House hearings on open enrollment and district transfers split proponents and opponents

The House Education Policy Committee heard two related measures on Feb. 20 that would expand the ability of parents to enroll children outside their resident district: House Bill 709 (allowing parents to admit children to any district where they pay property or school taxes) and House Bill 741 (a broader proposal to make every district an "open enrollment" district). Testimony reflected sharply divergent views from school boards, unions, a Department of Defense representative, parents, and education advocates.

What the bills would do: HB 741 would convert all New Hampshire public schools to open enrollment status and require districts to post monthly capacity information (by school and grade) and to publish vacancy data with the Commissioner of Education. The bill would also maintain the existing funding follow‑the‑pupil mechanism — the resident district paying not less than 80% of its average cost per pupil to the receiving district — and leave transportation obligations with parents, while allowing parents to use existing receiving‑district bus stops if feasible. HB 709 would allow children to attend a district where a parent pays property or school district taxes; questions focused on how that criterion would be…