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House panel advances bill to expand Education Freedom Scholarships amid fiscal and equity concerns
Summary
The House Education Committee voted to move HB 2532 out of finance after debate over data, capacity and cost. Supporters said the expansion would give 15,000 more families access to scholarships; opponents warned of weak accountability and large budget impacts.
The House Education Committee advanced House Bill 2532 on a roll call after extended debate over who benefits and how much it would cost. Sponsor Leader Lambert said the bill would add 15,000 Education Freedom Scholarships, increasing the program to 40,000 scholarships, and defended the policy as expanding parental choice to families in need.
Opponents pressed for data and questioned program design. Representative Johnson asked which students are using the scholarships and warned the state is "subsidizing private school tuition" without sufficient accountability, citing a fiscal note she said was about $155,000,000 and arguing many recipients were already in private schools. Leader Lambert disputed some figures on the record, saying "about 23% of what you said is accurate" and that the state currently spends $13,861.67 per public-school child while scholarships were $7,295 this year and $7,530 next year.
Members exchanged questions about capacity, geographic concentration and whether the priority rules would deliver the scholarships to low-income families. Representative Barrett and others presented county-by-county breakdowns showing awards concentrated in a small number of counties; Leader Lambert responded the program prioritized continuity for existing recipients and lower-income tranches next.
After members called the question, the clerk reported the vote: 11 ayes, 9 nays, 0 present non-voting. The committee recorded HB 2532 as moving out of the finance committee to the next stage.
The committee did not adopt additional requirements for data collection during the floor debate; members seeking more public reporting said they will continue to press for metrics in future proceedings. The bill now advances from finance for further consideration in the legislative process.
