Are states and towns in the business of funding institutional schools and all the infrastructure and administrative costs that go with them, or funding students and getting them the education they deserve? In New Hampshire, the #1 state on Your Survival Guy’s 2024 Super States, lawmakers are fighting to put kids first. Chris Wade of The Center Square reports:
New Hampshire Republicans are making another push to lift income eligibility limits for school vouchers that divert taxpayer dollars to private and religious schools and homeschooling.
A bill filed by GOP lawmakers calls for eliminating the income eligibility requirements for the state’s Education Freedom Accounts to allow every family to apply for scholarships under the program. The current limit is $109,200 for a family of four.
“This modest bill will have significant benefits,” state Rep. Valerie McDonnell, a Salem Republican and main sponsor of the bill, told the House Education Committee on Thursday. “Every New Hampshire family would be able to choose an educational setting that fits their needs and is most conducive to their child’s learning.”
The proposal was the latest, seeking to lift or eliminate caps on income to qualify for the EFA program. In June, the state House of Representatives rejected a plan to expand the eligibility requirements for the state’s Education Freedom Accounts from the current 350% of the federal poverty level to 425%, or $133,000 a year for a family of four.
New Hampshire, which approved its EFA program in 2021, is expected to spend nearly $28 million to help fund private and religious school educations in the upcoming school year, with an average grant of $5,300 per student, according to the Children’s Scholarship Fund, which oversees the program.
Action Line: States where politicians put constituents first rank high on Your Survival Guy’s Super States. Click here to be among the first to receive my forthcoming 2025 Super States rankings.
