New Hampshire School Administrators Association, Executive Board Offer Statement on Open Enrollment Legislation

CONCORD – The New Hampshire School Administrators Association and its Executive Board share the following statement regarding the open enrollment bill being considered by the state Legislature.

“We are concerned that Senate Bill 210 as amended, with an effective date during the 2025-2026 school year, will pose a number of logistical challenges to public education students, families, and communities.

“NHSAA and its Executive Board take no formal position on open enrollment. New Hampshire school districts share many characteristics yet each is unique. Open enrollment may benefit some districts and communities but negatively impact others.

“Rather, we raise these questions to ensure that the final approved bill provides fair and consistent opportunities for every public school student.

“Among our concerns:

•  Enrollment. SB 210 does not specify an enrollment period. Allowing families to change schools at any time will challenge districts to maintain consistent, continuous high-quality instruction for every student.
•  Budgeting. SB 210 is ambiguous regarding budget calculation and payment timelines. School budgets, already adopted for the 2025-2026 academic year by local legislative bodies, consider a number of factors, most importantly student enrollment. A district that sees a sudden increase of students during the school year will face two choices: Cut existing services to stay within approved spending, or call a special meeting to raise taxes. Similarly, a district that sees a sudden decline in enrollment, will face a decrease in revenue and simultaneous increase in expenses. Also, districts will no longer be able to reasonably project enrollment in future years, ultimately limiting parental choice.
• Transportation. Districts will not be obligated to provide transportation directly from an out-of-district community. However, parents may drop off non-resident students at a bus stop within the receiving district. Bus routes are developed each year based on careful consideration of student location, traffic patterns, and start times. Day-to-day uncertainty may lead to overcrowded buses, creating a safety issue. Additionally, the receiving district may face additional transportation expenses based on increased ridership and preexisting statutory obligations. Further, this approach creates a divide between families who have reliable transportation and can thus change districts, and families without reliable transportation who may be effectively excluded.
• Special education. SB 210 makes sending districts responsible for special education services, but offers no direction about how educators may best collaborate with multiple other districts to ensure IEP compliance. In conjunction with staffing shortages, particularly in the student services realm, this potentially jeopardizes services for our state’s most vulnerable students. Additionally, losing local economies of scale, special education service costs will likely increase, putting an additional burden on local taxpayers and communities.
• Standing agreements. Many districts and communities have pre-existing arrangements regarding tuition agreements and authorized regional enrollment. Some communities have joined resources as cooperative districts. It is not clear whether these carefully negotiated, legally crafted agreements will continue.

“NHSAA also has multiple other questions and concerns including, but not limited to, capacity, athletic eligibility, acceptances and denials, lottery procedures, and accountability reporting.

“Open enrollment should be implemented thoughtfully so that students and families can benefit. The NHSAA and its Executive Board believe there are too many logistical challenges and unanswered questions to successfully launch open enrollment in the coming school year.

“As currently proposed, we believe this overly broad and vague plan will be counterproductive to the goals of open enrollment and potentially reduce educational opportunities.

“We respectfully request that the Senate non-concur with the House amendment of SB 210.

“One of the last lines in the proposed legislation reads, ‘The state board may convene one or more working committees to study and make recommendations regarding the implementation and effectiveness of open enrollment policies.’ We believe it is wise to fully study and consider the applicable logistics of this open enrollment plan.

“The NHSAA and its Executive Board encourage a collaborative, proactive, and well-informed strategy for open enrollment implementation. We welcome the opportunity to work alongside lawmakers to create a well-reasoned policy that will fully benefit the 160,000 public school children across the state and their families.”

About the New Hampshire School Administrators Association

The New Hampshire School Administrators Association is a non-profit, tax-exempt corporation dedicated to providing the best possible public education for the children of New Hampshire. The membership includes superintendents of schools, assistant superintendents, school business officials, special education directors, curriculum coordinators and other system administrators.

The mission of NHSAA is to be a credible and compelling voice of education leadership in creating an exemplary and comprehensive education for all public school students and providing high-quality services to its membership.