Concord, NH- House Majority Leader Jason Osborne (R-Auburn) and Rep. Erica Layon (R-Derry) released the following statements after the House Education Committee heard testimony on HB464, relative to eligible students in the education freedom account program and HB367, relative to eligibility of students in the education freedom account program.
Rep. Jason Osborne (R-Auburn)
“Students across New Hampshire have diverse needs that have nothing to do with the amount of their household income. It is not only children whose families earn under 300 percent of the federal poverty level who face circumstances that cause them to seek out other educational opportunities. Adequate education grants belong to the students, and these funds are used to ensure students are receiving an adequate education. This current income cap is in fact discriminatory; it is discrimination to allow some students to use these funds to seek alternative educational opportunities, but not allow others. Given how wildly successful the program is, it is only natural we extend it to a larger portion of the population.”
Rep. Erica Layon (R-Derry), sponsor of HB464
“Today I presented HB464 which opens up EFAs to marginalized and at-risk students regardless of income. Unfortunately both New Hampshire teachers unions opposed this common sense bill to allow foster children and homeless children to stay in a private school after losing their family or home, or to allow students with disabilities who simply need a smaller and more responsive learning environment to seek that at additional personal cost versus expensive one on one accommodations at local taxpayer expense.”
“Simply put, the unions would rather tie persistently bullied students to their local school than lose the state funding tied to that student. This is oppression by the system – systemic oppression – and the solution is to help these oppressed students take their state funding with them, not hold the student and their state funding hostage.”