Senate committee hears bills to tighten oversight, reporting and bidding for Education Freedom Accounts

Senator Deborah Altschuler, prime sponsor, told the Senate Education Committee that Senate Bills 5 32, 5 33 and 5 76 would strengthen oversight and transparency for the Education Freedom Account program after rapid program growth and a recent budget overrun.

Altschuler said the EFA program has expanded from roughly 1,635 students costing about $8 million to more than 10,500 students and over $52 million in annual subsidies. She said the program is $12,300,000 over budget this year and that the statutory oversight committee did not meet for a 13-month period, which she said demonstrates the need to make oversight and public reporting mandatory rather than discretionary. "When meetings are optional, oversight disappears," she said.

Under SB 5 32, Altschuler said, the oversight committee would be required to review aggregate student eligibility and EFA expenditures, hold monthly meetings, livestream and record meetings on the General…