Republican politicians are pushing forward three different plans for expanding New Hampshire’s Education Freedom Account program.

The Senate on Thursday passed a bill that would make the school voucher program universal while initially capping participation at 10,000 students. The bill includes an option to raise the cap if there is enough interest in the program.

Their proposal differs from the House’s and Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s proposals. Although each removes income eligibility requirements for the program, the three differ in the amount of guardrails they involve.

The Senate proposal is the middle ground between Ayotte’s, which is the most restrictive, and the House’s, which is the least.

Ayotte’s proposal would limit eligibility to students who had spent the previous school year enrolled in a public school. In 2024, only 32% of newly participating students had exited public schools immediately prior to enrolling in the EFA program, according to data from the Department of Education.

For its part, the House preliminarily approved a bill that would place no restrictions whatsoever on eligibility for the program starting in 2026.

Republican Rep. Rick Ladd, the chair of the House Education Funding Committee, said Ayotte’s proposal, which would require a child to start in public school before becoming eligible for EFAs, would be “very disruptive.”

It will likely be several weeks before it becomes clear which version of EFA expansion will win out.

The House Finance Committee will meet to consider the bill on Tuesday.

Jeremy Margolis can be contacted at jmargolis@cmonitor.com.