House committee hears bill to create education savings accounts for nonpublic students

At a hearing of the North Dakota House Education Committee, members heard testimony on House Bill 1607, which would establish education savings accounts for students attending nonpublic schools equal to the state per‑pupil payment, cited in testimony as about $11,072.

Sponsor Representative Matt Heilman told the committee the bill "establishes an ESA for students equivalent to the per [pupil] payment, which is $11,072," and that his main concern was how funds would be delivered: "the only real concern I had was about the debit card mentioned on page 4, line 2. However, the following section does have accountability...and if they're not [used appropriately], there is action the superintendent of public instruction can take." He also acknowledged the Department of Public Instruction had flagged IT implementation timing in the fiscal note.

Supporters, who included private‑school principals, parents and the North Dakota Catholic Conference, said ESAs would expand educational options. Sarah Dudley, principal at St. Michael's Catholic School in Grand Forks, told the committee that her school serves students from varied economic backgrounds and capacity constraints limit services to students with intensive needs: "At St. Michael's...we receive $0 of the per pupil formula to support these students. With additional resources, we could serve even more students." Dudley also said it is "cruel to suggest" limited services at nonpublic schools result from discrimination rather than funding shortfalls.

Parents and private‑school leaders said ESAs would let families choose schools that fit children'—s needs. Nick Lee, principal at St. Catherine's School in Valley City, said the school subsidizes much of its per‑pupil cost and provides special‑education services through cost‑share agreements with local special‑education units.

Opponents included the North Dakota School Boards Association, North Dakota United and several school administrators and teachers, who said the measure would divert public funds from public schools, reduce accountability and disproportionately harm rural districts. Amy DeCook of the School Boards Association told the committee the bill would "ultimately undermine public education by diverting critical funds away from our public schools," noting that about 9 percent of K‑12 students in the state attend private schools while more than 90 percent attend public schools. David Tamasia of the North Dakota Catholic Conference argued the state Blaine provision (Article VIII, Section 5) does not block the proposal, citing recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions and an opinion from the state attorney general.

Union and public‑school witnesses raised oversight concerns. Nick Archuleta of North Dakota United said the bill "also allows for money raised for public education...to be used for private school tuition and that is something that North Dakota United has historically opposed," and urged a do‑not‑pass recommendation. School administrators and association representatives described fixed costs in public schools that do not fall proportionally as students leave, and they warned of fraud and accountability gaps in voucher‑style programs.

Committee members questioned how the ESA would interact with existing per‑pupil funding, whether public schools would be left with unrecoverable fixed costs and how the Department of Public Instruction would implement the program given IT and timing constraints noted in the fiscal note. No vote was taken; the public hearing concluded after supporters and opponents finished testimony.

The committee did not make changes or take a formal vote during the hearing; members heard requests for additional fiscal detail and clarification of implementation steps from DPI before any possible action.