Examining the K-12 open enrollment laws passed in 2025

Each year since 2021, state lawmakers have strengthened their open enrollment laws, which allow students to transfer to public schools other than their assigned schools. More than 22 million students, 45% of public school students nationwide, now live in states where school districts must participate in open enrollment so long as extra seats are open for students to transfer to.

In 2025, at least 99 open enrollment-related proposals were introduced across the country. Not all of them passed, but three states—Arkansas, Nevada, and New Hampshire–significantly improved their open enrollment policies this year.

Arkansas

Arkansas’ new law was the most significant policy win because it requires all public school districts to participate in within-district open enrollment. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed Senate Bill 624 and House Bill 1945, which ensured that students can transfer to any school with open seats in their district. It also codified robust transparency provisions at the state and local levels, requiring the Arkansas Department of Education to annually publish robust reports on open enrollment, while districts must now post their open enrollment policies and procedures on their websites. The new law also clarified that districts must inform rejected applicants of the reasons for their denial in writing. Arkansas received an A+ grade on Reason Foundation’s annual open enrollment report, ranking 2nd nationwide.

These reforms built on those codified in the 2023 LEARNS Act. Now, Arkansas falls short of a perfect score on Reason Foundation’s open enrollment best practices in just one way: Districts aren’t required to post their available capacity by grade level on their websites. If Arkansas adopted this provision, it would be the first state to achieve a perfect score in Reason Foundation’s open enrollment scoresheet.

Nevada

A bipartisan coalition passed Nevada Senate Bill 460, which was signed by Gov. Joe Lombardo, establishing a statewide within-district open enrollment policy. The law also incorporated robust transparency provisions, requiring the Nevada Department of Education to publish robust open enrollment reports each year and requiring districts to post their available capacity by grade level online.

Nevada can still make its policy more family-friendly by requiring school districts to post their policies and procedures on their websites, ensuring that applicants’ families know when, where, and how to apply for transfers.

New Hampshire

New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte signed Senate Bill 97-FN, a statewide within-district policy, making it the 17th state to ensure that students can transfer to public schools with open seats within their district other than their assigned one.

This is an important step in the right direction; however, the state can do better. The lower chamber passed House Bill 741-FN, introduced by Rep. Genn Cordelli (R-7), that would have established a strong cross-district open enrollment policy and important transparency provisions at the state and local levels. If that bill had successfully passed the Senate, New Hampshire’s open enrollment policy would have gotten an A- grade in Reason Foundation’s analysis and would have ranked fifth best nationwide.

Oklahoma and South Carolina make minor improvements

Two other states, South Carolina and Oklahoma, also made small improvements to their open enrollment laws.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster signed Senate Bill 62, which required districts to post their open enrollment capacity on their websites, making the program more transparent and family-friendly. In Oklahoma,

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed House Bill 2259, which ensures transfer students can remain at their enrolled school without renewing their application, eliminating cumbersome administrative barriers.

Other key open enrollment proposals of 2025

Seven other states’ open enrollment proposals stood out in 2025 because they would’ve significantly improved their current policies for students and families. Unfortunately, none of them were signed into law.

Alaska

Alaska Gov. Mike Dulveny introduced mirror proposals–Senate Bill 82 and House Bill 76–which would have codified statewide cross- and within-district open enrollment policies, and codified important transparency provisions at the state and local levels.

If these reforms had passed,  Alaska’s grade in Reason’s rankings would’ve improved from an F to an A-, ranking sixth nationwide. Alaska is one of the four states nationwide to score 0 points on Reason Foundation’s scoresheet, as it doesn’t even have weak open enrollment programs codified.

Georgia

Georgia Reps. Todd Jones (R-025) and Scott Hilton (R-048) introduced House Bill 917, which would have required all school districts to participate in cross-district open enrollment, improve transparency at the state and local levels, and ensured that students can transfer to any public school for free. If codified, it would have improved Georgia’s score from an F to an A+, tying with Oklahoma for 1st place.

Michigan

Michigan House Bill 6292, introduced by Rep. Cam Cavitt (R-106), would have established a strong cross-district open enrollment policy under which student transfers couldn’t be charged tuition. It would have also codified important transparency provisions at the state and local levels and ensured that applicants couldn’t be discriminated against based on their ability or disability. If codified, Michigan’s score would have improved from an F to a B, placing ninth overall in the Reason Foundation’s best-practice rankings.

Missouri

Missouri state Sen. Curtis Trent (R-133) introduced Senate Bill 215, which would have established statewide cross- and within-district open enrollment policies, ensured that transfer students couldn’t be charged tuition, and prohibited districts from discriminating against applicants based on their ability or disability. If codified, Missouri would have gotten an A- grade, ranking 5th nationwide.

Nebraska

In Nebraska, state Sen. Christy Armendariz (R-18) introduced Legislative Bill 557, which would have established a statewide within-district open enrollment policy, expanding the state’s existing strong cross-district policy. It would have also ensured that districts couldn’t discriminate against applicants based on their ability or disability. If codified, it would have improved the Cornhusker State’s grade from a C+ to an A, tying with Arizona and West Virginia for third place in Reason Foundation’s annual report.

Texas

Texas state Sen. Angela Paxton (R-89) introduced Senate Bill 686, which would have codified strong cross- and within-district open enrollment programs, guaranteed that transfers couldn’t be charged tuition, and adopted robust transparency provisions at the state and local levels. If codified, Texas would have improved its open enrollment grade in Reason’s report from an F to an A, ranking fifth overall.

Wyoming

Wyoming state Sen. Evie Brennan (R-31) introduced Senate File 109, which would have established a strong within-district open enrollment policy, improved transparency at the local level, and ensured that applicants couldn’t be discriminated against because of their disabilities. It passed the Senate, but failed in the lower chamber. It would have improved Wyoming’s open enrollment score in Reason’s report from 35 to 50.

Conclusion

Overall, three states–Arkansas, Nevada, and New Hampshire–significantly improved their open enrollment laws during their 2025 legislative sessions.

To date, 16 states have statewide cross-district open enrollment laws, and 17 states have statewide within-district open enrollment laws. 

More states may continue this trend in 2026. Some states have already indicated that improving open enrollment will be on the 2026 agenda.

In Mississippi, Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann stated that the state Senate would support improvements to the cross-district open-enrollment policy. Meanwhile, in the lower chamber, Mississippi House Speaker Jason White said he’ll make education freedom a legislative priority for 2026.

Similarly, the Missouri State Board of Education included open enrollment in its 2026 legislative priorities.

In New Hampshire, open enrollment will likely be a topic of discussion as two major decisions affected the state’s policy. First, a new law now requires all school districts to participate in within-district open enrollment, significantly expanding students’ schooling options. Plus, an October ruling by the state Supreme Court clarified that 80% of state and local funding must follow students who transfer schools in other districts, regardless of the home district’s policy on open enrollment. Previously, some districts refused to pay any tuition for cross-district transfers because the district didn’t participate in the open enrollment program. The new ruling, however, means that home districts must pay public school tuition for any student who participates in the state’s weak cross-district open enrollment policy.

Moreover, open enrollment could gain traction in purple states or those that lean blue. The bipartisan coalition in Nevada that codified a statewide within-district open enrollment program could be a harbinger of what’s to come in states where other school choice proposals have struggled.

A September 2025 EdChoice poll showed that open enrollment is supported by 75% of Democrats and 80% of Republicans with school-aged children. This polling indicates that support for strengthening open enrollment policies, allowing students to transfer to any public school with open seats, should be present in all states. During 2026, state lawmakers should expand and strengthen their open enrollment laws so students can attend public schools that are the right fit, regardless of where they live.

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Source: https://reason.org/commentary/examining-the-k-12-open-enrollment-laws-passed-in-2025/