Dual and Concurrent Enrollment in New Hampshire: the law behind it

The statute

RSA 188-E:25 and 188-E:26

Definitions; Program Established .

The two sections that say what the words mean and who the program is for. Concurrent enrollment is a course taught at the high school by a high school teacher the community college system has approved, earning both high school and college credit. Dual enrollment is a college course taught by an instructor from the system while the student is still in high school. Section 188-E:26 establishes the program inside the community college system and offers it to high school and career technical education center students in grades 10 through 12, which is the sentence a sophomore’s family is looking for when a school says the program starts in junior year.

RSA 188-E:27

Enrollment Requirements .

The section that decides money and volume, and the one amended most often. Paragraph II provides funding for no more than four dual or concurrent enrollment courses in each of grades 10, 11, and 12, subject to policies the community college system adopts, and lets a student take more at their own expense. Paragraph III sets the rates the State pays the college: $150 per course for concurrent enrollment, and half the regular cost of the course for dual enrollment, which the system has to accept as full payment for tuition. Paragraph IV asks each high school to name a point of contact for counseling, scheduling, forms, and transferability, and requires the school to notify all students and parents of these opportunities every year. The section has been amended in 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2025, and again by 2026, 31:1, effective June 21, 2026.

RSA 188-E:28

School Board Policy .

The reason access depends on the district before it depends on the student. Each school board, and the governing body of a participating non-residential nonpublic school, has to develop and adopt a policy permitting students in grades 10, 11, and 12 to take part, and that policy has to cover student eligibility criteria, course content standards, faculty approval, tuition and fees, textbooks and materials, grading, data, and renewal. Paragraph II then directs the Department of Education and the community college system to develop and approve a model agreement that every participating district uses as the framework. Without an adopted board policy and a signed agreement, a student in that district has nothing to enroll in.

Who pays, and under what authority

RSA 188-E:29

Budget Requests .

Why the scholarship is described as available when funding allows. The chancellor submits expenditure requests to fund the program, and if spending runs past what the State appropriated, the chancellor may ask the fiscal committee of the general court to authorize more for direct program costs. A family reading that the scholarship is subject to funding is reading the practical effect of this section, which is a reason to ask in the spring rather than in August.

Agency guidance

Early College programs

CCSNH, programs for high school students to earn college credit .

The system page that narrows the statute to what a student can claim this year. It states that students in grades 10 through 12, and homeschooled students 15 and older, have access to two Early College scholarships each year, subject to the availability of funding. It also sets out what each scholarship buys: tuition of $150 for a course taught at the high school, and half tuition on a course taken on campus or online, with course fees and books possible on top. Read this next to RSA 188-E:27, because the statute funds up to four courses a grade and the system’s scholarship covers two a year.

Annual Report on the Dual and Concurrent Enrollment Program

CCSNH, annual report for academic year 2024-2025 .

The report RSA 188-E:27 requires the system to file with the Department of Education each year, and the clearest public picture of what the State is buying. It records the State’s fiscal year 2025 investment of $2.5 million, enrollment and credits by modality, and the share of grades at C or better. It also states the limit on any promise about credit: the final determination of transfer credit rests with the receiving college or university.

How it got here

The dual and concurrent enrollment subdivision was added to RSA chapter 188-E in 2017 and has been amended in almost every session since, in 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2025, and 2026. The community college system dates the underlying program to 1999, so the statute formalized and funded something the colleges had been running for close to two decades.

Who administers it

These are the offices that answer a question about New Hampshire law rather than about one school or one campus. A district and a college can both be wrong about a state rule, and these pages are where the state's own position is published.

• Community College System of New Hampshire, Early College · Runs the program, awards the scholarships, and designates which courses count.
• CCSNH, programs for high school students to earn college credit · Where the scholarship terms, the $150 course rate, and the half-tuition rate are published.
• New Hampshire Department of Education · Approves the model agreement with the college system and receives the annual enrollment report.
• New Hampshire General Court, RSA chapter 188-E · Where the five sections and their amendment dates are published.

Frequently asked

Does the statute limit a student to two free courses a year?

The statute is wider than that. RSA 188-E:27, II funds up to four courses in each of grades 10, 11, and 12, subject to policies the community college system adopts, and the system’s own scholarship covers two courses a year while funding lasts. Ask the college which figure applies to your teen this year.

Where does the $150 course price come from?

From the statute. RSA 188-E:27, III(a) sets the concurrent enrollment tuition rate at $150 per course and III(b) sets dual enrollment tuition at half the regular cost, with the college required to accept that as full payment for tuition.

Can a district refuse to participate?

In effect, yes. RSA 188-E:28 requires each school board to adopt a policy permitting participation, and until that policy and the agreement with the college system are in place, a student in that district has no seat to enroll in. The question belongs to the principal and the board rather than to the college.

Is there a New Hampshire administrative rule for this program?

The statute puts the standards in a locally adopted school board policy and a model agreement the Department of Education and the college system approve together, rather than in a department rule. RSA 188-E:28 also requires the local policy to meet the accreditation standards of the National Alliance for Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships.

Are homeschooled students covered by the statute?

The statute names high school, career technical education center, and non-residential nonpublic high school students. The community college system extends Early College scholarships to homeschooled students who are 15 or older, so the practical route for a homeschool family runs through the college rather than a district.