Public Comment

New Hampshire’s Education Freedom Account program has expanded to roughly 10,600 students and about $50 million in public funding. In 2026, lawmakers raised concerns that the private administrator was not adequately tracking whether some purchased special-education interventions produced the intended results. The wider debate concerns family choice, academic accountability, eligible expenses, administrative transparency, and the effect of enrollment shifts on public-school budgets. An Education Freedom Account uses public education funds to reimburse or pay for approved private-school tuition, tutoring, curriculum, therapy, or related expenses. Families need flexibility, especially when a child’s school is not meeting their needs. But public money should come with receipts, basic outcome checks, and protection against providers selling hope without results.

What evidence should New Hampshire demand from its Education Freedom Account program?

Overall results

1
57% support
7

The state can report graduation, attendance, parent satisfaction, service completion, and longitudinal progress without forcing every participant into one instructional model.

7

Special-education purchases should include individualized goals and progress reporting so families can tell whether a costly intervention is helping.

2
54% support · excluded by 8%
7

Providers offering specialized interventions should disclose credentials, prices, complaints, and conflicts of interest before receiving account funds.

7

Every publicly funded purchase should have verifiable documentation and a clear educational purpose rather than relying on a contractor’s approval alone.

3
47% support · excluded by 14%
7

Public dollars should strengthen schools that accept every student and operate under elected boards, open meetings, and public-record requirements.

4
41% support · excluded by 16%
7

Parents know their children better than state agencies and should not lose flexibility because a service does not fit a standardized test.

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