Open Enrollment Could Be Closed to Many
It sounds like such a simple who-could-oppose-this bill: Let New Hampshire students attend any public school in the state. But it’s not so simple, and open enrollment would mean “closed to you” for many Granite State families due to geography and work schedules.
If the idea is to provide the opportunity for a high-quality public education for all, this legislation is the wrong approach.
What if a large number of students want to attend a particular school because it offers challenging or specialized programs that aren’t available in a student’s neighborhood public school? It’s possible that scores of kids make a beeline for that school, leaving in their wake public schools that are depleted of many students. I can just hear Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut say that those under-enrolled schools should be closed, or critical funding should be cut. How is that fair for those left behind?
What if a student has a strong musical ability and would love to attend a school with a much-lauded marching band or music program? Under the legislation, if the per-pupil cost is higher in the new school, the parent would be responsible for the difference, as well as transportation to the new school, or at least to a bus stop within the district because we can always fit unlimited students on a school bus once they are within the border of the district (or perhaps this is a hidden unfunded state mandate). That could very well put that new school out of reach for low-income students and for working parents who don’t have the time to drive their kids to the new school.
This Legislature seems allergic to doing what makes perfect sense—so much sense that it is actually a constitutional duty—to ensure that all Granite State public school students get a well-rounded, great education: The state should pay its constitutionally required funding to provide an “adequate” public education. That is not being done now. All school districts should be able to offer every student—no matter where they live—a broad curriculum, including such subjects as art, music, physics, literature and robotics. Kids in rural, urban and suburban school districts should have an equal opportunity to take classes that excite them as well as advance their knowledge and skills and prepare them for the future.
Another really infuriating aspect of this is the way a school can handle students it don’t necessarily want to enroll. It can deny enrollment to a student with a history of discipline issues, including suspensions and expulsions, which could exclude some special education students. And the bill doesn’t say when special education funding would need to be in place before a transfer could take effect, leaving these students without the right supports for weeks or months. That racks up to lost learning time.
Let’s get it right for all New Hampshire students and give them the same chance at success. Lawmakers need to stop paying lip service to the desire for all kids to show great academic achievement without doing what it will take to achieve that. Give all public school students the great public schools in their districts that what they need and want, and you’ll see a thousand flowers bloom in all neighborhood public schools.
Deb Howes is president of AFT -Hampshire.