Dive Brief:

• New Hampshire may become one of the few states to allocate funding for education savings accounts, which offer parents up to 90% of the state’s per-pupil education funding for private school tuition use, according to reporting from The 74.
• The state would join Nevada and Arizona as states with ESA funding on the books, though Nevada’s law has been stymied by court actions and Arizona only recently expanded its program to all families.
• The push follows the election of Republican Gov. Chris Sununu last November, and critics worry it's not from the bottom up due to the sterling reputation of New Hampshire’s public schools.

Dive Insight:

A legislator in Arkansas also introduced legislation that would bring ESAs to that state, with the savings accounts paid for via tax credits. An impact statement from that state’s Department of Finance and Administration said the bill could reduce revenue by $10 million in the coming year. Nevada’s bill is locked in legal limbo, with critics arguing the savings accounts act as handouts to help wealthier families subsidize private school tuition at the expense of public school funding. However, some parents argue that ESAs help them offer their children a private school education they could not otherwise afford. In short, the arguments for and against ESAs tend to mirror the debates surrounding school vouchers.

ESAs are more in line with President Donald Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ school choice ideology. As the chairman of the American Federation for Children, a 501(c)(4) that advocated for choice and privatization initiatives, DeVos spoke out in favor of Arizona’s expansion of its ESA program, saying it showed the state was “a national leader in school choice.” She has not spoken out regarding ESAs since her confirmation as education secretary, but if New Hampshire’s legislative push is successful, the DOE could be emboldened to throw more boisterous and public support behind the idea.