Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Lba Audit Updates topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Legislative auditors give timelines for special-education, Education Freedom Accounts and Doorway program reviews
Summary
LBA audit staff told the Joint Legislative Performance Audit and Oversight Committee that field work on a special-education audit is complete and a full draft report is expected in 2026; Education Freedom Accounts and the Doorway program audits are expected to produce drafts in mid-spring and early next year respectively.
Christine Young, director of audits for the Legislative Budget Assistant (LBA), told the Joint Legislative Performance Audit and Oversight Committee that several ongoing audits are advancing but at different stages.
Young said the field work for the state oversight of special education is complete and that her team is drafting observations; a full draft report is expected sometime in 2026. For Education Freedom Accounts (EFA), field work is nearly finished and auditors have identified about 40 observations so far; 10 observations dealing with initial and continued eligibility have been completed. Auditors aim for a draft report by mid-spring with a presentation to the fiscal committee in summer.
On the Doorway program (substance-use screening and referral), auditors told the committee they are finding it difficult to isolate program financial activity in the New Hampshire First accounting system because costs are recorded across multiple accounts without a unique identifier. Young said the team is conducting a manual, time-intensive effort with Department of Health and Human Services staff to separate Doorway program costs from other substance-use programs; auditors currently target a draft audit in January or February with a final report to the fiscal committee in March or April.
Young and Jay Henry (performance audit supervisor) said they have sent 20 observations to the relevant department on the special-education audit and received responses on those items; they do not expect to send additional batches at this time because the department prefers to wait for a full draft report. Young said the number of observations in any audit can shift as work continues (some issues may be combined or split).
Ending
Committee members asked a few clarifying questions about statute changes affecting EFA reviews; Young confirmed auditors are accounting for recent legislative changes when drafting observations. The committee scheduled the next meeting for the first Saturday in November (tentatively Nov. 7) and asked staff to invite OPLC and the Department of Corrections to present status updates.
