HB1578

I STRONGLY SUPPORT this bill. When public dollars are used to fund the Education Freedom Accounts they should be complete transparency as to how these dollars are being used, and are they being used for educational purposes. The Department of Education should have some oversight of the EFAs. If the Website of The Department of Ed promotes the EFAs as an option for learning for New Hampshire students, why is DOE unable to ask any questions about the administration of these funds. These are taxpayers dollars. Public money used for any form of educational pathways in the state should be as transparent as it required for our Public Schools throughout New Hampshire. There should be no debate about this issue?

I support this bill. There are huge amounts of taxpayer dollars going to an entity that is not reporting back on how the money is being spent. There should be transparency regarding the voucher program.

I strongly support this bill. I fear that taxpayer money is being given away with no reporting or accountability. The organization administering the voucher program must make information public to the legislature and school districts on the ways the money is spent.

This bill adds definitions and reporting requirements for education vouchers. Who can be against adding reporting requirements and definitions to this unregulated costly program that directs tax dollars to private institutions?

The public school system needs to have accountability for all the public funds taken from out schools to support the school voucher program.

I am totally against EFAs, so-called school vouchers. I am particularly incensed by the lack of meaningful oversight. This bill is a good attempt at creating transparency and oversight.

How the vouchers are spent has to be transparent and accountable . Vouchers degrade public education where the vast majority of young citizens can be well educated with real support from the state as well as local governments, communities and parents. They should be very closely examined and regulated. They should be given to a real minority of children that need a very different kind of education that is based on their needs not on political agendas.

The current administration of Education Freedom Accounts desperately requires greater accountability and overview than it is currently subject to. Folks need to be assured that public money is being wisely and appropriately spent and HB 1578 will bring much needed accountability to the process. Thank you for your consideration, John Walsh

I support this bill because it provides that going forward there will be a reasonable amount of transparency and reporting by the organization that is paid up to 10% of every public dollar spent on the program."

The EFA program is consuming an ever-increasing share of the state's educational dollars. Those who spend state money should be accountable!

This is much needed. On the one hand, some bills seem to want more interference with the way schools manage their budgets. But this bill is needed to oversee how these vouchers are being spent. I am particularly concerned that there is no evaluation of the quality of education being funded. People can get vouchers for home schooling, though there is no way to assess what kind of education is being funded. Another concern is that vouchers are going to private schools, or schools out of state and not helping the local school districts that educate our local students.

I am support this bill for the benefit of NH voters.

As a taxpayer I expect reporting requirements so I know how and where the EFA funds are spent.

It is imperative that there be a reasonable amount of transparency and reporting by the organization that is paid up to 10% of every public dollar spent on the program. How can we know that our tax dollars are being well spent in this program without this.

This bill will strengthen oversight on the voucher program, which has been operating with little transparency. We taxpayers want to know how our money is being spent.

Make this voucher program transparent. How the administration thinks it is ok not to audit how our money is being spent is so negligent and hypocritical.

We have to find a way to support public education if we want it to benefit our children and our lives as we grow older.

I support this bill, if public tax dollars are being used in EFAs then I want to know who my money is going to and how it is being spent.

To the House Committee on Education Funding and Education Policy and Administration, I strongly support **HB 1578**, which adds clear definitions and **quarterly reporting requirements for the program administrator of the Education Freedom Account (EFA) program**. Under current law, the EFA program has operated with **very little oversight** even as it has expanded dramatically in size and cost. ([LegiScan][1]) In fact, the bipartisan legislative oversight committee that is supposed to monitor the EFA program **did not meet for a full year**, and required reporting and performance information has been difficult or impossible to obtain. ([newhampshirebulletin.com][2]) HB 1578 would help ensure that administrators provide **timely, meaningful, and standardized data** on EFA participation, expenditures, and other key information to the Department of Education and legislative committees — filling a significant accountability gap in how public education funds are managed. ([LegiScan][1]) For these reasons, I urge the committee to support HB 1578. Thank you, Kathy Brunet

I believe we need transparency to know how our tax dollars are being spent. This voucher program is very vulnerable to abuse.

We shouldn't be blindly awarding funds without any oversight as to how these funds are used. This is taxpayer money.

Transparency and reporting are critical to an understanding of how the education freedom accounts are "working" and how the dollars are being spent. These are "our" dollars! We need to hold the organization who is managing the fund accountable - as would be the case in any organization or department or business entrusted with public funds!

Since the public schools need to justify for every penny spent, the managing company and the recipient of the EFA need to be required to justify every penny they spend. It is my money they are spending.