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🎓 New Hampshire School Choice, ESAs & Scholarships

Which New Hampshire education savings accounts, scholarships and tax credits a homeschool family can use, what they pay for, and where New Hampshire stands on school choice — from our New Hampshire guide.

How Education Freedom Accounts work for homeschool families

An EFA is a student account, not a family account. The commissioner of education transfers the child's per-pupil adequacy grant and any differentiated aid to CSF, which deposits it in the child's ClassWallet account in four installments a year: 20% in September, 20% in November, 30% in January and 30% in April (RSA 194-F:2, I; Ed 804.03). Money can't be shared between siblings, and parents can't add their own money to the account, though they can pay out of pocket for anything the account doesn't cover (RSA 194-F:2, V). Unused money rolls over from quarter to quarter and year to year until the child leaves the program or graduates from high school, then goes back to the Education Trust Fund (RSA 194-F:2, VII). The law lets the scholarship organization keep up to 10% a year to run the program (RSA 194-F:4, V).

Differentiated aid adds money for three things. A household at or below 185% of the federal poverty line can send a 1040 tax return, a SNAP or TANF letter, or a Social Security or VA benefit letter with IRS verification of non-filing. An English learner qualifies with a score below 4.5 on the English proficiency assessment taken at a public school. A student with a disability needs an IEP or ISP from a public school district at any point, CSF's Medical Certification of Disability form, or equivalent documentation from a licensed medical professional. Under Ed 804.01, a special education evaluation can be done free by your resident district or paid for with EFA funds.

The legal change for homeschoolers: since July 1, 2026, RSA 193-A says a "home educated student" does not include a student in the EFA program, and a home education program ends when the child enrolls in the EFA program (RSA 193-A:1, IV and 193-A:4, VII). The signed EFA agreement satisfies the compulsory attendance law (RSA 194-F:3, IV), and CSF reports the child to the Department of Education as an EFA participant. You no longer report to a former participating agency for home education. If your child takes classes or activities at the local public school under RSA 193:1-c, you must tell the resident district that the child is now in the EFA program (RSA 194-F:2, IX).

What you agree to: to teach (or choose a provider to teach) the core knowledge domains — science, mathematics, language, government, history, health, reading, writing, spelling, the history of the New Hampshire and U.S. constitutions, and an exposure to and appreciation of art and music. You also agree not to enroll the child full-time in the resident district school (and, under CSF's agreement, not full-time in a public charter school), to spend only on qualifying expenses, to submit receipts, and to follow program rules (RSA 194-F:3, III(d)). A child with a disability placed in a private school while using an EFA is a parental placement under IDEA and has no individual right to a free appropriate public education there (Ed 805.01).

The yearly Record of Educational Attainment: each year, before CSF will keep funding a returning student, you upload one of three records by July 15 (RSA 194-F:3, III(d)(3); CSF Parent Handbook). (1) Results of a nationally standardized, norm-referenced achievement test, such as the California Achievement Test, NWEA MAP, CLT, ERB Milestone or CTP, Iowa, PSAT, SAT, Stanford or TerraNova, with math and ELA or reading scores. (2) New Hampshire's statewide assessment. (3) A signed letter from a teacher who evaluated the child's portfolio of work from the current school year. The evaluator must be a certified teacher or a teacher currently teaching in a nonpublic school, chosen by you. A parent can't evaluate their own child, even if certified. The letter gives the teacher's name and address with proof of certification (or the nonpublic school's name and address), the evaluation dates, a description of the work reviewed, a summary ending with a statement that the child has or has not made educational progress, and the teacher's signature. Families of full-time students at an out-of-district public school or a nonpublic school can use a report card instead. If the record isn't in by July 15, CSF releases no more funds until it is.

Read the full section in our New Hampshire guide

What the money can pay for

RSA 194-F:2, II lists the qualifying expenses, and CSF's 2026–27 Parent Handbook explains what it approves. Purchases must support the core knowledge domains and be for the named student. Here are the categories that matter most to families teaching at home:

• Textbooks, curriculum and instructional materials, including workbooks, e-books, educational videos, school supplies, and musical instruments for music study. Athletic equipment is capped at $500 per item.
• Tutoring by a certified or accredited individual or a tutoring facility in the core subjects. Every tutor or instructor who works with your child must be an EFA-approved provider, even if you pay and ask for reimbursement.
• Non-public online learning programs (CSF's examples include Acellus Academy, Outschool, Penn Foster High School, Power Homeschool and Time4Learning) and educational software and apps
• Education programs: summer programs, co-op and microschool classes, and specialized classes in science, technology, the arts, health, athletics and physical education. CSF's examples include music lessons, martial arts, swimming, skiing, robotics and coding, theater, dance, debate and team sports.
• One laptop or desktop computer every three years (up to $3,600), tablets (up to
  ,600 each), and accessories such as monitors, printers, headsets and webcams (up to $800 each). A hotspot for the student's own internet use is allowed; household internet and cell phones are not.
• Educational services and therapies, including occupational, behavioral, physical, speech-language and audiology therapy from a certified or accredited provider
• Fees for nationally standardized tests, AP and college-admission exams, portfolio evaluations, and prep courses for those exams
• Classes, programs and services from a public school, chartered public school, public academy or independent school, including part-time classes at your resident district school
• Career and technical school tuition and fees, and college courses taken for dual credit while in high school (not after graduation)
• Private school tuition and fees, school uniforms required by a school's policy, and a fee-for-service bus to and from a provider (not Uber, Lyft or other travel)
• Individual admission to educational sites such as science, history or art museums, with a note explaining how it supports your child's learning

Read the full section in our New Hampshire guide

Before you buy

• Use ClassWallet. The fastest routes are the ClassWallet Marketplace (Amazon and other retailers) and Direct Pay to an approved provider. Reimbursement is allowed but slower, and handwritten receipts are never accepted. Every order sits in a CSF approval queue, and one ineligible item gets the whole order rejected.
• Nothing before your eligibility date. Purchases dated before the day CSF verified your application can't be paid with EFA funds.
• Check the invoice. A provider's invoice must show the provider's name, the student's name, a description CSF can understand, the invoice or service dates, and the amount due per student, not per family.
• Not covered (CSF's list isn't exhaustive): paying a parent, guardian or immediate family member to teach their own child; family or group memberships; streaming services; toys, LEGO and video games; furniture; food and kitchenware; clothing that isn't a required uniform; recreational gear; live animals and farm or homesteading supplies; trips, travel and rideshares; amusement parks, concerts and theater tickets; and preschool.
• Refunds go back to the account. Providers must return any refund or overpayment to the student's EFA within 30 days. Money is never refunded, rebated or shared with a parent (RSA 194-F:2, IV).
• Leaving the program. If your child enrolls full-time in your district school or a public charter school (including VLACS), or you move out of state, exit the student in ScholaVia right away. Otherwise you are liable for funds the child wasn't entitled to.
• Questions about whether something is allowed go to nhapprovals@scholarshipfund.org. ClassWallet support is 877-969-5536 or help@classwallet.com. Rules and amounts change, so check CSF's current Parent Handbook before a big purchase.

Read the full section in our New Hampshire guide

Other New Hampshire programs: scholarships, tax credits, dual enrollment and college

Education Tax Credit (ETC) scholarship: CSF also runs New Hampshire's tax-credit scholarship under RSA 77-G. Businesses that donate get an 85% credit against the state business profits and business enterprise taxes. Scholarships can pay private school tuition, out-of-district public school tuition, an accredited tutor, a distance education program, or home education expenses (RSA 77-G:2, I(a)). They can't pay for a parent's time, athletics or transportation (RSA 77-G:1, VI). Students must be 5 to 20, not yet graduated, either entering kindergarten or first grade for the first time or coming from a public school for grades 2–12, and from a household at or below 300% of the federal poverty level. Students reapply every year. CSF's page says current recipients are invited by email at the end of April to reapply. Awards depend on need and on how much CSF raises.

Federal Scholarship Tax Credit: New Hampshire is on the IRS list of states participating for 2027 (as of October 22, 2026). Starting January 1, 2027, taxpayers can claim a federal credit of up to