New Hampshire Code of Administrative Rules
Ed - Board of Education
Chapter Ed 400 - APPROVAL OF NONPUBLIC SCHOOLS
Part Ed 401 - DEFINITIONS AND SCOPE
Section Ed 401.02 - Types of Approval

Universal Citation: NH Admin Rules Ed 401.02

Current through Register No. 12, March 21, 2024

(a) In order to be an approved private school, a nonpublic school shall contain some combination of grades K through 12 and comply with the requirements of one of the approval categories in (e).

(b) A nonpublic school, which has satisfactorily completed the requirements for status of attendance as set forth in Ed 403, shall be approved for attendance (AA) for a period of 3 years; or

(c) A nonpublic school which meets all requirements for status of attendance and program as set forth in Ed 404 shall be approved for status of attendance and program (AP) for a period of 5 years.

(d) Schools that consist only of kindergarten and/or pre-school levels shall not be eligible for approval as non-public schools.

(e) The following school approval categories shall apply to the administration of Ed 400 and be recommended to the state board for one of the following:

(1) Approved, which means that a school meets and continues to meet all requirements of Ed 403 or 404;

(2) Preliminary approved which means that a school meets the requirements of (h) and (i) and Ed 403 or Ed 404;

(3) Conditionally approved which means that a school meets the requirements of (j) and (k) and Ed 403 or Ed 404;

(4) Delay in full compliance which means that a school has received a recommendation in accordance with (m); and

(5) Denied approval which means a school that has failed to meet the requirements of Ed 403 or 404 and failed to be approved after 3 years of being conditionally approved.

(f) Schools that relocate or add additional facilities shall submit documents specified in (f) based on the new or additional facility.

(g) Approval shall be terminated by the state board upon receipt of 2 consecutive annual enrollment reports, Form A12C, in which the school reports zero students enrolled.

(h) A non-public school, which has not been previously approved, shall be granted preliminary approval during its first year of operation when the following conditions have been met:

(1) The department has received documentation of health and safety inspections conducted by the local authorities having jurisdiction and all health and safety violations have been corrected;

(2) All licenses and permits required by state and local authorities have been received;

(3) There are some standards, other than those in (1) and (2) above, which the school is unable to meet prior to opening and which do not prevent the school from adequately meeting the needs of its students; and

(4) A site visit has been conducted by representatives of the department.

(i) In no circumstances shall preliminary approval extend beyond one school year.

(j) A nonpublic school which does not meet all of the applicable requirements of Ed 403 or Ed 404 shall be recommended for being conditionally approved for a period of one year provided that:

(1) The school was previously approved and is seeking continued approval pursuant to Ed 403.02 or Ed 404.05;

(2) All identified deficiencies and a timetable for their correction are incorporated into the approval designation; and

(3) Deficiencies related to health and safety of students and or staff are corrected as directed by the authority having jurisdiction.

(k) In no case shall a school be recommended for being conditionally approved for more than 3 consecutive school years.

(l) A conditionally approved school which fails to meet the requirements of an approved school within 3 consecutive school years shall be recommended for denied approval.

(m) A nonpublic school recommended for denied approval shall have 10 days to make a request to the commissioner for a grievance hearing before the nonpublic school advisory council grievance committee in accordance with the provisions of Ed 406.06.

(n) A nonpublic school shall be considered for a delay in full compliance for up to one year upon receipt of a written recommendation for such delay from the nonpublic school advisory council following a vote of the council.

(o) The decision from the nonpublic school advisory council shall include:

(1) Identifying requirements not met;

(2) Providing reasons why the school is unable to meet each unmet requirement;

(3) Identifying an expected date of compliance for each requirement; and

(4) Explaining the unique conditions which justify the delay in meeting all state requirements.

(p) The state board shall hold a rehearing in accordance with Ed 213.02 for one or more of the following conditions:

(1) Additional information has been received which indicates that the school is not eligible for program approval status;

(2) The information submitted by the school as required in Ed 403 or Ed 404 is determined by the state board to be inaccurate, or false; or

(3) The NSAC grievance committee misapplied a statute or administrative rule in making its recommendation.

#2055, eff 6-16-82; ss by #2714, eff 5-16-84; ss by #4372, eff 2-24-88; ss by #4961, eff 10-26-90; ss by #6049, eff 6-2-95; ss by #6366, eff 10-30-96, EXPIRED: 10-30-04

New.#8263, eff 1-22-05; ss by #9159, eff 5-16-08; ss by #10360, eff 6-15-13

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