
- January 22, 2026Executive Session: 01/22/2026 10:00 am GP 232
- February 4, 2026Majority Committee Report: Inexpedient to Legislate 01/29/2026 (Vote 10-8; RC)
- February 4, 2026Minority Committee Report: Ought to Pass
- March 5, 2026Inexpedient to Legislate: MA DV 189-161 03/05/2026
Votes
Roll call tallies and individual votes from the General Court roll call files. Presiding, excused and absent are shown separately: one member presides over each House roll call and does not vote except to break a tie.
Inexpedient to Legislate
Decided on a division vote. Only the outcome was recorded — there is no count of how any member voted.
Committee reports
Reproduced from the House Calendar in the committee’s own words.
Majority — INEXPEDIENT TO LEGISLATE
This bill authorizes local officials to allow the use of personal electronics by students under certain circumstances. It is feared that this bill poses a cybersecurity and privacy risk to both school networks and students, as introducing non-standardized equipment brings substantial vulnerabilities. It is also feared that access to content inappropriate to the school environment will be a classroom disruption, as even without online access, the devices may contain such content. Inexpedient to Legislate is necessary to correct some errant rules in effect. Vote 10-8.
Minority — OUGHT TO PASS
This bill amends our new cell phone law which currently prohibits the use of all personal communication devices by students from bell-to-bell. This proposed legislation does not affect the banning of cell phones in our schools in any way. When the 25-26 school year began, there was confusion in schools about the use of personal laptops and tablets. In response, the Department of Education released a technical advisory to all public and chartered public schools to provide guidance for implementing the HB 2 (2025) “bell-to-bell” prohibition. It stated that personal electronic communication devices do not include a laptop or Chromebook used exclusively for curricular purposes. This exception for laptops or Chromebooks, which are personal electronic devices, contradicts the “shall prohibit all personal communication device use” language. This bill clarifies and aligns with the technical advisory by leaving the discretion to districts to develop policies which could allow for the authorization of superintendents or their designee to approve the use of personal laptops and tablets for specific educational purposes when under direct teacher supervision. Some schools do not have a 1:1 computing environment. Without this legislation, current law is an unfunded mandate and erodes local control.
Hearings and recordings
Recordings are the General Court’s own, on YouTube. Start times are estimates unless stated otherwise, and the player opens early.
- January 12, 2026 at 10:45Education Policy and Administration public hearing recording 1:45:09–1:51:03, about 6 min (estimated)
- January 22, 2026 at 10:00Education Policy and Administration executive session recording 0:15:20–0:18:20, about 3 min (estimated)
- March 5, 2026House floor debate recording (start time not identified)
Page generated 2026-09-03 from data published by the New Hampshire General Court. Granite Record is an independent project, not affiliated with the General Court. The official record always takes precedence. Corrections: [email protected]