Bill
HB 1472
Authorizes microschools as small, exempted K–12 providers with streamlined permitting, notice, and recordkeeping, and allows hybrid models while reducing many regulatory requiremen
Status: Introduced Nov 26, 2024. Committee amendments adopted (Feb 17, 2025). Second reading (Feb 25, 2025) — failed to pass (yeas 41, nays 49).
Summary
HB 1472 would create a new chapter in Title 15.1 of the North Dakota Century Code to authorize and regulate “microschools” — small, nonpublic primary/secondary schools — by establishing definitions, operational rules, assessment and recordkeeping requirements, and a set of statutory exemptions from many education and facility regulations.
Purpose and intent
The bill’s stated aim is to formally authorize microschools as an alternative K–12 delivery model (including hybrid “collegiate model” schedules), set baseline notice and assessment requirements, ensure they are treated as a permitted land use, and exempt them from many existing public‑school and child‑care regulations.
Key provisions
- Definitions
- “Microschool”: provides educational programming to no more than 50 students; expressly excludes home education providers, public or nonpublic schools, day care/child care/preschool/headstart/nursery, individual tutors providing private lessons, and tutoring centers.
- “Collegiate model school”: requires in‑person attendance 2–3 days/week and virtual/remote work 2–3 days/week.
- “Teacher”: an individual who provides primary education at a microschool.
- Operation and setting
- May operate in residential property, accessory dwelling units, farms/homesteads, nonresidential properties, or public spaces (church, library, community center, museum, park).
- May be operated by parents, entrepreneurs, or teachers and may charge tuition.
- Zoning and permitting
- Microschools are a permitted use in all municipal zoning districts.
- Land‑use and building permit applications for microschools must be processed on a “first priority” basis.
- Notice and compulsory attendance
- Parent must notify the superintendent of the child’s school district (or county superintendent) with child’s name/address/age, microschool name/address, any public school courses or extracurriculars the child will take, and the district providing them.
- Participation in a microschool satisfies compulsory attendance requirements.
- Assessments and academic records
- Students in grades 4, 6, 8, and 10 must take one of the following in reading, language, mathematics, science, and social studies:
- A nationally normed standardized achievement test (administered per test guidelines), or
- An assessment embedded in a nationally recognized, research‑informed curriculum, or
- An equivalent alternative academic assessment of proficiency or progress.
- Parents must maintain annual records of courses and academic progress (including standardized test results) and provide them to public school administrators upon request if the student transfers.
- High school diploma access: a microschool student may obtain a diploma under ND §15.1‑23‑17 in the same manner as a home-education student.
- Minimum teacher qualification
- A teacher must have at least a high school diploma or equivalent.
- Exemptions from laws and regulations
- Except as required under the new chapter, microschools are exempt from laws/rules related to:
- Elementary and secondary education statutes and rules;
- Teacher certification requirements;
- Criminal history record checks; and
- Child care facility regulations (including building, fire, health, and food service codes).
- Anti‑discrimination provision
- Public school districts and state higher‑education institutions may not discriminate against a child participating in a microschool in admissions or other circumstances.
Who would be affected
- Parents and students choosing microschooling as an alternative to public, private, or home education.
- Individuals or small operators (parents, entrepreneurs, teachers) who wish to establish microschools.
- Municipal zoning and permitting offices (first‑priority processing requirement).
- Public school districts (receipt of attendance notices, coordination for courses/extracurriculars, transfer of records).
- State oversight bodies (potentially reduced regulatory reach due to exemptions).
- Potentially public school enrollment and funding dynamics if students shift to microschools.
Procedural / timeline notes
- Committee amendments reported Feb 17, 2025.
- Second reading occurred Feb 25, 2025 and the bill failed to pass the House (yeas 41, nays 49). As of that vote, HB 1472 did not advance.
Potential implications (neutral overview)
- Expands legal recognition and operating freedom for small, parent/teacher‑run schools and hybrid instructional models.
- Reduces regulatory and credentialing requirements (teacher certification and criminal background checks), which proponents may say increases flexibility and access; critics may raise concerns about oversight, student safety, facility standards, and educational quality.
- Municipalities would be required to treat microschools as permitted uses in all zoning districts with expedited permitting.
- Public schools would still interact with microschool students for dual enrollment/extracurriculars and would receive records if students transfer.
Limitations / open points
- The bill text does not specify funding, oversight mechanisms beyond recordkeeping, nor detail regarding enforcement of exemptions (e.g., safety inspections) — these are potential subjects for amendment or follow‑on legislation.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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