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Sponsor urges state to take EFA administration from private contractor to improve transparency and save costs

New Hampshire House Education Committee · January 14, 2026

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Summary

Rep. Dave Luna proposed HB 1820 to move administration of the Education Freedom Account program to the Department of Education, citing up to a 10% contractor administrative fee and limited transparency; DOE officials warned of staffing and transition costs and asked for phased on‑ramp language.

Representative Dave Luna presented HB 1820 arguing the current contractor model is inefficient and opaque. He described program growth and said the Children's Scholarship Fund (contractor) retains "up to 10%" of the state appropriation for administration; using figures from public reports he estimated that administrative fees have risen into the millions as enrollment increased.

Luna said transferring administration to the Department of Education would "cut out the middleman," reduce conflicts of interest and make audits and reporting more transparent. He framed the change as governance rather than a comment on the EFA policy itself.

Committee members raised constitutional concerns about direct state payments to religious schools (Representative Belcher) and asked whether transferring administration could increase legal risk; Luna said he did not believe transferring authority would change the constitutional analysis because the funds are already taxpayer‑appropriated into the state budget. Nate Green (DOE) said the department could administer the program but would need staff and recommended a one to two‑year transition to build capacity; DOE said a fiscal note would be necessary and that the department might request permission to retain some percentage of funds for administration or use a contract vehicle during transition.

Witnesses including County executive counselor Karen Leo Hill and others supported moving administration into state control for accountability reasons. The hearing closed after detailed questioning; no vote was taken.