Why New Hampshire’s K-12 open enrollment laws aren’t good enough

Data show that an overwhelming majority of parents support letting students attend the public schools they want rather than forcing them to attend the schools their districts assign. New Hampshire approved an open enrollment law last year to pave the way for open enrollment in the Granite State, but a new bill under consideration this year would spread these reforms further. This is great news for parents and students.

Last year, Gov. Kelly Ayotte signed Senate Bill 97 into law, allowing students to transfer to public schools other than their assigned school within their districts. In January, the New Hampshire Senate passed Senate Bill 101-FN, another open enrollment reform. This new bill would ensure that students could transfer to any public school with empty seats anywhere in the state. The House, which had already passed a similar proposal in 2025, will now consider this bill. 

Open enrollment policies like S.B. 101-FN are supported by 74% of parents with school-age children, according to a 2025 national poll by YouGov. This is because 88% of polled parents think students should be able to attend the public school that best meets their needs. Moreover, most parents believe that stronger open-enrollment laws will strengthen public schools overall.

Research shows that open enrollment policies help students attend schools that are a better fit. In the 16 other states that already have strong open enrollment laws, students use these policies to transfer to school districts with stronger academic programs or to access courses that aren’t offered in their assigned district, such as Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate classes. 

Yet, academics aren’t the only reason students use this open enrollment. Some students use it to escape bullying, shorten their commutes, or access smaller class sizes.

New Hampshire’s existing open enrollment law needs additional reforms because the current law lets districts stop students from transferring out of them. For example, the Kearsarge Regional School District adopted a policy prohibiting local students from transferring out of the district through cross-district open enrollment. Other districts, such as Pittsfield and Pembroke, are considering similar policies. 

Kearsarge’s restrictive policies prioritize the district’s financial interests over students’ agency in school selection. Districts are often anxious that robust open enrollment policies could negatively affect their local enrollments, fearing that once students have an option to leave, there will be a mass exodus, resulting in school districts losing money as they lose students.

These fears, however, are overwrought. The best data from other states show that open enrollment programs increase incrementally. For instance, the percentage of public school students using Wisconsin’s open enrollment program gradually increased from 2% in 2005 to just 8% of students statewide during the 2024-25 school year. Similarly, data from Arkansas, West Virginia, and Kansas showed that 5%, 3%, and 0.2% of students participated during the first year of operation, respectively.

Because open enrollment programs tend to scale incrementally, districts have time to respond to enrollment fluctuations. Districts should view open enrollment programs as an opportunity to demonstrate their value and provide students with reasons to stay. For example, California school districts that initially lost students via open enrollment ultimately persuaded families to stay and even gained new transfers after addressing families’ concerns. Districts provided more science, math, and language immersion courses, and more opportunities to transfer schools inside the district.

S.B. 101-FN would make school districts more responsive to families and students by allowing them to choose other public school options when their assigned school doesn’t meet their needs. This won’t be the case for most students, as 2025 Gallup polling shows that 74% of parents are satisfied with their oldest child’s school. 

Overall, better open enrollment laws increase student agency, making New Hampshire’s public education more student-centered. This dynamic can encourage districts to improve, building a stronger public education system. 

School districts shouldn’t assume that restrictive policies, stopping students from transferring to other public schools, will keep them in their local enrollments. Dissatisfied families could opt out of the public system altogether using the state’s private school scholarship. This means that strengthening New Hampshire’s open enrollment laws to increase students’ options within the public education system actually aligns with school districts’ broader interests.

This makes SB 101-FN a win-win for both students and districts as increased schooling flexibility within the public education system improve districts competitive edge and students get to attend schools that are the right fit.

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