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Board directs policy committee to draft fee structure for Education Freedom Accounts and weighs state open-enrollment bills
Summary
The board reviewed the New Hampshire DOE technical advisory on Education Freedom Accounts, signaled support for permitting EFA voucher students to access district programs with a published fee, and discussed state bills on open enrollment — including recommending a study commission (HB1280) — while declining ad hoc emergency positions on other bills.
The Oyster River school board on Feb. 18 discussed two related enrollment-policy topics: Education Freedom Account (EFA) participation and a flurry of state bills related to open enrollment.
On EFA participation, board members reviewed the New Hampshire Department of Education technical advisory and debated whether students using EFA vouchers should be permitted to participate in district curricular and co‑curricular programs. The policy committee recommended allowing participation with a published, equitable fee structure. Board members directed the policy committee to draft language describing the fee formula and participation rules; no final board vote was taken.
Board members clarified that the EFA participation discussion applies only to families who accept EFA vouchers, not to all homeschooling families, and that students who switch from homeschooling to EFA would be handled under the EFA participation policy rather than the district’s homeschool policy.
Members also discussed newly introduced state legislation. Janna and other members noted HB1280, a bill to create a study commission on open enrollment, and recommended supporting a deliberate, statewide study to assess finances, equity, transportation and special‑education impacts before broad statutory changes. Other recently filed bills (cited in the meeting as HB1804 and HB1358) were noted; members agreed to prioritize open-enrollment issues and encouraged individual board members or staff to comment as informed citizens on other bills when timing prevents coordinated board action.
The policy committee will draft EFA fee language and return it to the board for consideration.
