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A New Hampshire Education Freedom Account (EFA) deposits the state's per-pupil education funding into an account that parents direct toward approved expenses, including private school tuition, online school, tutoring, and curriculum. The grant starts with the state's base adequacy amount, at least $4,265.64 per student in 2025-26, plus differentiated aid for qualifying students, and recent awards have averaged around $5,200. The Children's Scholarship Fund New Hampshire (CSF-NH) administers the program, which became open to all New Hampshire students in June 2025. Applications for 2026-27 are open now, with enrollment capped at 12,500 students.
Here is how the money is calculated, who gets priority, and how families put an EFA to work.
New Hampshire created the EFA program in 2021 under RSA 194-F, originally limiting it to families earning up to 350% of the federal poverty level. That changed on June 10, 2025, when Governor Kelly Ayotte signed Senate Bill 295, removing the income limit entirely. The response was immediate: more than 11,000 students applied within a month of the signing, and the program filled its 10,000-student cap for 2025-26 with roughly double the prior year's enrollment.
The law includes a built-in growth valve. Whenever applications exceed 90% of the cap, the cap rises 25% the following year, which is why 2026-27 enrollment can reach 12,500. If enrollment ever stays below the cap for two consecutive years, the cap goes away.
Each EFA equals the state adequacy funding that would have followed the student to a public school. That starts with the base adequacy grant, a minimum of $4,265.64 per student in 2025-26, and adds differentiated aid for students who qualify, such as those eligible for free or reduced-price meals or those receiving special education services. Stacked together, the average award has run near $5,200, and unused funds stay in the account for the student's future education expenses while the family remains in the program. Funds flow through ClassWallet, so parents pay schools and vendors directly rather than handling reimbursements.
Any New Hampshire resident child who is eligible to enroll in a public elementary or secondary school, roughly ages 5 through 20, can apply. The defining restriction is enrollment status: a student attending a district public school or chartered public school full-time cannot receive an EFA. The program serves families choosing private school, online school, home education alternatives, or a combination of non-public options.
The geography of the Granite State makes that flexibility more than a talking point. Consider a family in the North Country whose nearest private school sits an hour's drive away. Before the EFA, their realistic options ended at the district line. With one, the same state dollars that funded the local seat can fund an accredited online school, a tutor in town, and curriculum for a homeschool co-op, in whatever combination actually fits the child.
Because demand has outrun capacity, the priority order matters. If applications exceed the cap, seats go first to current EFA recipients, then to siblings of current recipients, then to children with disabilities as defined by RSA 186-C:2, and then to families with income at or below 350% of the federal poverty level. Everyone else follows. One procedural note for homeschooling families: students previously registered as home educated under RSA 193-A must formally terminate that home education program, following education rule Ed 315.06, before enrolling in the EFA program.
Approved uses include tuition and fees at private schools, including accredited online private schools, along with tutoring, curriculum, textbooks, educational technology, and other education-related expenses defined by the program. Parents sign an EFA agreement that includes academic accountability requirements, so keep records of your student's progress and spending. CSF-NH reviews purchases, and staying inside the approved categories keeps the account in good standing.
Applications for the 2026-27 school year opened March 16, 2026 through CSF-NH's new online system, and they are accepted on a rolling basis. Submit one application per family covering all of your students. Two details determine your timing. First, an award is only made after the application and every supporting document have been submitted and verified, so incomplete files sit in limbo. Second, grants are prorated based on when the application reaches verified status, meaning a family that finishes the process in March captures more of the year's funding than one that finishes in November. Gather proof of New Hampshire residency, each child's birth certificate or proof of age, and your most recent tax return if you want income-based priority consideration.
An EFA's real advantage is precision: parents can aim money at the exact supports a child needs. Research backs the approach. A meta-analysis by Fishstrom and colleagues (2022) examined academic interventions for elementary students and found a statistically significant, moderately large effect on academic achievement (g = 0.63) compared with control conditions. A student who is a grade level behind in reading, for example, benefits more from a year of structured instruction plus targeted tutoring than from either alone, and an EFA can fund both from the same account.
Score Academy Online is an approved provider for the New Hampshire Education Freedom Account program. It is a Cognia-accredited, NCAA-approved online private school for grades K-12, with live certified teachers, individualized education plans, and synchronous classes capped at six students in middle and high school and four in elementary.
The per-course tuition structure pairs naturally with New Hampshire's award size. A family with a $5,200 grant might fund several self-paced courses at $415 to $535 each and reserve the remainder for tutoring, or apply the full award toward live-instruction courses. Because all three learning packages accept EFA funds through ClassWallet, families can build a schedule around the student rather than the funding format. To compare the EFA with programs in other states, visit the school choice hub.
EFA rules, award amounts, and caps are updated regularly. Confirm current details with the Children's Scholarship Fund New Hampshire before finalizing your plans.
How much will my child receive from an EFA? Awards start at the state base adequacy amount, at least $4,265.64 per student in 2025-26, and rise with differentiated aid for qualifying students. Recent awards have averaged around $5,200, and your exact figure depends on your student's eligibility categories.
Is there still an income limit? No. Senate Bill 295, signed in June 2025, removed the 350% federal poverty level cap. Income now only matters for priority ordering if applications exceed the enrollment cap.
Is enrollment capped? Yes. The cap is 12,500 students for 2026-27, up from 10,000 the prior year. If the cap is reached, priority goes to current recipients, their siblings, students with disabilities, and lower-income families, in that order.
Can we use EFA funds for an online school? Yes. Tuition at an accredited online private school is an approved use, and funds are paid to the school directly through ClassWallet.
Can my child attend our local public school and keep the EFA? No. Students enrolled full-time in a district public or chartered public school are not eligible. Families must notify the scholarship organization of enrollment changes or risk owing funds back.
Do unused funds roll over? Yes. Money remaining in the account carries forward for future education expenses as long as the student continues in the program.
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