In latest proposal, state would cap number of open enrollment students

Under the latest version of a universal open enrollment bill unveiled Monday, the state would place a cap on the number of students who could participate.

In the first year, a total of up to 500 students would be able to enroll in a school district other than the one they live in. The cap would increase annually if interest were high or dissolve altogether if the limit were not approached.

The introduction of an enrollment cap serves as the first legislative development since an earlier universal open enrollment bill suffered a surprise defeat in the House last month.

“This was a way to be able to control the budget; being able to get some concrete numbers there,” Republican Rep. Kristin Noble of Bedford said in an interview Monday.

If the bill passes, students would be able to enroll in districts across the state starting in the 2027-28 school year. Under current law, districts may opt to create their own open enrollment programs, but they are not mandated to do so.

The committee did not vote on the proposed amendment Monday. They will reconvene at a later date.

If the enrollment caps are met, the program would increase state spending by $2.7 million in the first year and $3.4 million in the second, according to an analysis conducted by the Office of Legislative Budget Assistant.

The enrollment cap concept comes with a host of implementation questions that have yet to be ironed out.

The bill would task the state Board of Education with the responsibility of developing policies for implementing a cap. As part of the rulemaking process, the board would be required to ensure “equitable geographic distribution and fair access for students across all regions of the state.”

Noble, who wrote the proposed amendment, said she didn’t yet have a specific plan for a procedure that would take into account the demands of students, the capacities of schools, and the requirement for fair geographic distribution.

“How they’re going to do that, I don’t know,” she said. “We’re leaving that up to the state.”

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The enrollment cap model mirrors the cap implemented last year for the state’s education freedom account program, which provides money for families to spend on private school tuition and other education expenses.

The concept is meant to ensure incremental growth and provide enough information for the state and other entities to forecast their budgets effectively.

Enrollment in the education freedom account program hit its 10,000-student cap this school year, which means it will increase next year to 12,500 students.

Like that cap, the open enrollment threshold would increase 25% if enrollment exceeded 90% of the current year’s limit. The cap would be repealed entirely after it has not increased for two consecutive years.

The students already participating in open enrollment through districts’ optional policies would not count against the cap.

It was not immediately clear whether the proposed amendment would be enough to flip sufficient House members for the bill to pass. Though Republicans hold a 215-177 majority, they experienced 21 defections on a previous iteration of the bill last month. (One representative has since switched from the Democratic to the Republican party; he voted against the previous version of the bill, as well.)

Monday’s meeting, called a committee of conference, is designed to bring members from both chambers of the Legislature together when they pass conflicting versions of the same bill. However, none of the Republican defectors were appointed to the seven-member committee. The Senate has passed multiple universal open enrollment bills this session along party lines.

House Democrats who were present at the meeting declined to comment on the proposed change.

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