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Manchester committee hears objections to HB 115 expansion of Education Freedom Accounts
Summary
Members of the Manchester Legislation & Education Committee questioned accountability and fiscal impact of House Bill 115, which would remove the income cap on New Hampshire's Education Freedom Accounts (voucher) program and make it universally available to nonpublic-school students.
Members of the Legislation & Education Committee of the Manchester School District on Jan. 15 discussed House Bill 115, a bill scheduled for a public hearing the following day that would remove the income cap on New Hampshire's Education Freedom Accounts (EFA) voucher program.
The proposal would allow any student not attending a public school to apply for an EFA. Committee members highlighted uncertainties about the bill's fiscal impact and flagged accountability gaps in the current program. "This program, when first sold to us as a state, was that it was gonna save money," Committee member O'Connell said. "...we've seen what has happened in other states where this has grown out of there's no limit on it."
The committee heard that the average voucher currently is about $5,200 per student, that last year's EFA spending totaled roughly $28 million, and…
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