CONCORD, NH – One week after voting to expand income eligibility for education vouchers, the New Hampshire House of Representatives cast bipartisan votes to reject two bills that would even more dramatically expand this unaccountable program.
- HB 1652 would create the ability for a school district to adopt a local school district voucher program. After a motion of “Ought to Pass” failed 180-192, the House voted “Inexpedient to Legislate” on HB 1652, 194-179.
- HB 1677 extends eligibility for the voucher program to students who participated in the program in the preceding year, students whose enrollment transfer requests were denied, and to students in school districts which performed at 49 percent or below in statewide assessments, with no income limit. After a motion of “Ought to Pass” failed 174-192, the House voted “Inexpedient to Legislate” on HB 1677, 192-174.
Earlier this month, the House passed HB 1665 by just one vote. That bill, which will next be considered by the state Senate, would raise the income eligiblity from 350% of the federal poverty level to 500%, which for a family of four is $150,000 per year.
Megan Tuttle, President of NEA-New Hampshire, provided the following statement after the vote:
“While we remain concerned about last week’s vote to expand income eligibility for education vouchers, we applaud the New Hampshire House of Representatives for their votes today to stand up for public schools and property taxpayers.
The data is clear: very few students are using vouchers to change schools. Instead, the majority of voucher recipients were already in private or homeschool, which has caused the program to run overbudget – a cost that will ultimately be borne by property taxpayers. As we have seen happen in other states with universal vouchers, that type of drastic expansion balloons costs further and can result in cuts to state funding for public schools.
NEA-New Hampshire looks forward to continuing to work with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to advance policy proposals and funding plans that improve educational opportunities for all New Hampshire students, nearly 90% of whom attend public schools.”
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About NEA-New Hampshire
NEA-New Hampshire is the largest union of public employees in the state. Founded in 1854, the New Hampshire State Teachers Association became one of the “founding ten” state education associations that formed the National Education Association in 1857. Known today as NEA-NH, and comprised of more than 17,000 members, our mission to advocate for the children of New Hampshire and public-school employees, and to promote lifelong learning, remains true after more than 165 years. Our members are public school employees in all stages of their careers, including classroom teachers and other certified professionals, staff and instructors at public higher education institutions, students preparing for a teaching career, education support personnel and those retired from the profession.