Bill > HB4611

This bill, the Hope to Help Community Schools Act of 2026, establishes a framework for small public schools with fewer than 150 students to become Public Community Micro Schools (PCMS) if five or more concerned parents agree the school provides an essential community service. These PCMS would grant parents direct participation in critical decisions like closure, consolidation, leadership, and staff quality, and their parent committees would have the power to veto county or state Board of Education plans for closure or consolidation, and could propose consolidation with other consenting PCMS if no new construction is needed. PCMS would also receive de facto waivers of state staffing policies, except for special needs requirements, and could adopt alternative administrative structures like a head teacher instead of a traditional principal. The bill outlines a process for parents to form an ad hoc committee, hold public meetings, and vote on becoming a PCMS, requiring a two-thirds affirmative vote from a quorum of parents for conversion. Funding for PCMS would be managed through special accounts, with one for staffing using Hope Scholarship funds and another for operational and transportation costs, and children in PCMS would automatically be considered recipients of the Hope Scholarship. The program is authorized for a pilot period, with a limited number of PCMS allowed statewide and per county, and will expire in 2036 unless re-authorized.