The highly respected Cato Institute published an overview of the Croydon school choice program, their legal battle, and HB 1637’s current fight in the senate. Mr. Jason Bedrick, policy analyst and former NH Representative, cautions that legislation should avoid discrimination against religious schools, and cites a recent Institute for Justice win in Colorado.
The NH senate is expected to vote on HB 1637 next week on Thursday, April 28, so please contact your senator to support school choice for small towns; mention if you’re a constituent. Their group email is senators@leg.state.nh.us.
Read New Hampshire Legislators Seek School Choice Solution for the full story.
APRIL 21, 2016 9:27AM
New Hampshire Legislators Seek School Choice Solution
New Hampshire legislators are working to end a legal battle between a small town and state education bureaucrats over the town’s school choice program.
The town of Croydon (2010 population: 764) has fewer than 100 elementary-and-secondary-school-aged students. Unsurprisingly, the town found it was not cost effective to run its own K-12 school system. Instead, the town runs a very small K-4 district school and had a longstanding, exclusive agreement with a neighboring district to educate 5th through 12th graders. However, when their contract was nearing expiration, town leaders decided to allow students to take the funds assigned to them to a school of choice.
Sadly, the New Hampshire Department of Education wasn’t about to let a town empower parents to escape the district school system so easily. After a series of meetings and threats to withhold state funds, the department ordered Croydon to end their school choice program, which it claimed violated state law. However, …