Parents to Defend New Hampshire’s Education Freedom Account Program from New Legal Challenge

ARLINGTON, Va.—New Hampshire families are poised to defend the state’s Education Freedom Accounts (EFA) from a legal challenge announced yesterday by the American Federation of Teachers. The Institute for Justice (IJ), which defends educational choice nationwide, intends to intervene in the lawsuit on behalf of parents currently using the EFAs to fund the education they choose for their children.

“Halfway through the school year, opponents of Education Freedom Accounts are trying to take away parents’ educational options,” said IJ Educational Choice Attorney David Hodges. “The New Hampshire Legislature’s mechanism for funding the accounts is constitutional and the Institute for Justice is ready to defend it.”

Karl and Ellen Jackson of Pembroke, whose children participate in the EFA program, are two of the parents represented by IJ. “Without the Education Freedom Account our children would be forced to leave the schools they attend right now,” said Karl. “We are eager to defend our children’s access to a good education and also stand up for other families.”

IJ is the nation’s leading defender of educational choice programs, having won multiple cases at the U.S. Supreme Court. Earlier this year, IJ successfully challenged Maine’s exclusion of religious schools from the state’s tuitioning program in the landmark case Carson v. Makin. In 2020, IJ challenged the New Hampshire tuitioning program’s restrictions on parents choosing religious schools. The lawsuit resulted in the Legislature eliminating the unconstitutional restrictions last year. And in 2014, IJ successfully defended New Hampshire’s tax credit scholarship program at the state supreme court. IJ is currently defending educational choice programs in Kentucky, Tennessee and Ohio.