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Lawmakers Debate Pauses, Reporting, and Oversight for Education Freedom Accounts
Summary
A series of bills would (1) pause EFA enrollment growth for a year, (2) require consistent academic reporting for recipients, and (3) strengthen legislative oversight and public access to aggregate data; sponsors cited rapid program growth and fiscal risk, opponents and the Children’s Scholarship Fund asked for technical clarity on data and privacy.
The committee heard a cluster of bills that would change the Education Freedom Account (EFA) program’s enrollment, reporting, and oversight.
HB 1834, introduced by Representative Toni Weinstein, would cap EFA enrollment at the current level for one year so the legislature can study the program’s fiscal and equity impact. Weinstein cited state data showing rapid growth after income limits were removed — testimony referenced a rise from roughly 5,300 recipients in 2024–25 to over 10,500 the following year and estimated program costs increasing from about $28 million to roughly $52 million.
Rep. Tracy Brickey’s HB 1716 would tighten academic reporting: it directs the Department of Education to develop and maintain a rubric for portfolio evaluations and requires a certified teacher to report portfolio evaluations to the DOE to provide consistent accountability where portfolios are used to demonstrate student growth. Proponents said consistent reporting would let legislators and taxpayers compare outcomes between EFA recipients and public‑school students.
Rep. Peggy Balboni’s HB 1264 would expand the EFA Oversight Committee’s duties: regular meetings, public posting of agendas and minutes, livestreaming meetings, and reviewing aggregate EFA data on eligibility and expenditures. Sponsors argued the program’s scale — now 10,000+ students — justifies routine oversight; opponents and the Children's Scholarship Fund asked for precise statutory language to protect personally identifiable information and to define what aggregate data the committee would review.
Children's Scholarship Fund representatives and the DOE asked for technical clarifications about what constitutes 'aggregate' data and how FERPA and other privacy rules apply. The Children's Scholarship Fund said it removed some vendor‑level reports temporarily after safety concerns were raised and urged careful statutory drafting so families’ confidential information is protected while enabling oversight.
Committee members pressed sponsors on whether current enrollees would be affected, how waiting lists are handled, and whether priority groups (students with disabilities, siblings, low‑income families) would be exempt from a pause. Several attendees called for waiting for an imminent LBA/audit to complete before making different statutory changes. No votes were taken.
