Revision: March 6, 2025, 9:01 a.m.
Senate Education Finance
March 6, 2025
2025-0794s
07/05
Amendment to SB 296
Amend the title of the bill by replacing it with the following:
AN ACT relative to eligibility for education freedom account scholarships.
Amend the bill by replacing all after the enacting clause with the following:
1 Taxation; Education Tax Credit; Definitions. Amend RSA 77-G:1, VIII to read as follows:
VIII. "Eligible student" means a New Hampshire resident who is at least 5 years of age and no more than 20 years of age, or 21 if eligible under RSA 186-C:2, who has not graduated from high school, and
(a)(1) Who is currently attending a New Hampshire public school, including a chartered public school, and for whom the adequacy grant in the next school year would be reduced if the student were removed from the average daily membership calculation, or who is entering kindergarten or first grade; or
(2) Who received a scholarship under subparagraph (1) or this subparagraph in the prior program year; or
(3) Who does not qualify under subparagraph (1) or (2); and
(b) Whose annual household income is less than or equal to 300 percent of the federal poverty guidelines as updated annually in the Federal Register by the United States Department of Health and Human Services under the authority of 42 U.S.C. section 9902(2). The scholarship organization shall verify eligibility under this subparagraph[.] ; and
(c) Who does not possess an education freedom account under RSA 194-F.
2 Taxation; Education Tax Credit; Scholarships. Amend RSA 77-G:2, I(d) and (e) to read as follows:
(d) At least 50 [40] percent of the scholarships awarded by the scholarship organization to eligible students as defined in RSA 77-G:1, VIII(a)(1) and (2) shall be awarded to students who qualified for the federal free and reduced-price meal program in the prior year.
(e) A student shall reapply each year for a scholarship. If during the reapplication process, a student who was awarded a scholarship for the previous year is deemed ineligible for the following year under RSA 77-G:1, VIII(b), the student may still receive the scholarship for the following year, deemed a probationary year. If following the probationary year, the student is again deemed ineligible during the reapplication process under RSA 77-G:1, VIII(b), then the student is ineligible to receive the scholarship that year and may reapply in subsequent years.
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.
2025-0794s
AMENDED ANALYSIS
This bill:
I. Increases the percentage of nonpublic school scholarships awarded to students who qualify for the federal free and reduced-price meal program.
II. Establishes a probationary period for ineligible students to allow for them to receive an additional year of scholarship funding.