7 Things to Know About HB 115: Universal School Voucher Bill: HB 115 proposes a major expansion of New Hampshire’s school voucher program, “Education Freedom Accounts” (EFAs)
January 15th, 2025
This year, lawmakers have introduced House Bill (HB 115), which would significantly expand eligibility for New Hampshire’s school voucher program, known as “Education Freedom Accounts” or EFAs. The bill would make all students in the state, regardless of family income, eligible to receive a school voucher, including all private and homeschooled students.
The House Education Funding Committee has scheduled a public hearing for the bill on Thursday, January 16, 2025 at 1 p.m. in the Legislative Office Building, Room 205-207.
Here are the 7 quick takeaways from the bill:
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HB 115 would make all students, including private and homeschool students, eligible for a school voucher, regardless of their family income. Under current law, students are eligible if their families meet certain income requirements.
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HB 115 could cost over $100 million per year, diverting critical state funds away from public schools. Every dollar spent on school vouchers is a dollar that cannot be used to fund public school programs, CTE centers, special education, school building aid, school safety grants, or other essential programs.
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More than 75% of school voucher recipients were not enrolled in public schools before they received a school voucher, according to records from the New Hampshire Department of Education. Effectively, this means that
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There are no provisions in the bill that would protect students from discrimination, but the bill does protect educational service providers from being discriminated against based on their religious affiliation.
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Parents could use the voucher for various education-related expenses, including private and religious school tuition and program costs, homeschooling costs, tutoring services, computers and software, summer programs, college tuition, or other approved expenses. Recipients are permitted to “roll-over” unused funds from year to year.
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Students with disabilities waive their rights under federal and state disability laws, including the right to an IEP, the right to services, and the right to a free and appropriate education in the least restrictive environment.
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There is little public oversight for state funds. There is no financial audit requirement for the scholarship organization to ensure that they are appropriately using public funds, nor are participating students required to take or submit the statewide assessment that public and charter school students are required to take. There is no requirement that participating students take any assessment of any kind, in order to ensure that public dollars are going towards programs that provide the opportunity for an adequate education.
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Voucher programs have been shown to hurt student outcomes. Long-term studies of voucher programs have shown that participants in voucher programs have significantly lower math and reading scores than those who do not, and that those dips persist for years after the initial study. Other, short-term studies by independent research organizations and universities suggest that voucher programs hurt, or have an insignificant impact, on student outcomes.
Read more about school vouchers here:
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Watch our WEBINAR “School Vouchers in New Hampshire: What's Ahead for 2025”
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Amazon, private schools are among the top beneficiaries of NH's school choice program
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A school run by a group on the SPLC's 'hate map' is part of NH's voucher program
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Children's Scholarship Fund 2022-2023 EFA Vendor & Category Spending Data Report
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