NH Education Freedom Accounts: Some Basics Every New Hampshire Parent Should Understand
In 2021, New Hampshire approved a program to help eligible parents of students pay for various private education expenses. Under the new law, eligible parents can create an Education Freedom Account (“EFA”), into which the state government will deposit a sum of money to be used for private education outside of the public school setting. The annual base amount is approximately $3,500, but can be as high as nearly $8,600 for students who meet certain criteria. What follows is not intended to be a complete reference source for the EFA program; instead, it is intended to provide some of the more important basics that parents should understand. For more thorough information, you should consult with a qualified attorney, or with the New Hampshire Children’s Scholarship Fund, which administers the EFA program.
Who Is Eligible?
To be eligible:
- You must be New Hampshire residents;
- The student must:
- Be between the ages of 5 and 20;
- Be in grade K – 12;
- Not have graduated high school;
- Your household income (total gross income for all adults living in the home) must be no higher than 300% of the federal poverty level. The following chart shows what 300% of the federal poverty limit is for 2021:
| Family Size | Annual Income Limit |
| 2 | $52,260 |
| 3 | $65,880 |
| 4 | $79,500 |
| 5 | $93,120 |
| 6 | $106,740 |
| 7 | $120,360 |
| 8 | $133,980 |
| Add $13,260 for each additional person |
How Much Can You Receive?
If approved for an EFA grant, the base amount is approximately $3,500, but adjusts for inflation (NH Rev Stat § 198:40-a (2021), NH Rev Stat § 198:40-d (2021)). The EFA grant amount might be higher for certain students, as described below (the actual numbers might be even higher due to an inflation adjustment):
- If the student is eligible for the free and reduced price meal program, add on approximately $1,780;
- If the student is an English Language Learner, add on approximately $700;
- If the student is receiving special education, add on approximately $1,900;
- If the student has been determined to be “Not Proficient” on the NH Statewide Assessment 3rd Grade Reading Assessment, add on approximately $700.
Putting this all together, the final grant award could range anywhere from approximately $3,500 to $8,600, depending on the student’s circumstances.
What Can the Grant Be Used For?
EFA funds can be used only for the following educational expenses:
- (a) Tuition and fees at a private school.
- (b) Tuition and fees for non-public online learning programs.
- (c) Tutoring services provided by an individual or a tutoring facility.
- (d) Services contracted for and provided by a district public school, chartered public school, public academy, or independent school, including, but not limited to, individual classes and curricular activities and programs.
- (e) Textbooks, curriculum, or other instructional materials, including, but not limited to, any supplemental materials or associated online instruction required by either a curriculum or an education service provider.
- (f) Computer hardware, Internet connectivity, or other technological services and devices, that are primarily used to help meet an EFA student’s educational needs.
- (g) Educational software and applications.
- (h) School uniforms.
- (i) Fees for nationally standardized assessments, advanced placement examinations, examinations related to college or university admission or awarding of credits and tuition and/or fees for preparatory courses for such exams.
- (j) Tuition and fees for summer education programs and specialized education programs.
- (k) Tuition, fees, instructional materials, and examination fees at a career or technical school.
- (l) Educational services and therapies, including, but not limited to, occupational, behavioral, physical, speech-language, and audiology therapies.
- (m) Tuition and fees at an institution of higher education.
- (n) Fees for transportation paid to a fee-for-service transportation provider for the student to travel to and from an education service provider.
- (o) Any other educational expense approved by the scholarship organization.
Beware the Possible Loss of FAPE
If you are the parent of a special education student, you are probably aware of the school district’s requirement to provide FAPE (Free Appropriate Public Education). This is the foundation for the services that are provided through your child’s IEP (Individualized Education Program). If you unilaterally place (meaning on your own, at your own expense) your child at a private school, the New Hampshire EFA Parent Handbook warns:
Parentally-placed private school children with disabilities shall not be entitled to a FAPE in connection with their enrollment by their parents in a private school, in accordance with 34 C.F.R. 300.148(a) and pursuant to 34 C.F.R. 300.137(a), while participating in the state-funded EFA program.
Children’s Scholarship Fund Education Freedom Account Parent Handbook, p. 8 (2022) (found at https://nh.scholarshipfund.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/NHEFAParentHandbook9.7.2022.pdf)
Consider the Cost / Benefit Analysis
Private special education schools can be expensive. You can easily expect the annual cost to be $50,000 – $100,000 or more. You can find the cost for all private special education schools that have been approved by the state of New Hampshire here: https://www.education.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt326/files/inline-documents/sonh/2021-2022-with-dhhs-rate-included-approved-rates-as-of-6-30-2021.pdf. If you believe your child needs placement at an approved special education school, you should weigh the financial benefit of the EFA versus the benefit – but risk and expense – of trying to get the school district to pay for the placement. The EFA benefit might be just a “drop in the bucket” of the overall expense of such a placement. You still might be better off maintaining the FAPE requirement and trying to obtain a placement paid for by the school district.
Summary
This blog article provides information on some of the more important aspects of the EFA, but there is a lot more that parents need to understand. The EFA is a nice benefit in certain situations for certain families, but might not be appropriate for all eligible families. More information from the state of New Hampshire is available here. It might also be helpful to consult with an education lawyer licensed in New Hampshire.
The Law Office of James M. Baron represents students and parents in special education and other school-related legal matters throughout Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Please visit https://www.lawbaron.com for more information, or to schedule a phone or video consultation.
NH Statute of Limitations for Unilateral Placements – A Trap for the Unwary
A statute of limitations defines how long you have to bring a legal action. With special education matters, if you are going to file for a due process hearing, the general rule is that you have 2 years to file for a hearing regarding any alleged violation. 20 U.S.C. § 1415(b)(6)(B). If you make a unilateral placement (i.e. make a “unilateral” decision to enroll your child in a private school without school district approval), NH has significantly limited the time period that is allowed for filing for a hearing related to that placement. In particular, New Hampshire allows just 90 days for filing for a hearing regarding the unilateral placement. RSA 186-C:16-b. The 90 days runs from the date the unilateral placement is made. Further complicating this is that the date of the unilateral placement is not always clearcut. For example, is it:
- The date that the parents applied to the private school?
- The date that the private school accepted the student?
- The date that the parents returned the acceptance letter to the private school?
- The date that the parents sent in their first deposit to the private school?
- The date that payment was made in full?
- The date that the parents notified the public school district that they were withdrawing their child from the public school, and enrolling him or her at the private school?
Parents might have a bit of a reprieve from the 90 day burden if the school district did not provide the parents with notice of their special education rights, which they usually do at least annually. If notice was not given, then the 90 days would not start running until proper notice is given to the parents.
The exact wording of the NH law is:
186-C:16-b Due Process Hearing; Appeal. –I. Any action against a local school district seeking to enforce special education rights under state or federal law shall be commenced by requesting an administrative due process hearing from the department of education within 2 years of the date on which the alleged violation was or reasonably should have been discovered.
II. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph I, any action against a local school district to recover the costs of a unilateral special education placement shall be commenced by requesting an administrative due process hearing from the department of education within 90 days of the unilateral placement.
III. Where the parent, legal guardian or surrogate parent has not been given proper written notice of special education rights pursuant to 20 U.S.C. section 1415(d), including notice of the time limitations established in this section, such limitations shall run from the time notice of those rights is properly given. The department of education shall make available a model notice of rights which school districts may use as one means of complying with this paragraph.
Tuition Rates for Private Schools
Have you ever wondered what private special education schools charge cities and towns when a school district has to pay tuition for a student placed at that school? In Massachusetts, there is a division of state government, called the Operational Services Division, that sets tuition rates that state-approved private special education schools may charge school districts. This is public information posted on the internet. Click here to check the details and to find the tuition rate for the program you are interested in.
The Law Office of James M. Baron represents students and parents in special education and other school-related legal matters. Please visit http://www.lawbaron.com, or call 781-209-1166 for more information.
Categorizing Your Dispute
The school year is now well underway. It is a sad fact of life that as the school year rolls along, more and more disputes arise between parents and school systems regarding a child’s education. For disputes that cannot be resolved directly between the parents and the school systems, it is sometimes necessary to engage an attorney. When parents call my office, one of the first things I do is to categorize the dispute into one of four major categories (and then further sub categorize within those categories):
- Eligibility and Evaluations. Does the child have a disability? Is the child not making effective progress in regular education due to that disability? Does the child require specially designed instruction or related services in order to access the curriculum? If the answers to these questions are yes, then the child should be eligible for special education services.
- The Team process and IEP services. Who makes up the Team? Do Team meetings take place when and how they are supposed to according to the law? Does the IEP properly reflect the special needs of the child? Do the accommodations and services match what the medical professionals and recommended in the evaluations?
- Placement. Where will services be provided? In-district or out-of-district?
- Discipline. Has a child been removed from their educational placement because of discipline? Has this happened for more than 10 days? Did the school conduct a Manifestation Determination and a Functional Behavioral Assessment?
Once you know where the dispute exists within this special education “lifecycle,” you can then better understand your rights and the school district’s responsibilities under the law.
The Law Office of James M. Baron represents students and parents in special education and other school-related legal disputes. Please visit http://www.lawbaron.com, or call 781-209-1166 for more information.
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