NH EFA Documentation Requirements: ClassWallet Receipts, Record of Attainment, and the July 15 Deadline

If you are an NH EFA family, you are operating under two separate and distinct documentation systems simultaneously. Most guides on the internet cover one or the other. Almost none explain how they interact — or what happens when you get one wrong.

The first system is the academic portfolio under RSA 193-A. This is the standard NH homeschool requirement: maintain a portfolio, complete an annual evaluation, keep the results private. The second system is the financial accountability requirement under RSA 194-F, which governs your Education Freedom Account. This involves ClassWallet receipts, invoice requirements, and the Annual Record of Educational Attainment submitted to the Children's Scholarship Fund.

Failure in the academic portfolio system does not cost you your EFA funds directly — the results stay private and are not reported to the state. Failure in the financial accountability system will freeze your grant. The consequences are asymmetric, which means the EFA documentation system deserves most of your attention for funding continuity.

This post covers both systems, the specific requirements of each, and how to avoid the most common compliance mistakes.

The Academic Portfolio: RSA 193-A Requirements for EFA Families

EFA families are still subject to RSA 193-A, the standard NH home education law. You still need a participating agency, still need to send a one-time notification, and still need to complete an annual evaluation. The EFA program does not replace or supersede these requirements — it runs alongside them.

For the RSA 193-A portfolio, you must maintain:

• A reading log
• Samples of writings, worksheets, workbooks, or creative materials
• Evidence of instruction in the required subject areas

You must complete one of the four approved evaluation methods annually. The portfolio review by a certified teacher remains the most common choice for EFA families, partly because the evaluator's signed letter does double duty — it satisfies RSA 193-A and can also serve as your Record of Educational Attainment for the EFA program (see below).

Your RSA 193-A portfolio results stay private. You keep them on file for two years. Nothing gets submitted to your participating agency, the state DOE, or the Children's Scholarship Fund.

The EFA Financial Documentation System: ClassWallet

Your EFA funds flow through ClassWallet, a digital wallet platform managed by the Children's Scholarship Fund (CSF). ClassWallet handles all approved purchases and reimbursements, but the documentation requirements behind each transaction are your responsibility — the platform only records the transaction, not whether your documentation would survive an audit.

Invoice Requirements

Every invoice you submit through ClassWallet for direct payment to a vendor must include:

• Provider name and contact information
• Student's full first and last name — not just "student" or initials
• Specific description of the educational service — "tutoring" is not sufficient; "one-on-one math tutoring, Algebra I, 10 sessions at 45 minutes each" meets the standard
• Date of service or service period
• Amount billed per pupil — family packages or shared materials do not qualify; the billing must be individualized to the specific student

The per-pupil requirement is the most common source of rejected submissions. If you are purchasing curriculum for two EFA-funded children in your household, each child needs a separate invoice for their share. A single invoice for "the Smith family" covering multiple children will be rejected.

Receipt Requirements for Reimbursements

When you pay out-of-pocket for an approved expense and seek reimbursement through ClassWallet, the receipt must meet the same standards as an invoice. The receipt needs to show the student's name, a clear description of what was purchased and its educational purpose, and the date of purchase.

If you are buying curriculum materials from a vendor who does not typically issue student-specific receipts (a bookstore, an online curriculum provider), you may need to contact them and request a receipt that includes your child's name — or annotate the receipt yourself with a brief explanatory note and retain it with the ClassWallet submission.

Prohibited Purchases

The EFA program has a strict prohibition on multi-user or shared items. A family microscope does not qualify. A shared laptop does not qualify if other family members use it. The item or service must be definitively linked to the individual eligible student. When in doubt, ask the CSF before making a purchase — retroactive rejections are harder to resolve than pre-purchase confirmations.

The Annual Record of Educational Attainment

This is the document that most EFA families underestimate — and the one most likely to cost you your funding if you miss the deadline.

The Record of Educational Attainment is a separate accountability requirement specific to the EFA program. It must be submitted to the Children's Scholarship Fund by July 15th each year to renew your EFA grant for the following school year. Missing this deadline results in an immediate freeze of your funds.

The CSF accepts any one of the following as the Record of Educational Attainment:

A standardized test score. Any recognized national student achievement test administered during the program year. The score does not need to meet a specific threshold — the 2022 statutory change eliminated the 40th percentile requirement under RSA 193-A, and the EFA program follows this standard.

A dated report card. If you are using an accredited online program (such as VLACS) that issues report cards, this satisfies the requirement. A parent-generated report card may not be accepted depending on CSF policy at the time — confirm with CSF before relying on a self-issued report card.

A signed portfolio evaluation letter from a certified teacher. This is the most common choice because it satisfies both RSA 193-A (your annual evaluation requirement) and the EFA Record of Educational Attainment in a single step. The letter must be signed by a certified teacher who holds a NH teaching credential or is licensed in a state with NH reciprocity. Critically, the letter must include an explicit statement that the child made educational progress during the program year. A generic "portfolio reviewed" letter without a progress statement is insufficient for EFA purposes.

When you hire a portfolio evaluator, tell them you need the EFA-compliant version of the letter. Most experienced NH evaluators know what this means. If they are unfamiliar, the specific language you need is a statement to the effect of: "Based on my review of [student's] portfolio, I find that [student] has made reasonable educational progress during the [year] home education program year."

The July 15 Deadline: How to Not Miss It

The July 15 deadline is not flexible. CSF does not have a stated grace period, and the consequence of a missed deadline is an immediate freeze of the following year's funds.

The most reliable approach is to complete your annual evaluation before the school year ends — ideally in May or early June — and submit the Record of Educational Attainment to CSF as soon as you receive the evaluator's signed letter. Don't wait until July.

Common reasons families miss the deadline:

• Waiting until the last minute to schedule an evaluator (NH evaluators book up in May and June)
• Evaluator completes the review but the parent forgets to submit the letter to CSF
• Family is traveling in summer and the deadline passes unnoticed

Put July 15 on your calendar in early January. Schedule your evaluator in March or April. Submit to CSF the week you receive the letter. The entire cycle takes about two weeks if you initiate it early enough.

The Two-Track Documentation Checklist

Because EFA families are managing two parallel compliance systems, a simple two-track checklist helps ensure nothing falls through.

RSA 193-A Track (academic):

• [ ] Notification on file with participating agency
• [ ] Reading log maintained throughout the year
• [ ] Work samples kept (3-5 per required subject)
• [ ] Annual evaluation completed by certified teacher
• [ ] Evaluation results kept privately on file for 2 years

RSA 194-F Track (EFA financial):

• [ ] All ClassWallet invoices include student name, service description, date, per-pupil amount
• [ ] Receipts for reimbursements retained and annotated if needed
• [ ] No multi-user or shared items submitted
• [ ] Record of Educational Attainment submitted to CSF by July 15
• [ ] EFA renewal application submitted before the grant year ends

The two tracks are independent. A weak portfolio does not threaten your EFA funds — the portfolio results are private. But a missed July 15 deadline or a rejected ClassWallet submission can freeze your grant regardless of how strong your academic program is.

Portfolio Evaluation Letters for EFA: What to Ask Your Evaluator

When you contact an evaluator, be explicit about what you need. The standard RSA 193-A portfolio review letter is sufficient for the academic compliance track. For the EFA funding track, you need a letter that includes a specific progress statement.

Ask: "I am an EFA family. Can you issue a letter that includes a statement that my child made educational progress, so it meets the Children's Scholarship Fund's Record of Educational Attainment requirement?"

Most NH evaluators who work with EFA families routinely issue this version. Some charge a slightly higher fee for the more formal documentation. Budget for $30 to $60 for the evaluation and confirm the letter format before your appointment.

The EFA program opens significant resources for NH families, but the documentation requirements are genuinely different from standard homeschool compliance — and more consequential if you miss a deadline. Managing both tracks with a clear system prevents the kind of last-minute scramble that leads to frozen accounts.

The New Hampshire Homeschool Portfolio Guide includes a dedicated EFA compliance section with a July 15 deadline checklist, ClassWallet documentation guidelines, and a template for the evaluator letter language required by the Children's Scholarship Fund — so both tracks stay organized in one place.

See more United States homeschool guides →