By GARRY RAYNO, InDepthNH.org

CONCORD — For the second day in a row, the public school open enrollment conference committee took no action on a proposed compromise that would cap the program at 500 students the first year.

Instead the committee will meet Thursday at 12:30 p.m. just hours before the 4 p.m. deadline for filing conference committee reports.

The day before conference chair Rep. Kristin Noble, R-Bedford, addressed several issues raised last week when the first conference committee met such as transfers among intra district schools, which was removed, in a new amendment.

The amendment also clarified that receiving schools will be responsible for 504 plans which outline accommodations to help students with disabilities who do not need specialized instructions.

The sending school is responsible for the special education services costs for a student who transfers to a receiving school.

The committee then recessed to today, and today recessed until Thursday.

Rep. David Luneau, the ranking Democrat on the House Education Funding Committee, said after the short meeting, the situation certainly calls for more study which is what Democrats proposed, but was rejected by the majority of the education funding committee last month.

He said the proposal is unpopular among voters as over 100 school districts voted to restrict open enrollment at annual meetings this spring.

Open enrollment is going to be very impactful on students, schools and taxpayers and lawmakers ought to do a more intensive study before implementing it, Luneau said.

The biggest change to House Bill 751 proposed last week was to cap the program at 500 new students for the first year which if reached 90 percent enrollment would increase the cap 25 percent, or 125 students for next school year.

The “pilot program” is similar to the 10,000 student cap imposed on the Education Freedom Account program this school year that will expand to 12,500 students next school year after 10,510 students enrolled this school year.

The proposed open enrollment amendment retains the funding system adopted for Senate Bill 101, but the House defeated it on a 184-168 vote last month.

The receiving school would receive the new student’s state adequacy aid, any differential aid for special education, low-income and English learning students as well as a $5,200 grant from the state — as charter schools receive —- which could total $15,070, but more likely would average about $12,500 per student.

The school sending the student would lose the state adequacy and differential aid while the additional $5,200 per student would be drawn from the Education Trust Fund which provides state aid to public schools including charter schools and also funds the EFA program which this year is projected to cost $52 million.

The funding for the open enrollment program would cost the state a projected $2.8 million the first year and $3.4 million the second year.

The Education Trust Fund currently has an $80 million revenue surplus this fiscal year which ends June 30. The surplus is driven by $54 million more than estimates from the Lottery Commission and $38 million from the tax amnesty program which is $36.4 million more than anticipated.

The Senate originally passed HB 751 on its first session day this year with a plan to have the House quickly concur with the bill which also includes provisions to allow videotaping and photographing school events and activities which was legally questionable under a parental rights bill passed last session.

The plan was to send the bill to the governor before school district meetings this spring when voters had to decide how many students they would accept under the current open enrollment law and how many of their students could participate in the open enrollment program, with most districts not allowing their students to go to other schools.

Under the bill, the capacity those schools set for incoming students would be grandfathered, but districts would no longer be able to prevent their students from leaving for other schools beginning July 1, 2027 if the new system goes into effect.

The bill allows students in open enrollment to continue at their chosen school even if their district voted not to allow students to leave the district.

The committee faces a 4 p.m. Thursday deadline to reach a compromise or the bill dies.

If an agreement is reached, it will be voted on June 4, with the Senate voting first and then the House.

Garry Rayno may be reached at garry.rayno@yahoo.com.