HB 1132
Restricts school flags to US, state, POW/MIA, military, and town flags only. Fines up to $1,000 for violations.
Status
Signed into law. Passed Senate March 11, 2026.
Sponsor
Rep. Lisa Freeman (R-Tilton)
TL;DR
This is a Pride flag ban dressed up as patriotism — and it's now law. Sponsored by Rep. Lisa Freeman (R-Tilton), schools can't display any flag outside the approved list — no Pride flags, no cultural heritage flags, nothing. Violations escalate from warnings to Board of Education fines of $1,000. The message to LGBTQ+ students: you're not welcome here. Takes effect September 2026. They passed this while killing funding for crumbling school buildings.
Full Analysis
Let's not pretend this bill is about flags. Rep. Lisa Freeman (R-Tilton) didn't introduce this because she was losing sleep over someone flying a Ukrainian solidarity flag in a school cafeteria. This is about Pride flags, and everyone involved knows it.
HB 1132 restricts all public school flag displays to an approved list: US flag, NH state flag, POW/MIA flag, military branch flags, and town/city flags. Everything else is banned. Violations start with a warning and escalate to fines of up to $1,000 from the Board of Education.
The message this sends to LGBTQ+ students — who already face higher rates of bullying, mental health challenges, and suicidal ideation than their peers — is unmistakable: the state legislature went out of its way to make sure your school cannot display a symbol of your existence and belonging. In a state where LGBTQ+ youth are already vulnerable, this is government-sanctioned exclusion.
This bill is now law. It takes effect September 2026. The same legislature that couldn't find the will to fund school building repairs (HB 366) or increase per-pupil adequacy funding found plenty of energy to police which rectangles of fabric can hang in a school hallway.
Bill statuses as of March 2026. Check LegiScan or NH General Court for the latest.