Republicans push for bill allowing public education funds to go toward private schools

[TexasTowelie]

Republican House leadership unveiled a bill Tuesday to allow Granite State parents to use public school funds toward private school tuition – the first step in what is expected to be a major legislative battle this year.

In a hearing that stretched deep into the afternoon, the House Education Committee took up House Bill 20, which would set up “education freedom accounts” in New Hampshire.

The bill, officially named “the Richard ‘Dick’ Hinch education freedom account program,” would create the most sweeping voucher-style program for education in the country.

Advocates for the program, who include a number House Republicans, said the program would help students struggling in public schools to find other options.

Read more: https://www.concordmonitor.com/New-Hampshire-House-committee-education-savings-account-bill-hearing-38670076

[SergeStorms]

1. Ummmm....

no. Hell no. You want your child to go to a private or religious school, you pay for it. No public education dollars to private schools. Watch, republicans will want to tie this bill onto the Democratic COVID bill. That's "bipartisanship".

[OAITW r.2.0]

2. Live Free or Die.

Give up your education to a for-profit propaganda indoctrination center. Overreach, perhaps.

[NoMoreRepugs]

3. Perhaps they do not understand the meanings of

the words “public” and “private?”

Public monies for public schools, private monies for private schools. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.

[Mopar151]

4. This bad idea comes back like a greasy burrito.

Fantasy of the church cranks. Too bad there is little enough for our schools as it is!

[Doreen]

5. Yeah, fucking right!

I call pure bull! Would help students struggling in public schools??? MOST private schools teachers or faculty have never had the training to deal with learning disabled children much less behavior problem children. They would just kick them to the curb. Private schools also have a lot of freedom to get away with discrimination and that would not change with their public money. I see how badly the voucher children would be treated by both the other children and staff. Not only no but hell fucking no!!!

[mdelaguna]

6. Not all private schools are alike nor are situations

I realize this issue and see how it would wrongly give money to profitable elite schools whose parents can afford to pay. Unfortunately there are some small, alternative schools (I have a teen in a tiny Waldorf high school that is barely solvent, and parents make big sacrifices financially to afford it - many of them on income based discounts) that are filling an important niche. My now college student had to bail from a massive public high school and now his younger brother - we tried to work the system within the public sector and were denied any help, or the overstretched programs just didn’t work for my kids who had serious mental health issues. The public schools here are “survival of the fittest” and for smart, but vulnerable kids there is nothing they can do. Class sizes of 30-40 kids, teachers spending the entire time doing crowd control, fierce student body tribalism and bullying, we were committed idealistically to urban life and public school. But moving our kids out literally saved their lives (both had become suicidal). We are not wealthy and it takes a lot to swing the tuition. And we have to drive them 45 minutes each way. Small refuge schools like this do a service and fill a niche where sometimes public schools fail. Our public school has a big budget but could use more, though it seems they just keep piling on 6 figure admin positions and the $$$ doesn’t seems to affect the students. That said our district’s special needs program is great (but we were told our kids’ mental health issues were behavioral- because there problems weren’t in academic capabilities. That’s my story.