How to Use EFA Funding for a Microschool in New Hampshire

If you want to use Education Freedom Account funding for a microschool in New Hampshire, here's what you need to know upfront: EFA provides $3,700 to $5,200 per student in state funding through the Children's Scholarship Fund NH, and microschool tuition is an eligible expense — but the pod must register with CSFNH as an approved Educational Service Provider, with ClassWallet handling the digital payments, and each participating family must terminate their RSA 193-A homeschool status. That termination triggers a trade-off most families don't discover until they've already applied: you lose guaranteed access to public school sports under RSA 193:1-c. This guide walks through the complete process — eligibility, vendor registration, the RSA 193-A trade-off, eligible expenses, invoicing, and how to structure a pod where EFA and non-EFA families participate together.

What Is the EFA Program and How Much Does It Provide?

New Hampshire's Education Freedom Account program, expanded to universal eligibility by SB 295, provides state adequacy aid directly to families rather than to school districts. The amount varies by student:

• Base adequacy aid: approximately $3,700 to $4,100 per student
• Low-income households and English Language Learners: additional approximately $700 to $1,200 per qualifying factor
• Documented disabling conditions: additional approximately $1,500 to $2,100

Across account types, canonical copy uses approximately $3,700 to $5,200 per student; research reports an average annual account value of $4,419 to $5,204.

The funds are disbursed through ClassWallet, a digital wallet platform managed by the Children's Scholarship Fund NH (CSFNH). Allowable expenses include private or microschool tuition and fees, tutoring, online learning subscriptions, textbooks and specialized curriculum, standardized testing, and instructional computer hardware, subject to program rules.

For a microschool pod, EFA funding can cover a substantial portion — or sometimes all — of a family's annual share. A family with two children receiving $3,700 each gets $7,400 per year. If their share of pod expenses is $10,000–$12,000, EFA covers 60–75% of the total cost.

The RSA 193-A Trade-Off: What You Give Up

This is the part that catches families off guard. To participate in the EFA program, a student must not be enrolled in a public school — and they also cannot be registered as a home education student under RSA 193-A.

What this means operationally:

1. The family must file a notification of termination with their participating agency (superintendent, DOE Commissioner, or approved nonpublic school), ending their RSA 193-A home education status.
2. Once RSA 193-A status is terminated, the family loses the guaranteed right to participate in public school extracurriculars and sports under RSA 193:1-c. This statute specifically protects "home educated pupils" — and EFA recipients are no longer classified as home educated.
3. The student's educational status becomes "EFA participant" rather than "homeschool student" — a distinction that matters for sports eligibility, participating agency relationships, and annual evaluation obligations.

For families who don't care about public school sports access, this trade-off is straightforward — EFA funding is worth far more than sports eligibility. For families with athletes, especially those in competitive sports where the local high school team is the only realistic option, this is a genuine sacrifice that should be weighed carefully.

Some school districts voluntarily allow EFA students to participate in sports and activities despite not being legally required to do so. But this is discretionary, not guaranteed, and can change year to year.

How to Register as an EFA Vendor

For your microschool to accept EFA funds directly, the pod's organizing entity (facilitator, lead family, or LLC) must register with CSFNH as an approved Educational Service Provider, with ClassWallet used for payment processing.

Step-by-Step Registration

1. Apply to CSFNH's Approved Provider List as an Educational Service Provider. You'll need a business name (this can be your pod's operating name — even if you're not a formal business entity), EIN or SSN, contact information, and banking details for direct deposit.

2. Submit vendor application including:

   • Description of educational services offered
   • Service location and hours
   • Pricing structure (tuition rates, payment schedule)
   • Background check documentation for applicable employees, designated volunteers, and contracted service providers in regular student contact (RSA 189:13-a checks)
   • Proof of liability insurance (if applicable)

3. Agree to CSFNH vendor policies — STU-01 through STU-24 cover student-facing requirements, and PRO-01 covers Education Service Provider requirements. Key policies include maintaining attendance records, providing receipts for all services, and cooperating with CSFNH audit requests.

4. Wait for approval — CSFNH reviews the application and may request additional documentation; timing varies.

5. Begin invoicing through ClassWallet once approved. Parents submit tuition payments through their EFA accounts, CSFNH approves the expense against your provider profile, and ClassWallet disbursements occur four times per fiscal year: September, November, January, and April.

What If You Don't Want to Register as a Vendor?

Families can also use EFA funds for individual educational expenses without the pod registering as a vendor. In this model, each family independently purchases:

• Curriculum materials from approved vendors (publishers, educational suppliers)
• Tutoring services from individual approved tutors
• Standardized testing or instructional computer hardware from approved providers

The pod's shared costs (space rental, facilitator compensation) would be paid out-of-pocket by families, and EFA funds would cover individual educational materials. This approach is simpler but doesn't leverage EFA for the largest expense — facilitator compensation.

EFA-Eligible Expenses for Microschool Pods

Not every pod expense qualifies for EFA reimbursement. Here's the breakdown:

The key insight: When tuition and fees are charged by a registered microschool provider, those charges are in an allowable category. Whether the student's EFA account covers the full amount depends on CSFNH rules and the student's available balance.

Structuring a Pod with Both EFA and Non-EFA Families

Most New Hampshire pods include a mix of EFA recipients and families who maintain RSA 193-A homeschool status (often because they want to preserve public school sports access). This creates an operational challenge: two different legal statuses, two different funding mechanisms, and two different evaluation frameworks operating in the same pod.

Here's how to structure it:

Billing: The pod charges the same tuition to all families. EFA families pay through ClassWallet reimbursement. Non-EFA families pay directly (check, bank transfer, or cash). The pod's parent agreement should specify both payment mechanisms and include deadlines for each.

Legal status: EFA families have terminated RSA 193-A and file no annual evaluation with a participating agency. Non-EFA families maintain RSA 193-A status and maintain their annual evaluation records (a nationally standardized achievement test, portfolio review by a certified teacher, or an alternative assessment mutually agreed by the parent and participating agency). The facilitator should maintain records that satisfy both sets of requirements.

Invoicing: The registered vendor issues formal invoices through ClassWallet for EFA families and separate invoices (or receipts) for non-EFA families. Keep the invoicing language consistent — same services, same amounts — to avoid CSFNH audit complications.

Sports eligibility: Non-EFA families retain RSA 193:1-c sports access. EFA families do not, unless their local district voluntarily allows it. This difference should be disclosed in the parent agreement so families make an informed choice.

Common EFA Mistakes Microschool Founders Make

Applying for vendor status too late. CSFNH review may require additional documentation. Submit the application well before your pod's first payment date, and do not assume that expenses incurred before approval will be covered.

Not understanding the RSA 193-A termination requirement. Some families apply for EFA without realizing they must terminate their homeschool status. If they've already filed their Notice of Intent for the year with their participating agency, they need to file a notification of termination — which can create confusion with the superintendent's office if done mid-year.

Mixing personal and pod expenses in ClassWallet. Each expense submitted must clearly correspond to the vendor's services. Submitting a lump sum labeled "microschool expenses" without itemization invites audit scrutiny. Use clear, specific line items: "Monthly tuition — [Pod Name] — [Month]."

Assuming EFA covers everything. EFA provides $3,700–$5,200 per student. For a pod with $6,000 per student in annual costs, families still have $800–$2,300 in out-of-pocket expenses. Budget for the gap, especially in the first year when startup costs (background checks, initial curriculum purchases, deposits) front-load expenses.

Ignoring the audit trail. CSFNH can audit vendor accounts. Maintain organized records: attendance logs, invoices, receipts for all educational materials, and copies of background check clearances. A guide provides templates for these records.

The Financial Math: EFA-Funded Pod vs Alternatives

The independent pod with EFA funding delivers a 6:1 student-teacher ratio for $700–$2,200 per year out of pocket — less than a monthly car payment. This is why EFA has been transformative for New Hampshire microschools: it makes professional facilitation affordable for middle-income families who previously couldn't justify the cost.

Who This Is For

• New Hampshire families who qualify for EFA and want to use state funding to offset microschool costs
• Pod founders who want to accept EFA payments and need the CSFNH vendor registration walkthrough
• Parents weighing whether to give up RSA 193-A homeschool status for EFA funding
• Families currently using EFA for individual expenses (curriculum, tutoring) who want to consolidate into a pod model
• Micro-school facilitators who want to become approved Education Service Providers to attract EFA-funded students

Who This Is NOT For

• Families who've decided to maintain RSA 193-A status for public school sports access — EFA is incompatible with this choice
• Parents looking for EFA information for traditional private school enrollment — that's a different process with different vendor requirements
• Families in states other than New Hampshire — EFA is a state-specific program
• Pod founders who don't want the administrative overhead of vendor registration and ClassWallet invoicing — a non-EFA pod is simpler to operate

Next Steps

The EFA integration is one of the most complex but financially rewarding aspects of running a New Hampshire microschool. The New Hampshire Micro-School & Pod Kit includes the complete EFA vendor registration walkthrough, ClassWallet invoicing templates, the RSA 193-A termination process, and parent agreement clauses that handle mixed EFA/non-EFA pods. It's designed so you can work through the vendor application in a single afternoon rather than spending weeks cross-referencing CSFNH policy documents and NHDOE web pages.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use EFA for a microschool that meets in my home?

Possibly, if the provider is registered with CSFNH and the specific service qualifies. Location and EFA approval are separate from municipal zoning: Manchester limits home instruction to 4 pupils, and Nashua requires a Special Exception for more than 3 weekly visits.

How long does EFA vendor registration take?

Timing varies from application to application. CSFNH may request additional documentation such as proof of insurance, background-check records, or detailed service descriptions, so start the process well before you need to accept your first EFA payment.

What happens if a family leaves the pod mid-year — do they lose EFA?

No. EFA funding follows the student, not the provider. If a family withdraws from your pod, they can redirect their remaining EFA balance to another approved vendor, curriculum purchases, or other eligible expenses. Your vendor account simply stops receiving payments for that student. The family doesn't lose their EFA allocation.

Can a pod have some EFA families and some non-EFA families?

Yes, and this is the most common structure. EFA families pay through ClassWallet reimbursement; non-EFA families pay directly. The pod charges the same tuition to both. The key operational difference is that EFA families have terminated their RSA 193-A homeschool status and don't file annual evaluations with a participating agency, while non-EFA families maintain RSA 193-A and continue their evaluation obligations.

Is the $3,700–$5,200 EFA amount per family or per student?

Per student. A family with three eligible children receives $11,100–$15,600 in total EFA funding — which can cover most or all of a microschool pod's per-family costs. This is why larger families often benefit most from the EFA program.

Do I need to be an LLC to register as an EFA vendor?

No. Nonprofit status is not required, but CSFNH's provider requirements determine what entity and tax-identification documentation you must submit. An LLC can provide liability separation and simplify tax reporting if you're collecting tuition from multiple families.

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