This bill mandates that all students admitted or transferring to institutions within the University System of New Hampshire (USNH) and the Community College System of New Hampshire (CCSNH) on or after January 1, 2026, must pass the 2020 version of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services naturalization test as a graduation requirement. Specifically, students must demonstrate proof of passing the 128-question test with a score of 70 or higher. Institutions are required to establish procedures for administering, certifying, and recording the results of this assessment. Notably, exchange students and foreign nationals are exempt from this requirement.

The bill introduces new sections to RSA 187-A and RSA 188-F, creating the "Civics Graduation Requirement" for both university and community college systems. The implementation of this requirement is expected to incur additional costs for both systems, estimated to range from $100,000 to $500,000 annually for each system, primarily due to the need for testing platform procurement, administrative oversight, and potential staffing increases. The bill does not allocate any funding to cover these costs, which may impact the operational budgets of the USNH and CCSNH.