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‘Schools not shelters’ bill divides committee — sponsors cite student welfare; finance panel warns of federal funding loss
Summary
HB 71 would prohibit using public school facilities exclusively to house certain noncitizen populations, with carveouts for short-term disaster sheltering; supporters emphasized student welfare, opponents raised federal funding and local control concerns and finance testimony cited possible $18 million exposure.
Sponsor Juliet Harvey Bolia told the Senate Judiciary Committee HB 71 was motivated by closures of schools used for non‑student housing during emergency operations elsewhere and is intended to prioritize students and in‑person learning.
Representative Juliet Harvey Bolia (Belknap District 3) said the bill — modeled on legislation introduced in other jurisdictions — would prevent schools from being used exclusively to shelter ‘‘specified aliens’’ except for short‑term emergency use (the bill defines short‑term as not to exceed 72 hours) and carveouts for formally declared disasters. “After COVID happened and they shut our schools down…I swore that we would never let them shut our schools down again for political reasons,” Harvey Bolia told the committee.
Supporters argued schools are taxpayer‑funded educational facilities and…
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