Ernst: Support Education Freedom, Reelect Kelly Ayotte

By Allen Ernst, NH Journal

This November, New Hampshire voters have an opportunity to elect leaders committed to empowering families with life-changing educational options. Gov. Kelly Ayotte is the right leader at the right time to capitalize on the momentum driving school choice expansion.

In June 2025, Ayotte signed legislation that opened the state’s Education Freedom Account (EFA) program to all New Hampshire students while preserving priority access for lower-income families and other qualifying students. For families seeking a stronger academic fit, a safer learning environment, or an educational setting better suited to their children’s individual needs, the EFA program offers a transformative opportunity to decide how and where their children learn.

And because it’s wildly popular with families, the program continues to grow. After lawmakers established a 10,000-student enrollment cap in 2025, a provision allowing the program to expand with demand increased that cap to 12,500 students for the 2026-27 school year. As demand continues to rise, the program is set to expand again next year, increasing the cap to more than 15,600 students for the 2027-28 school year.

New Hampshire has made substantial progress, and we can’t turn back.

Since its creation in 2021, the EFA program has provided families with additional educational options, including private schooling, homeschooling, and other critical educational services. Nearly 1,000 eligible students remained on the waiting list when enrollment reached its cap this year, demonstrating that many families are still seeking access. The 2025 expansion has also created a foundation for continued growth moving forward.

In addition to New Hampshire’s EFA program, in January 2026, Ayotte wisely opted the state into the Education Freedom Tax Credit (EFTC). The EFTC provides taxpayers with a dollar-for-dollar tax credit of up to $1,700 ($3,400 for married couples filing jointly) when they donate to scholarship-granting organizations (SGOs). SGOs, in turn, distribute scholarships to students in need.

Recent research conducted by American Federation for Children senior fellow Patrick Graff shows that more than 90% of New Hampshire students will be eligible to receive the scholarships. Importantly, though any taxpayer can donate to receive the tax credit, only students in states that have opted in will be eligible to receive the scholarships.

Since states must opt in every year to participate in the EFTC, it is crucial to have a pro-school-choice governor in Concord. Otherwise, New Hampshire could put 174,000 students’ access to educational freedom at risk and see dollars flow out of state to SGOs in states that do participate. Ayotte will make sure New Hampshire’s students can benefit from both state and federal efforts to empower parents with educational options for their children.

New Hampshire’s experience illustrates both the demand for additional educational options and the continuing questions surrounding access and funding. The governor is expanding access at a lower cost with the EFA while also making sure New Hampshire gets its fair share of funding from the federal tax credit. As the state looks ahead, the central challenge will be building on these school choice expansions while ensuring that all families seeking different educational settings have meaningful opportunities to participate.

That is why we must reelect Gov. Kelly Ayotte. Her decision to sign universal EFA eligibility into law marked a significant milestone for educational freedom in New Hampshire, and her decision to opt in to the EFTC magnifies the benefit for families.

AFC Victory Fund, a federal independent expenditure-only committee committed to defending and advancing school choice at every level of government, is proud to endorse Kelly Ayotte for her strong leadership on school choice.

Ayotte remains an unwavering voice for education freedom, and she will continue to deliver for families across New Hampshire.

Allen Ernst works at the American Federation for Children, a 501(c)(4) organization affiliated with AFC Victory Fund, advocating for school choice policy and educational opportunity in the New Hampshire Legislature.

This story was originally published by the NH Journal, an online news publication dedicated to providing fair, unbiased reporting on, and analysis of, political news of interest to New Hampshire. For more stories from the NH Journal, visit NHJournal.com.