Education Funding

This is the second court in six weeks to conclude New Hampshire is failing to adequately fund public education. The state Supreme Court said the state is underspending on general education.

New Hampshire lawmakers expanded the Education Freedom Account program to all families, regardless of income, in June. Fall enrollment has reached the 10,000 student limit.

A new law allows any New Hampshire family to seek money from the state to pay for private school and homeschool expenses through the state’s voucher-style Education Freedom Account program.

Now that every New Hampshire student is eligible for the state's school choice program, experts agree on one thing: The 10,000 student enrollment cap can be overridden.

The decision — the latest in a decades-long court battle over what the state needs to spend to educate its students — does not mandate a dollar amount. But the justices said lawmakers and the governor need to address the underlying shortfall in school spending.

Justice James Bassett dissented, saying the tax scheme is unconstitutional because it is not uniform across communities.

Tuesday's decision is a blow to New Hampshire taxpayers who had sued the state and alleged unfairness.

As they continue to tackle perennial questions about how the state pays for schools, lawmakers are also working on a range of other policies that could have significant impacts on young people, their families and the education system.

Los nuevos requisitos de identificación de NH obligaron a posibles votantes regresar a casa para traer pasaportes y certificados de nacimiento.

As part of their Inside EFAs series, the Concord Monitor compiled a database of all Education Freedom Account spending that did not go to private school tuition.