HB 115 and SB 295 Subsidize Private Education for Wealthy Families While NH Property Taxpayers Struggle to Fill in Gaps for Inadequate Public Education Funding
CONCORD, NH – Today, the New Hampshire House and Senate voted in support of HB 115 and SB 295, respectively. Both bills eliminate eligibility requirements for the state’s unaccountable private school voucher program and institute a universal voucher scheme that would divert millions of public dollars from public schools to subsidize private education for wealthy families.
During the public hearing process on this bill, 3,165 Granite Staters signed in to oppose universal vouchers and just this week voters across New Hampshire urged lawmakers to keep public dollars in public schools, approving anti-voucher expansion petition warrant articles in communities across the state, including Grantham, Mont Vernon, New Boston, Sunapee, and Weare.
HB 115 will next go to the House Finance Committee for further consideration. SB 295 will next go to the Senate Finance Commtitee for further consideration.
Megan Tuttle, President of NEA-New Hampshire, provided the following statement after the votes:
“Across New Hampshire this week, tens of thousands of voters showed up to support their local public schools. By and large, communities voted in favor of budgets that meet the needs of all students and fill the gap created by the state’s continued underfunding of public education. Voters approved contracts that value teachers and support staff and rejected every single effort to enact arbitrary per pupil spending caps. Furthermore, when asked directly on the ballot, Granite Staters resoundingly voiced their opposition to education vouchers and urged their elected officials to reject any expansion efforts.
But today, lawmakers ignored the will of the people and pushed forward universal voucher proposals that will divert even more of their constituents’ hard-earned tax dollars away from public education to subsidize private schools for wealthy families.
Despite today’s discouraging vote, New Hampshire educators and families won’t stop speaking up until legislators listen and act to ensure that public funds stay in public schools because we know students thrive when we ensure local public schools have the resources needed to foster a supportive learning environment.”
Background:
New Hampshire’s current voucher program:
- New Hampshire’s voucher program was launched in 2021 and permits families to use taxpayer funds to pay for tuition or costs associated with private schools, homeschool, and other non-public school options.
- Funds to cover vouchers – which will cost an estimated $24 million this year alone – come directly from the Education Trust Fund.
- A recent analysis from Reaching Higher NH indicates that expanding our voucher program with no income limit could cost the state over $100 million dollars per year.
- Current eligibility requirements for New Hampshire’s school voucher program include that the child must be at least 5 years old and no older than 20 years old and entering Kindergarten – 12th grade.
- As part of the 2023 state budget, lawmakers increased the income threshold for voucher eligibility to 350% of federal poverty level.
- According to data from the NH Department of Education, enrollment in the voucher program reached 5,321 participants in the start of September of 2024, with a forecast of at least $27.6 million for this fiscal year.
- According to Reaching Higher NH, based on data provided by NH DOE, fewer than half (44%) of students enrolled in the voucher program this year are classified as low-income, down from 54% when the program launched in 2021.
Additional Voucher Information:
- When states collect data on students who use school vouchers, those students do not report improved outcomes compared to their publicly educated peers. In fact, in a study on the impact of the Indiana Choice Scholarship Program, they performed worse after participating in their state’s school voucher program – which is consistent with findings in other states.
- Recent research out of Stanford University further validates that “school choice” policies only increase segregation. You can read more about Stanford’s research at this link: 70 years after Brown v. Board of Education, new research shows rise in school segregation.
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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.