Heated hearing on proposal to remove income cap from Education Freedom Accounts; supporters cite parental choice, critics cite fiscal and constitutional risks

Senate Bill 295, introduced and explained by Senator Victoria Sullivan on April 15, would remove the statutory income cap on Education Freedom Accounts (EFAs), making the accounts available to all New Hampshire families. The proposal spurred an extensive hearing that included advocates for universal eligibility, education‑funding opponents and multiple public‑school representatives who urged caution, accountability and fiscal transparency.

Senator Sullivan told the committee removing the cap would stabilize children's access to EFAs and argued families should not face year‑to‑year uncertainty: "Families using these funds should not be subjected to education insecurity, worried that their children's education is only secure from one legislative cycle to the next," she said. Sullivan and a representative of the American Federation for Children said the bill includes a 10,000‑student enrollment cap and a demand‑driven escalator (a 25…