hb 0568

CHAPTER 222

HB 568-LOCAL - FINAL VERSION

AN ACT relative to legal residency for the purpose of public school education.

SPONSORS: Rep. Snyder, Straf 67; Rep. Carson, Rock 75; Sen. O'Hearn, Dist 12

This bill changes the definition of legal residency for homeless children and youths and provides that disputes regarding residency shall be resolved by the commissioner of the department of education, or a designee.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

AN ACT relative to legal residency for the purpose of public school education.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

222:1 Pupils; Legal Residence of Homeless Children. RSA 193:12, IV is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:

IV. The term "homeless children and youths" means individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, and shall include the following:

(a) Children and youths who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional shelters; are abandoned in hospitals; or are awaiting foster care placement.

(b) Children and youths who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.

(c) Children and youths who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings.

(d) Migratory children, as defined in 20 U.S.C. 6399 who qualify as homeless because such children are living in circumstances as described in subparagraphs (a)-(c).

222:2 Pupils; Legal Residence. RSA 193:12, VI is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:

VI.(a) The commissioner of the department of education, or designee, shall decide residency issues for all pupils, including homeless children and youths, in accordance with this section. If more than one school district is involved in a residency dispute, or the parents who live apart cannot agree on the residence of a minor child, the respective superintendents shall jointly make such decision. In those instances when an agreement cannot be reached, the commissioner of the department of education, or designee, shall make a determination within 14 days of notice of the residency dispute and such determination shall be final. In any case, a written explanation shall be provided to the parties of record and a copy of such explanation shall be kept on file by the department of education. No school district shall deny a pupil attendance or implementation of an existing individual education plan.

(b) A pupil shall remain in attendance in the pupil's school of origin during the pendency of a determination of residency. If a child does not have a school of origin within this state, the child shall be immediately admitted to the school in which enrollment is sought pending determination of the residency dispute, provided such school is in the school district in which the child temporarily resides. For the purpose of this paragraph, "school of origin" means the school the child attended when permanently housed or the school in which the child was last enrolled.

(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of RSA 21-N:11, III any person aggrieved by a determination of the commissioner may appeal such determination to a court of competent jurisdiction.

(Approved: Enacted in accordance with Article 44, Part II, N.H. Constitution, without signature of the Governor, July 1, 2003)