HB 709-FN - AS INTRODUCED
2025 SESSION
25-0623
07/02
HOUSE BILL 709-FN
SPONSORS: Rep. Burnham, Straf. 2; Rep. DeRoy, Straf. 3; Rep. Granger, Straf. 2; Rep. Potenza, Straf. 19; Rep. Turcotte, Straf. 4
COMMITTEE: Education Policy and Administration
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ANALYSIS
This bill allows parents or guardians to admit their children into any school district where they pay any property tax or school district taxes.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
25-0623
07/02
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Five
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Education; Pupils; School Attendance; Legal Residence Required; Definition of Residency. Amend the introductory paragraph of RSA 193:12, II through II(a) to read as follows:
II. For purposes of this section, the legal residence of a pupil shall be as follows:
(a) In the case of a minor, legal residence is where his or her parents reside or pay property or school district taxes, except that:
(1) If the parents live apart and are not divorced, legal residence is the residence of the parent with whom the child resides, or where such parent pays property or school district taxes.
(2)(A) In a divorce decree where parents are awarded joint decision making responsibility or joint legal custody, the legal residence of a minor child is the residence of the parent with whom the child resides. In a divorce decree, or parenting plan developed pursuant to RSA 461-A, a child's legal residence for school attendance purposes may be the school district in which either parent resides or pays property or school district taxes, provided the parents agree in writing to the district the child will attend and each parent furnishes a copy of the agreement to the school district in which the parent resides or pays property or school district taxes. The parents shall update their parenting plan to reflect this agreement. If a parent is awarded sole or primary residential responsibility or physical custody by a court of competent jurisdiction in this or any other state, legal residence of a minor child is the residence of the parent who has sole or primary residential responsibility or physical custody. If the parent with sole or primary physical custody lives outside the state of New Hampshire, the pupil does not have residence in New Hampshire, unless that parent pays property or school district taxes in New Hampshire. If the court order is for equal or approximately equal periods of residential responsibility, the child's legal residence for school attendance purposes shall be as stated in the order. If a child is in a court-ordered residential placement, foster home, or group home pursuant to RSA 169-B, RSA 169-C, RSA 169-D, RSA 170-C, or RSA 463, residence shall be determined in accordance with RSA 193:28.
(B) Nothing in this subparagraph shall require a school district to provide transportation for a child to another school in the school district in which the child resides, or beyond the designated attendance area for the school to which the child is assigned, or beyond the geographical limits of the school district in which the child resides.
(3) If the minor is in the custody of a legal guardian appointed by a New Hampshire court of competent jurisdiction or a court of competent jurisdiction in another state, territory, or country, legal residence is where the guardian resides or pays property or school district taxes. If the department of health and human services has been appointed legal guardian, the residence of the minor is where the child is placed by the department or the court. Legal guardianship shall not be appointed solely for the purpose of allowing a pupil to attend school in a district other than the district of residence of the minor's parent or parents. Whenever a petition for guardianship or legal custody is filed in a court of competent jurisdiction on behalf of a relative of a child, other than a parent, the child shall be permitted to attend school in the district in which the relative of the child resides, or pays property or school district taxes, pending a court determination relative to custody or guardianship.
2 Education; Pupils; School Attendance; Legal Residence Required; Legal Resident Definition. Amend RSA 193:12, III to read as follows:
III. For the purposes of this title, "legal resident" of a school district means a natural person who is domiciled or pays property or school district taxes in the school district and who, if temporarily absent, demonstrates an intent to maintain a principal dwelling place [in the school district] indefinitely and to return there, coupled with an act or acts consistent with that intent. A married person may have a domicile independent of the domicile of his or her spouse. If a person removes to another town with the intention of remaining there indefinitely, that person shall be considered to have lost residence in the town in which the person originally resided even though the person intends to return at some future time. A person may have only one legal residence at a given time.
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.
25-0623
1/11/25
HB 709-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS INTRODUCED
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Office of Legislative Budget Assistant is unable to complete a fiscal note for this bill as it is awaiting information from the Department of Education. The Department was contacted on 12/26/24 for a fiscal note worksheet. When completed, the fiscal note will be forwarded to the House Clerk's Office.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Department of Education
| Date | Body | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Feb. 18, 2025 | House | Hearing |
| March 5, 2025 | House | Exec Session |
March 5, 2025: Retained in Committee
Feb. 20, 2025: Executive Session: 03/05/2025 09:30 am LOB 205-207
Feb. 12, 2025: Public Hearing: 02/18/2025 02:30 pm LOB 202-204
Jan. 22, 2025: Introduced (in recess of) 01/09/2025 and referred to Education Policy and Administration HJ 3 P. 24