HB1819

As a native NH retired senior citizen & property tax payer who has lived frugally in the same house for the past 45 years, and can barely subsist in it due to exorbitant property taxes, I expect and demand accountability for EFAs expenditures and for student outcomes. You are using taxpayer money for this boondoggle and we have every right to know who's getting these funds and for what purpose and whether or not kids are actually learning.

I support this bill because I think it would provide oversight and accountability on EFA account spending."

The Education Freedom Account is in great need of oversight and complete auditing, I urge the members of this committee to Support this bill. Thank you.

This bill would provide oversight and accountability on EFA account spending. The Education Freedom Account vouchers program is spending a lot of money and the public needs to know how the money is being spent.

AFT-NH believes that students in New Hampshire must be able access their education free from discrimination of any kind. This legislation is critical because it requires education service providers, who receive school vouchers funded with public tax dollars, to adopt policies that comply with state and federal anti-discrimination laws and undergo annual reviews by the State Board of Education. These measures ensure accountability and help guarantee that all students—regardless of race, gender, disability, or socioeconomic status—are treated fairly.

The EFAs need all the accountability and oversight we can provide. This is about money being taken away from our public schools, who need the money more.

It is absolutely necessary to verify of expenditures from the public coffer. The years of failure to disclose precisely where the voucher money is going validate this requirement for requiring reporting fully and on time.

I support this bill because state funds are being used for Education Freedom accounts. I am opposed to Education freedom accounts because they take away money from public education, although in some cases the community may have to send a student with special needs out of district when the community does not provide the needed educational environment. It is important that the dollars for education of NH students support local schools as much as possible to assure an educated population and work force. As long as these education freedom accounts exist, there should be oversight. Our NH dollars should not be issued for any kind of school, including home schooling, without accountability. If people are just being given money for home schooling, children could be missing out on a good education and the other benefits children get from the access to school based activities. Public schools also offer counseling and therapy for children who have emotional/psychological problems. As a retired child and family therapist I am aware of the needs many children have and often collaborated with educators, The Public schools have requirements of their teachers and allied professionals, which ensure quality education and support.

If the state is using our property tax dollars to go towards private education then logically need oversight and accountability on the EFA account spending.

There must be accountability for all private education paid through the Education Freedom Accounts. A complete education equal to that provided by public schools must be given. This includes hone schooled children.

The reach of EFAs is very very broad. Recipients may be up to 20 years old!! There is universal eligibility for this payout!! Whether you agree with the eligibility is not the point of HB 1819. Fiscal prudence requires oversight of the "service providers" implementing this program.

Such a signifcant and growing budget item should have significant and growing oversight.

We MUST have oversight and accountability over the out of control and deliberately obscure EFA account spending."

We would like to know that state funds are being spent in accordance with applicable regulations.

Mr. Chair: I support HB1819 because it is a small attempt at providing accountability to the EFA program. I believe the provider of EFAs should also be subject to federal and state anti-discrimination laws, and the only way to know if they are in compliance is to audit its activity. Thank you.

I am concerned about the impact this bill would have on families in rural communities, It will create more hardships for families that are already struggling to keep their differently-abled child at home. Don’t send these much-loved children from the communities that love them.

Whatever one thinks of "education freedom accounts," surely we can agree that they should be subject to appropriate oversight. Requiring that account service providers be reviewed annually by the state board of education to ensure they're in compliance with all state and federal laws should be, as it were, a no-brainer.

A well-educated student will become a well-educated adult.

I contend that Education Freedom Vouchers threaten the integrity and sustainability of public education in New Hampshire by channeling public funds to private and religious schools with minimal oversight, accountability, or assurance educational quality. The cost overuns have been substantial and adding to a growing state deficit while depriving lower income students or students with disabilities access to education. Public schools are the foundation of our society. Finally, this program is unconstitutional. The New Hampshire Constitution explicitly prohibits public funds from supporting religious education (Part I, Article 6; Part II, Article 83). As substantial portion of this program funds support schools with non-secular agendas. Regulaton and oversight are needed.

This bill is a step toward creating some accountability in the Education Freedom Account Program. Unlike our public schools, currently EFA service providers do not have any requirement to be compliant with anti-discrimination laws. Providers receiving state funding should be required to comply with anti-discrimination laws.