Senate draft of H.454 narrows public tuition eligibility for independent schools, lowers enrollment threshold to 25%

The Senate counsel walked the committee through changes in draft 4.1 to the statute that governs when public school districts may pay tuition to independent schools (Title 16, section 828). The Senate draft narrows eligibility and changes several practical rules for tuition payments.

"I don't find okay. Well, I'll make 1 editorial comment here . . . it's being shrunk," counsel said, describing how the Senate proposal limits the independent-school tuition pathway compared with earlier proposals. Counsel and committee members repeatedly clarified how the new language would affect towns that currently send students to nonpublic schools.

What the draft does:

- Enrollment threshold: the House and governor had proposed a 51% threshold (the independent school must enroll at least 51% of students on public tuition). The Senate draft reduces that threshold to 25% for an independent school to qualify to receive public tuition under the proposed statutory changes.

- Location-based eligibility: the draft restricts eligibility to independent schools located within a supervisory district or union that does not operate a public school for some or all grades as of July 1, 2025. Counsel said that means an independent school located inside a supervisory union that operates K212 public schools would generally not be eligible.

- Interstate and provincial tuition: current law allows tuition to public schools in other states or countries approved under their laws. The Senate draft narrows that to "a public or independent school located in a bordering state or province," provided that school is approved under its state's or province's laws; the text would, in effect, limit eligible out-of-state tuition partners to neighboring jurisdictions.

- Grandfathering: if a student is currently enrolled or enrolled for the coming school year, the draft allows that student to remain at their current nonqualifying school until graduation even if the school would not qualify under the new rules.

Committee discussion focused on practical consequences: counsel and members noted the draft may limit choice in some areas that currently tuition students to schools outside their home supervisory union, and members sought clarifications about how supervisory unions and supervisory districts are defined (counsel explained supervisory districts are administrative units within supervisory unions and that "all supervisory districts are supervisory unions; not all supervisory unions are supervisory districts").

Ending: committee members requested clearer drafting on some phrases and asked staff to produce a markup that clarifies the relationship between supervisory unions/districts, the date references and the grandfathering language before a future markup session.