Republicans in both the House and the Senate have expressed interest in raising income limits for educational freedom items this year. However, the two houses disagree about its height.
On Tuesday, the Senate Education Committee rejected a House proposal to raise eligibility from 350 percent to 500 percent of the federal poverty level. Instead, the committee proposed an amendment to the bill that would set this level at 400 percent.
The Educational Freedom Account program provides low-income families with about $5,000 in state funding per year that can be used to pay for private school or home education. When first created in 2021, the program was available to households making up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level, or $106,000 for a family of four at the time.
In 2023, the Republican-led Congress raised that to 350 percent. House Bill 1665 sought to raise that by 500 percent, or $156,000 for a family of four. It passed by a narrow 190-189 margin after Chairman Sherman Packard cast the tie-breaking vote.
of the senate amendment 400 percent, or $124,800 for a family of four, could be debated in the House. On May 2, the House of Representatives voted to kill. Senate Bill 442the Senate version of HB 1665, which raised the cap to 400 percent.
“While this bill increases the EFA eligibility level to 400 percent,” Rep. Rick Rudd, a Haverhill Republican and chairman of the House Education Committee, wrote in a report to the House, “the .
Democrats oppose raising the income cap, arguing that the Education Freedom Account, which is funded through the state's Education Trust Fund, spends too much money on non-public school costs under the current income cap. are doing.
But Republicans argue that raising the cap would give more lower-middle-class families access to the money and give them more school choice if they're not satisfied with their local public schools.
The Senate also amended a bill on Tuesday that would reduce administrative fees the state pays to the Children's Scholarship Fund, the third-party agency that administers EFA. Currently, CSF can account for up to 10 percent of the value of any EFA distributed to cover management. The Senate amendment to HB 1665 would reduce that percentage to 8%.
Sen. Tim Lang, R-Sanbornton, who introduced the amendment, did not say why he preferred a 400 percent cap instead of a 500 percent cap. But he noted that 400 percent of the federal poverty level ($60,240 for a single-person household) is just below New Hampshire's median income.
“I think this is the existing position of the Senate,” he said.
Sen. Suzanne Prentice, D-Lebanon, opposed raising the cap, saying Congress should first add better guardrails for income eligibility. Currently, households that meet the income requirements in the first year of applying for the Education Freedom Account program can continue to receive funds until their child graduates from high school, even if the household's income subsequently exceeds the cap. .
“My concern is that these are public funds, that there is no eligibility screening for this, and that there could forever be children whose families are lucky enough to have more income and not take the test for it. 'So they continue in the system that we're funding,' Prentice said.
The amended bill is scheduled to be voted on by the full Senate on May 16th. If passed, the bill would have to return to the House of Representatives to vote on whether to approve or reject the changes or send them to a conference committee for negotiation.
