Enrollment in New Hampshire’s Schooling Freedom Account, or college voucher program, has doubled since its first 12 months, the Division of Schooling introduced Friday.
This system, which provides low-income college students the chance to make use of state {dollars} for private training, now has 3,025 college students enrolled for fall 2022, in comparison with 1,635 within the fall of 2021. Among the many college students who participated within the first 12 months, 1,572 or 96% will probably be returning for a second 12 months.
“This program has grown considerably, and at a sooner tempo than different states which have adopted comparable initiatives,” stated Schooling Commissioner Frank Edelblut. “Whereas it has exceeded our expectations, it’s thrilling and inspiring to know that New Hampshire households now have the chance to find out the very best instructional pathways for his or her kids, and that economically deprived college students will even have varied choices to suit their private studying wants.”
The Schooling Freedom Account program vouchers are totaling practically $14.7 million this college 12 months. Low-income New Hampshire college students can use the vouchers for private training choices like non-public colleges, spiritual colleges or to be homeschooled. To qualify, a toddler should come from a household with a family revenue that’s 300% of the federal poverty stage or beneath – $83,250 or much less per 12 months for a household of 4.
Among the many 3,025 present college students taking part within the Schooling Freedom Account program this 12 months, about half or 1,504 college students qualify for Free and Diminished Lunch, indicating that they arrive from households making beneath 185% of the federal poverty stage – $51,338 or much less per 12 months for a household of 4. The opposite half of the contributors fall between 185% and 300% of the federal poverty stage.
“Half of the kids enrolled live beneath the poverty stage,” Edelblut stated. “These households are in search of a nontraditional educational mannequin for his or her kids who could not have discovered instructional success.”
This system has been controversial, with advocates saying it expands instructional alternatives for college kids and opponents saying it hurts conventional public colleges by taking away key funding they should help their college students.
Like final 12 months, the vast majority of contributors proceed to be college students who have been already pursuing private training earlier than enrolling. About 42% of them (1,260 college students) are what the Division of Schooling calls “switchers,” college students who left their assigned public college to pursue a private training alternative.
Among the many switchers, about 55% made the change in 2021 or 2022, presumably prompted by the Schooling Freedom Accounts program, whereas the remainder left in 2020 in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic or earlier than.
Like the primary 12 months, the vast majority of contributors proceed to be youthful college students, with most in grades 1 to six. There are far fewer excessive schoolers taking part in this system, comparatively. About 187 of this system contributors (about 6%) are particular training college students and 10 (lower than 1%) are English Language Learners.