Residents in 10 area school districts will decide over the next two weeks whether to restrict their students from enrolling elsewhere through the state’s open enrollment law.
If you are confused about the significance of open enrollment or about why schools are all acting now, here’s what you need to know as you head to your annual meeting or cast your ballot on Election Day.
What is open enrollment?
Open enrollment refers to students choosing to attend a school in another town at their home district’s expense. Established in New Hampshire through a 2009 law, the process requires districts that wish to accept students to adopt a policy designating the number of students who can enroll in their schools and the percentage who can leave.
Before last year, only two school districts in the state — Prospect Mountain and Franklin — had open enrollment policies, though Franklin did not have any students from other districts enrolled.
If the law has existed for over a decade, why are school districts acting now?
Last fall, the Supreme Court ruled that school districts without an open enrollment policy of their own must pay tuition when their students choose to enroll elsewhere.
Without any control over students leaving, district leaders worried they could face spiraling and unpredictable costs. The current law requires them to pay 80% of their average tuition for each student who elects to enroll at another school.
District leaders have zeroed in on a loophole in the 2009 law to protect against this. When voters adopt an open enrollment program, the statute allows them to set the number of students who can leave to zero. Because the Supreme Court ruling could conceivably open the floodgates, that is what many school leaders have elected to do.
Which school districts will vote on open enrollment policies at their annual meetings?
The following Concord-area school districts have added warrants to their annual meetings or ballots: Allenstown, Bow, Chichester, Dunbarton, Epsom, Hopkinton, John Stark, Merrimack Valley, Pittsfield and Weare.
The following districts have already adopted open enrollment policies: Franklin, Kearsarge and Pembroke.
The following districts have elected not to do so this year: Shaker Regional, Henniker and Deerfield.
Concord’s Board of Education, which is autonomous, is still deciding what to do. Its decision to adopt an open enrollment policy would not require a citywide vote.
Some variation exists in the language of the policies under consideration. While all limit the number of students who can leave to zero, some would allow students from other districts to enroll.
Pembroke, which passed its policy in January, has been the most vocal in hoping to actively recruit new students. Kearsarge’s policy would allow up to 30 students from other communities to attend its high school. Other districts would allow a nominal amount of students, like 1% or 0.1% of their district’s current total enrollment.
The state legislature is trying to change the 2009 law. Given that effort, will these local votes matter?
The most confusing aspect of the open enrollment debate over the past few months is that the local school districts and the state legislature are engaged in simultaneous efforts in opposition to each other.
Many Republican lawmakers want to pass a law that would effectively neutralize the local efforts to block students from enrolling elsewhere at school districts’ expense. This new legislation would mandate open enrollment across the state, preventing school districts from limiting the number of students who could come and go.
About a month ago, when the Senate amended an unrelated bill to include the mandatory open enrollment provision, it appeared that the change could pass before the annual meeting season. However, the House declined to vote on the bill, and leaders in the two chambers opted instead to form a committee of conference, a procedural step when the two bodies disagree.
A date has not been set for the committee to meet, according to Sen. Suzanne Prentiss and Rep. Peggy Balboni, the two Democrats selected to participate. Republican Rep. Kristin Noble, who is responsible for scheduling the committee, did not respond to a request for comment about when she will do so.
If the legislature does change the law to mandate open enrollment, the local policies would have little effect. It’s unclear when any change to the law would happen, though.
What are the benefits and drawbacks of open enrollment?
Proponents of open enrollment say that it would allow students to attend the best school for them, regardless of where they live.
Opponents say it would exacerbate inequality, leading districts in low-income communities to lose students, which would divert much-needed funding out of their own schools. Because families would be responsible for transportation, they also argue that students from less affluent families won’t be able to take advantage of open enrollment.
School leaders point to other existing avenues for students to attend schools outside of their district, including through the state’s education freedom account program, public charter schools, and manifest hardship and best-interest placement processes.
Are the local school district policies expected to pass?
In Kearsarge and Pembroke, the two districts that have already voted, the policies passed with overwhelming support.