Name: Freedom savings accounts take center stage
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Freedom savings accounts take center stage

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You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.CONCORD — Parents who send their children to private schools or who teach them at home could receive $4,100 “scholarships” under legislation that took center stage Tuesday in the session’s biggest battle over education reform.The freedom savings account legislation () would be named in honor of the late House Speaker Dick Hinch, R-Merrimack, its original sponsor, who died last December after contracting COVID-19.Such scholarships also would be available to parents who send their children to public schools outside their district.“It’s time for New Hampshire families who have paid into the public school system to have this option,” said House Speaker Sherman Packard, R-Londonderry, who has taken up the bill’s authorship.Advocates say it would be the most ambitious such program in the country. Five states currently have laws permitting these savings accounts, according to the Education Commission of the States.Critics maintain the scholarships would strip public schools of needed dollars, with no way of ensuring the departing students take an assessment test or receive an adequate education.“This takes taxpayer dollars and provides vouchers for parents,” said state Rep. Mel Myler, D-Contoocook.Opponents further argued that some of the money for the 16,000 students in private schools would go to wealthy parents.“These vouchers are a giveaway to outside school providers with no strings attached, who wouldn’t have to answer for how they spend taxpayer dollars, and are a giveaway to families who don’t need the government’s help to send their child to St. Paul’s School or some other costly private school,” said state Rep. Douglas Ley, D-Rindge, who is the state president of the American Federation of Teachers union.“We need public dollars for public education,” he said.Rep. Glenn Cordelli, R-Tuftonboro, said that under the bill, “a parent can take their dollars with them if the child is not getting a good enough education.”“I think that is more accountability than we have right now in the public schools,” he said.Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut said the scholarships would be popular in districts such as Manchester, where many students who don’t perform well are from income-poor homes.“It’s not the geography of Manchester. If you take that student and place them in Bedford, they too will struggle with the system we have,” Edelblut said. “We are allowing them the option to seek out an educational setting in which they can succeed and in which they can thrive.”State education officials maintain that by the program’s third year, the scholarships would translate to taxpayer savings of $40 million a year because students leaving public schools would cost the state only the amount of the scholarship, rather than the current $20,000 a year.Opponents said that ignores that school districts have fixed costs.The legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire said the plan would not survive a legal challenge.“The New Hampshire Constitution was specifically crafted to preserve our freedom to live in a state where the government is not entangled with matters of faith — including religious education— which are properly reserved for individuals, families and religious communities,” said Gilles Bissonette. “HB20 infringes upon these sacred principles.”Arizona is the state with an education savings account most like the New Hampshire proposal.Jenny Clark, an Arizona mother of five, said she used the scholarship for three years to home-school her children and support additional therapy that public schools weren’t offering.“Without this scholarship I know my kids would still be struggling. They aren’t limited by our income or their zip code,” Clark said.Mocking the chase for prestige in higher education, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona declared last month any system of ranking colleges that values wealth, reputation and exclusivity more than economic mobility and return on investment is "a joke."© Copyright 2022 , 100 William Loeb Drive Manchester, NH&nbsp;| &nbsp;|Powered by from .Sorry, an error occurred.You are logged in&nbsp;Sign up withThank you .Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.Check your email for details.Sign in withSubmitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the e-mail address listed on your account.×Thank you.Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.Rate:Begins:Ends:Transaction ID:A receipt was sent to your email.

You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.CONCORD — Parents who send their children to private schools or who teach them at home could receive $4,100 “scholarships” under legislation that took center stage Tuesday in the session’s biggest battle over education reform.The freedom savings account legislation () would be named in honor of the late House Speaker Dick Hinch, R-Merrimack, its original sponsor, who died last December after contracting COVID-19.Such scholarships also would be available to parents who send their children to public schools outside...

Freedom savings accounts take center stage

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