Education Freedom Account Program Hits Its Enrollment Cap

By GARRY RAYNO, InDepthNH.org, InDepth NH

CONCORD, NH — The Education Freedom Account program hit its 10,000 student limit within a month of eliminating a family income cap to participate in the program.

The program essentially doubled from its 2024-2025 school year enrollment of 5,321 students.

According to information from the Children’s Scholarship Fund New Hampshire, which administers the program for the state, 11,000 students applied for the program before the July 31 cutoff, while 10,000 have been enrolled for the 2025-2026 school year, 295 students are on a waitlist.

“We celebrate this milestone, but we’re not done,” said Kate Baker Demers, executive director of CSF NH. “There are families still waiting: families who believe their child could thrive if given the same chance. Our mission is to make sure they’re not left behind.”

Under the law passed this year by the legislature, largely along party lines, and signed by Gov. Kelly Ayotte, the program will be automatically expanded by 25 percent next year or 2,500 students.

Students who are already in the program, their siblings, students with disabilities, and those whose families earn less than 350 percent of the federal poverty limit — $74,025 for a family of two and $112,487 for a family of four — will be automatically enrolled in the program.

For the last school year, the average grant under the program was $5,204 per student, with the majority receiving the base grant of $4,182, which is the same as the per-pupil adequacy grant to public schools. If the average grant is the same as the past school year, the program will cost the state about $52 million this fiscal year.

Budget writers used enrollment estimates derived by Drew Cline, State School Board Chair and head of Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy, a Libertarian organization, and set the budget for this fiscal year at $39 million and for fiscal year 2027 at $47.8 million.

The money funding the program is drawn from the Education Trust Fund, which also pays for the public school adequacy grants for every student, as well as per pupil grants to charter schools, and special education and building aid programs as well.

At one time, the fund had a $250 million surplus, but budget writers expect the fund to run out of money this fiscal year and have to draw money from the state’s general funds.

The ranking Democrat on the House Education Funding Committee, Rep. David Luneau, D-Hopkinton, said, “It is not hard to believe they hit that number considering the number of New Hampshire kids who already go to private schools.”

The vast majority of students in the EFA program were students who were already in religious or private schools or being homeschooled when they joined the program and did not leave public schools to join. He noted the program will be over budget once again, which will mean less money in the Education Trust Fund for public schools.

“That means higher property tax for all or us while giving millions of dollars to wealthy families to pay for just about anything,” Luneau said.

He said he is going to introduce a bill that requires much more data collection from the program to be able to determine how the money is being spent. He noted one area of concern is reimbursing parents for items they bought, which they can then turn around and return, and use that money however they want.

“I am hopeful the new commissioner of education will support this kind of transparency,” Luneau said.

Megan Tuttle, president of the National Teachers Association New Hampshire, said the EFA program is draining millions of dollars out of public schools.

“All students deserve a high-quality education and the support they need to thrive. But universal vouchers exacerbate the already inequitable public education funding system in New Hampshire,” Tuttle said. “As politicians were warned, vouchers are taking millions of dollars out of public schools to subsidize private school education for a few at the expense of nearly 90 percent of students who attend community public schools.”

EFA students may also receive additional money for special education services — $2,142 per student — and for those who qualify for the free and reduced lunch program — $2,346 per student — which mirrors public school state aid.

According to the Department of Education data, 148 students in the program last school year received grants of $8,670 as they qualified for additional aid for both special education and free and reduced lunches.

Baker Demers said her organization has identified students from economically challenged households returning to the program who did not complete the income section of the application and were under-reported for the additional aid. From the start, she said, this program has prioritized ensuring students with the greatest need receive the educational support they deserve.

Families in public schools also do not apply for free and reduced lunches, although they qualify for the benefit, she noted.

“That’s why we are now contacting every family that previously qualified for the differentiated aid grant to help them re-certify their income ahead of the next quarterly deadline,” she said.

The voucher program was initially sold as a way to help low-income parents find the best educational environment for their child if he or she did not do well in the public school setting.

However, about nearly 90 percent of the students participating in the program were in religious and private schools or homeschooled when they joined the EFA program, as is true in most other states with similar voucher systems.

In the program’s first year, an income cap of 300 percent of the federal poverty level was established, and the legislature raised it to 350 percent the following year.

Last year, advocates settled on a 425 percent increase for the cap, but the bill was killed on the last day of the session when the state’s financial position began to darken.

But with a strong Republican majority in both the House and Senate this year a bill passed removing the income cap and opening the program to any New Hampshire student regardless of his or her parent’s income.

Other states that have done away with income caps, like Arizona, Ohio, North Carolina, and Florida, have seen their programs explode with students from private and religious schools taking advantage of the state money to subsidize their child’s education.

Arizona has been on the verge of bankruptcy because of its program, and Ohio has been sued, claiming the program is severely damaging public education in that state.

In many states, including New Hampshire, the program has spurred growth in religious schools, which are the primary beneficiary of the state money.

Garry Rayno may be reached at garry.rayno@yahoo.com.

This article first appeared on InDepthNH.org and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.