Senator urges annual income verification for Education Freedom Accounts, citing audit gaps

Senator Deborah Altschuler (R-Stratham) told the Senate Education Committee the state’s Education Freedom Account program needs annual income verification to prevent ineligible families from continuing to receive taxpayer-funded education subsidies.

Altschuler opened her testimony by describing the current eligibility rules and how the program, under RSA 194-F, allows initial eligibility to be set at up to 350 percent of the federal poverty guidelines but does not require recertification in later years. "What was once a proposed pathway for low-income families ... has now become an unlimited money grab facilitated by an out‑of‑state clearinghouse," she said, urging the committee to require yearly verification and randomized audits of participating families.

Why it matters: Altschuler and several witnesses framed the proposal as a fiscal‑oversight measure. She told the committee the EFA program had 5,321 students enrolled for the 2024–25 school year and estimated the fiscal…