The proposed bill amends existing laws to allow parents in New Hampshire to enroll their children in any public school within the state, rather than being limited to schools in their resident district. The introductory paragraph of RSA 193:1 is revised to require parents to ensure their children attend "a public school" instead of "the public school to which the child is assigned in the child's resident district." Additionally, the definition of "legal resident" in RSA 193:12 is updated to indicate that a legal resident is someone domiciled in the state, not just within a specific school district. The bill also clarifies that the commissioner of the department of education will only consider state residency when addressing residency issues.

Moreover, the bill mandates that each school district create an open enrollment policy, allowing students to transfer among schools within the district or from other districts in the state, as well as from states with interstate compacts with New Hampshire that do not impose application fees or tuition on nonresident pupils. It eliminates the requirement for an application fee and specifies that transfer applications can only be denied for certain reasons, such as expulsion or significant disciplinary issues. The funding structure for students transferring to a receiving district is modified to ensure that the resident district pays based on the average cost per pupil, while maintaining the responsibility for children with disabilities with the resident district. The bill is set to take effect on January 1, 2026, and repeals certain existing statutes related to pupil selection and enrollment procedures.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 193:12, 194-D:1, 194-D:2, 194-D:5, 194-D:7