Education Freedom Account Program

A child who is a resident of New Hampshire and eligible to enroll in a public elementary or secondary school is eligible for this program. No prior public school enrollment is required. However, there is an enrollment cap of 10,000 students for the 2025-26 school year. If there are more applications submitted than there are available scholarships, then scholarships will be awarded according to the following priority guidelines: 1. A student currently enrolled in the program; 2. A sibling of a student currently enrolled in the program; 3. A child with disabilities as defined by state law; 4. A student whose family income is less than or equal to 350 percent of the federal poverty guidelines _(Last updated June 23, 2025)_

ESA funds can be used for approved expenses in the following categories: tuition and/or fees at a qualified school and required textbooks at a qualified school; tutoring and teaching services; curricula and supplementary material; fees to manage the account; tuition or fees for a nonpublic online learning program; fees for nationally norm-referenced testing and grade level testing; tuition and/or fees at an eligible postsecondary institution and the purchase of required textbooks; services provided by a public school; uniforms; transportation services; and computer hardware and technological devices. _(Last updated June 23, 2025)_

Funding for this program is tied to the state’s school funding formula. The New Hampshire Department of Education must transfer to the approved scholarship organization the per-pupil adequate education grant amount for each student in the program, plus any differentiated aid that would have been provided to a public school for an eligible student. There is an escalator provision that can raise the enrollment cap for this program in later years. If the total enrollment of the prior year is greater than 90 percent of the prior year’s enrollment cap, then the enrollment cap shall be increased once by 25 percent when enrollment begins for the year. _(Last updated June 23, 2025)_

No legal challenge is currently pending. On December 8, 2022, the president of American Federation for Teachers-New Hampshire filed litigation challenging the state’s Education Freedom Accounts (EFAs). The teachers’ union alleged that EFAs unlawfully use restricted lottery funds and Education Trust Fund money, and that the act creating EFAs unlawfully delegates administrative authority to a private vendor. A Motion to Dismiss was filed by intervenors represented by Institute for Justice and heard by the Court on September 18, 2023. _Howes v. Edelblut_ , Merrimack County Superior Court, Case No. 217-2022-CV-01115. On November 15, 2023, the Court granted the motion and dismissed the case, citing recent legislative amendments to the program that mooted the lawsuit. _(Last updated September 13, 2024)_