New Hampshire Republicans renew efforts for universal school choice

As states gear up for the 2025 legislative session, New Hampshire is looking to be the first northeastern state with universal school choice.

Education freedom advocate Corey DeAngelis noted that 14 Republican state senators and representatives are endorsing the effort to make New Hampshire’s school choice program universally eligible.

The full text of the proposal is yet to be released, but its mission is to establish “universal eligibility for the education freedom account program.” 

The sponsors are led by Rep. Valerie McDonnell, R-Salem, who was born in 2004, making her the youngest ever to be elected to New Hampshire’s House of Representatives.  

The Education Freedom Account (EFA) program is currently limited by income and has nearly 5,000 participating students.

However, recent attempts to expand the program have had mixed receptions.  

A bill passed in 2023 raised the income cap from 300% to 350% of the federal poverty level, but a 2024 attempt to make the program universal died in the House.

But DeAngelis observed that Republicans are gaining ground in the Legislature, making it more likely this year’s measure will succeed.

The GOP previously held a thin majority in both chambers – four votes in the Senate and six in the House. But when the new congressmen are sworn in, they will extend their majority to eight votes in the Senate and over 40 votes in the House.  

Governor-elect Kelly Ayotte is also a Republican and has already declared her support for universal school choice.  

“I believe that parents make the best decisions for their children,” she said on the campaign trail. “We want to give every child in this state the opportunity to go to the school or the educational setting that is best for them.” 

However, not everyone is on board with school choice in The Granite State.  

Megan Tuttle, president of New Hampshire’s teachers’ union, claimed school choice would harm public education. 

“We know what’s going to build success for students in schools: it’s smaller class sizes, more one-on-one attention for students, increased salaries to address the teacher and staff shortages in New Hampshire,” she said.

However, as of fall 2023, the EFA scholarships were worth just $5,255, less than a quarter of the funding public schools receive per pupil ($21,900). 

If New Hampshire did remove eligibility limits, its current funding mechanism would make it “one of the five truly universal states,” according to Ed Tarnowski, policy and advocacy director at EdChoice.