Lawmakers face dueling priorities: Feeding children or expanding school vouchers to wealthy families?
April 29th, 2025
Tuesday, April 15, the House Education Funding Committee held back-to-back hearings for two bills. Senate Bill (SB) 204, which authorizes school boards to raise eligibility for free meals, requires the department of education to reimburse schools who raise eligibility, and SB 295, which would remove the existing income eligibility limits on vouchers and introduces a limit on the number of students who can receive a voucher annually.
SB 204, an opt-in expansion of school meal assistance, has consistently garnered public and bipartisan support but faced skepticism from House Committee members. In sharp contrast, SB 295, the Senate version of the universal school voucher expansion bill, which has seen overwhelming opposition consistently from members of the public, has encountered less opposition from the legislature.
As amended by the Senate, SB 204 proposes to expand access to school meals in New Hampshire by allowing local school districts to opt-in to a state-supported reimbursement program. The bill increases eligibility for free and reduced-price meals to students in households with incomes up to 200% of the federal poverty level (up from the current 185%) and provides partial reimbursement to districts for unpaid meal debts.
Although the bill passed unanimously in the Senate, it met skepticism in the House from Republican committee members. During the public hearing, some committee members questioned the role of schools in addressing student hunger. Representative Popovici-Muller (R-Windham) repeatedly asked for specific examples of students being denied meals due to an inability to pay. While Representative Colcombe (R-Hillsborough) raised questions about whether feeding children is the school’s responsibility, stating, “I’ve always been fed breakfast before or eaten breakfast before I left the house… I had breakfast before school started.” Bill sponsor Senator Fenton (D-District 10) responded, “That’s amazing that you had breakfast… The problem here is that a lot of children aren’t having those meals.”
Lawmakers are also considering expansions of the statewide school voucher program, which could cost an estimated $100 million per year. One of the universal voucher expansion bills this session, SB 295, would provide parents with state funding to cover tuition at private and religious schools, as well as homeschooling expenses. While SB 295 has arbitrary enrollment caps, they automatically increase as they are met, meaning the bill would create a universal school voucher program by 2027, opening the program up to wealthy families.
At the hearing, the only two in-person supporters of SB 295, the bill’s prime sponsor, Senator Sullivan (R-District 18), and Patrick Graff from the American Federation for Children, a national organization that advocates for school choice, argued that expansion is a continuation of a nationwide movement toward universal school choice, and that New Hampshire would join 15 other states in removing the income cap.
While opponents cited several concerns, including the lack of transparency in the program’s administration, its potential impact on local school funding, fiscal accountability issues, and the diversion of funds from public schools that serve nearly 90% of the state's students.
“Let me start by saying that our public schools are working. They serve the majority of students in this state, and they’re doing so with limited resources. Expanding EFAs removes funding from the public system and redirects it to schools that are not subject to the same transparency and accountability,” testified resident of Weare, David Trumble.
Public Supports Increasing School Meals Eligibility and Opposes School Voucher Expansion
Earlier in the session, the House Education Funding Committee voted against proposals to expand school lunch assistance programs. Despite this, over 1,900 individuals submitted online support for legislation (HB 583, HB 464, HB 665, and SB 204) aimed at expanding school assistance, while only 64 individuals submitted in opposition.
In January, over 3,400 people signed in opposition to the House version of the universal voucher expansion bill, HB 115. Last month, the hearing for SB 295 had over 2,800 people sign in opposition and fewer than 220 people in support.
The official online testimony for Tuesday's public hearings: SB 204 had 493 in support, 18 opposed, and one neutral. SB 295 had 37 online testimonies in support, 919 in opposition, and zero neutral.
Next Steps
Both bills, SB 204, which raises eligibility for free meals, and SB 295, universal school vouchers, will next be scheduled for an executive session where the House Education Funding Committee will vote on a committee recommendation for the bill. The executive sessions have not been scheduled yet, but you can join the New Hampshire Education Network (NHEN) to receive upcoming policy calendars and updates.
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