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Committee hears bill to repeal charter-school MOU requirement for special-education services
Summary
Supporters told the House Education Committee that required memorandums of understanding between charter schools and resident districts have added paperwork, legal costs and no enforceable benefit; the Department of Education warned repeal could remove an element of oversight.
At a hearing of the House Education Policy and Administration Committee, Rep. Peggy Balboni, prime sponsor of HB 222, urged repeal of a 2021 law that requires a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between a chartered public school and a resident school district spelling out how students with disabilities will receive special-education services.
Balboni said the bill was brought at the request of the New Hampshire Association of Special Education Administrators and the New Hampshire Alliance for Public Charter Schools and argued MOUs have increased administrative work and legal costs without improving student outcomes. “While most charter schools and LEAs have been able to come to agreements in completing the memorandums of understanding, many still remain unsigned, primarily due to financial disagreements,” Balboni told the committee.
The sponsor and other supporters described four common ways services are delivered to a charter-enrolled student — district staff at the charter, charter staff contracted by the district, outside vendors, or services provided in the resident district —…
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