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Commission questions rigor of EFA 'differentiated aid' identification and oversight
Summary
A legislative commission heard that New Hampshire’s Expanded Educational Freedom Accounts (EFA) allow students to qualify for differentiated aid either through school-district IEP documentation or a medical certification (MCD). Members raised concerns about weaker oversight for MCD-based identification and data gaps showing roughly 890 students receive differentiated aid, with about 240 documented through districts and 600+ via MCDs.
The commission to study the cost of special education heard testimony that New Hampshire’s Expanded Educational Freedom Accounts program now recognizes two pathways for a student to get differentiated aid for a disabling condition: school-district evaluation/IEP documentation or a medical certification of disability (MCD) submitted by a medical professional.
Matt Southerton, director of policy and compliance for the Children’s Scholarship Fund, told the commission that CSF administers the EFA program under a state contract and reviews either district evaluations or signed MCDs to determine eligibility. Southerton said the MCD (identified in CSF materials as STU19) lists disability categories and requires the medical signer's credential and diagnosis; he said CSF accepts evaluations from public districts or a licensed medical professional’s MCD submitted under penalty of perjury.
Commission members pressed how the MCD pathway aligns with administrative…
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