Open Enrollment Policies: State Profile - New Hampshire
Last updated: October 2017
Open-enrollment policies allow a student to transfer to a public school of his or her choice. There are two basic types of open-enrollment policies.
- Intradistrict: students transfer to another school within their resident school district.
- Interdistrict: students transfer a school outside of their resident district.
Depending on the state, open-enrollment policies are mandatory, voluntary, or both.
- Mandatory policies require districts to participate in the program.
- Voluntary policies allow districts to choose whether to participate in open enrollment, often allowing school districts the discretion to enter into transfer agreements with other districts.
- States with both mandatory and voluntary policies usually require mandatory open enrollment in low-performing schools or districts, in defined regions of the state or in other specific circumstances while allowing voluntary open enrollment in the rest of the state.
View the full open enrollment database here. Please contact Micah Ann Wixom (303.299.3673 or mwixom@ecs.org) with questions or comments.
| Open Enrollment Survey 2017 | |
| Does the state have open enrollment programs? | Yes, voluntary interdistrict and intradistrict. Any school district governing body may designate one or more of its schools as an open enrollment school. Open enrollment school districts may impose limits on the number of non-resident students who attend schools in and out of the district. Schools may limit enrollment in specific programs and may select on basis of aptitude, academic achievement or need. Citations: N.H. Rev. Stat. § 194-D:1 through § 194-D:7 |
| Do desegregation provisions impact open enrollment programs? | Not addressed. |
| Does the state set priorities for districts to follow when accepting students for open enrollment? | Yes. Students who meet the admissions requirements of a receiving school and who are residents of the district where the school is located, are given admission preference over nonresident students. If applications exceed capacity, the school or district must use a lottery system. Open enrollment schools are not required to enroll an expelled student. Citations: N.H. Rev. Stat. § 194-D:2, § 194-D:4 |
| Who is responsible for student transportation? | For intradistrict transfers, the district is responsible for providing transportation. For interdistrict transfers, parents are responsible for transportation. Citations: N.H. Rev. Stat. § 194-D:2 (IX) |
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