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Draft of H.454 would give local school boards sole authority to close schools, preserves limited state power
Summary
Committee members debated strike-all language that would make school boards the primary decisionmakers on closing public schools while allowing the State Board of Education to close schools in specific situations; supporters and critics pressed for community notice and clarity about overlapping authorities.
House Education continued work March 26 on a strike-all amendment to H.454 that would make local school boards — rather than towns or other local actors — the sole authority to close a public school, with a carve‑out retaining the State Board of Education’s statutory power to close schools in certain circumstances.
Legislative counsel St. James of the Office of Legislative Council told the committee the draft now reads, "notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the…
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