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Senate hearing on removing EFA enrollment cap draws competing personal stories and fiscal concerns
Summary
Senate Bill 581 would lift or expand the enrollment cap on Education Freedom Accounts (EFAs). Proponents described safety, special‑needs and affordability stories; opponents (unions, many school officials) warned that expanding EFAs diverts new state dollars to families already using private schools and creates substantial new charges on the Education Trust Fund without reducing public school costs.
Senator Victoria Sullivan opened the hearing for SB 581 by arguing that removing the EFA enrollment cap would let roughly 800 families on the waiting list access education accounts that sponsor advocates call a path to choice and safety. "No child should be left in the waiting room of school choice," Sullivan said.
Testimony split sharply. Supporters described detailed personal cases in which EFAs enabled children to transfer from public schools where families said they feared for student safety, or where the child’s needs were better met in a different setting. Andrea LeClaire, a behavior therapist and parent, described repeated assaults on her daughter in a Manchester public elementary school and said moving to a Catholic school with tuition relief was a turning point: "I couldn't risk Stella's safety any longer," she testified.
Other parents described how even modest scholarship amounts covered after‑school activities or stabilized a child’s school placement amid household financial strain.
Opponents, including NEA New Hampshire and many public school advocates, framed the debate around fiscal impact and system equity. David Trumbull argued the program had shifted from supporting low‑income students to primarily serving families who were already in private schools after the income cap removal, noting 343 new participants last year and asserting that the program creates a growing, recurring state liability rather than transferring an existing cost. Patty Long and union witnesses urged caution and recommended investing in public schools first; union testimony warned of potential state shortfalls and noted the Education Trust Fund had lost revenues from a separate tax change.
Committee members asked for fiscal details and highlighted that removing an enrollment cap would accelerate access for the 800 on the waiting list; the sponsor said the statutory cap would be adjusted automatically (a 25% increase this year) and that there will be follow‑up work on fiscal consequences in Finance if the bill advances.
