New Hampshire bill would let school districts fund education accounts for families if local voters approve

A school district could adopt the local education freedom account program by a three-fifths vote of voters at an annual or special meeting. A vote starts when 25 or more registered voters, or 2 percent of voters if that is fewer, petition for it. Special meetings need other petition counts, depending on district size. A district could later vote, by the same three-fifths majority, to end the program. Families who already signed up may keep getting grants after a district ends the program, until the student turns 20 or graduates. The act would take effect 60 days after it passes.

A parent of an eligible student who signs a contract with a scholarship organization could use the grant for tuition at public, chartered, or private schools, textbooks, tutors, online learning, therapies, and some transportation and test fees. Eligible students live in an adopting district, are 5 to 20 years old, have not graduated, and are in a New Hampshire public or chartered school, are kindergartners, or are home-educated. Transportation is capped at $750 a year. A student cannot receive both this grant and an education tax credit scholarship in the same year, and cannot be enrolled full-time in the resident district's public school. Parents must take the statewide assessment test and renew the agreement each year.

The local district would fund each account at twice the per-pupil adequate education grant, plus any extra aid that would have gone to the public school for that student. The superintendent transfers the money quarterly to the scholarship organization, which may keep up to 10 percent a year for administrative costs. The fiscal note says the program needs a local appropriation and that state and local costs are indeterminable.

The scholarship organization must audit accounts, may bar families or education providers for intentional and substantial misuse, and may refer suspected fraud to the attorney general. Families and providers can appeal to the Department of Education. It must also not exclude providers because of their religious character. The organization may require a surety bond from providers receiving over $100,000.