Revision: June 7, 2016, midnight
\t \t\tHB 1637-FN - VERSION ADOPTED BY BOTH BODIES
23Mar2016... 0878h
1June2016... 2093CofC
1June2016... 2135EBA
2016 SESSION
\t16-2135
\t04/01
HOUSE BILL\t1637-FN
AN ACT\trelative to school attendance in towns with no public schools.
SPONSORS:\tRep. Boehm, Hills. 20; Rep. Edelblut, Hills. 38; Rep. Gottling, Sull. 2; Rep. Irwin, Sull. 9; Rep. Grenier, Sull. 7
COMMITTEE:\tEducation
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AMENDED ANALYSIS
\tThis bill allows a school district to assign a child to another public school in another school district or to an approved private school if there is no public school for the child's grade in the child's resident district. The bill also allows a school board to make a contract with a private school to provide for the education of a child who resides in a district which does not have a public school at the child's grade level.
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Explanation:\tMatter added to current law appears in bold italics.
\t\tMatter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
\t\tMatter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
23Mar2016... 0878h
1June2016... 2093CofC
1June2016... 2135EBA\t16-2135
\t04/01
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Sixteen
AN ACT\trelative to school attendance in towns with no public schools.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
\t1 School Districts; Contracts With Schools. Amend RSA 194:22 to read as follows:
\t194:22 Contracts With Schools.
\t\tI. Any school district may make a contract with an academy, high school, private school, or other literary institution located in this or, when distance or transportation facilities make it necessary, in another state, to provide for the education of a pupil who resides in the district and raise and appropriate money to carry the contract into effect. If the contract is approved by the state board of education or the school board of the school district in which the pupil resides, the school with which it is made shall be deemed a high school maintained by the district.
\t\tII. If there is no public school for the child's grade in the resident district, the district may assign the child to another public school in another school district or to a private school which has been approved for attendance by the department of education.
\t\tIII. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, a school board may make a contract with any private school to provide for the education of a pupil who resides in the school district, and may raise and appropriate money for the purposes of the contract, if the school district does not have a public school at the pupil's grade level and the school board decides it is in the best interest of the pupil.
\t2 School Districts; Tuition. Amend RSA 194:27 to read as follows:
\t194:27 Tuition. Any district not maintaining a high school or school of corresponding grade shall pay for the tuition of any pupil who with parents or guardian resides in said district, or who, as a resident of said district, after full investigation by the state board of education is determined to be entitled to have his or her tuition paid by the district where the pupil resides, and who attends an approved public high school [or], a public school of corresponding grade in another district [or], an approved public academy, or a private school which has been approved for attendance by the department of education. Except under contract as provided in RSA 194:22, the liability of any school district hereunder for the tuition of any pupil shall be the current expenses of operation of the receiving district for its high school, as estimated by the state board of education for the preceding school year. This current expense of operation shall include all costs except costs of transportation of pupils.
\t3 School Money; District Taxes; Estimates. Amend RSA 198:4 to read as follows:
\t198:4 Estimates. The school board of each district in its annual report shall state in detail the additional sums of money, if any, which will be required during the ensuing fiscal year for the support of the public schools, for the purchase of textbooks, scholars' supplies, flags and appurtenances, for the payment of the tuition of the pupils in the district in high schools [and], academies, or private schools in accordance with law, and for the payment of all other statutory obligations of the district.
\t4 New Paragraph; School Boards; Duty to Provide Education. Amend RSA 189:1-a by inserting after paragraph III the following new paragraph:
\t\tIV. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, a school board may make a contract with any private school to provide for the education of a pupil who resides in the school district, and may raise and appropriate money for the purposes of the contract, if the school district does not have a public school at the pupil's grade level and the school board decides it is in the best interest of the pupil.
\t5 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t16-2135
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAmended 4/1/16
HB 1637-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT\trelative to school attendance in towns with no public schools.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Education states this bill, as amended by the House (Amendment #2016-0878h), may increase local expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2017 and each year thereafter. There will be no impact on state, county, and local revenue or state and county expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department of Education states this bill allows a school district to assign a child to another public school in another school district or to an approved non-religious private school if there is no public school for the child’s grade in their resident district. The Department is unable to estimate how many students/districts this may apply to or what net cost/tuition differentials may be between public schools and private school alternatives and therefore cannot estimate this bill’s impact on local expenditures.