Can the NH EFA Pay for Private School Tuition?

Yes — Tuition Is a Qualifying Expense

Under RSA 194-F:2, II, tuition and fees at a non-public elementary or secondary school are one of the 15 statutory categories of approved EFA expenses. This includes religious schools, secular private schools, and online private academies.

The EFA was designed partly for this purpose. After SB 295 removed the income cap, families already paying private school tuition could apply for an EFA and direct the grant toward that cost — regardless of household income.

How the Payment Works

Private school tuition is paid through ClassWallet's Direct Pay feature. Here's the sequence:

1. The private school registers as an approved vendor in the ClassWallet system (most established NH private schools already are).
2. The school issues an itemized invoice showing the student's name, the tuition period, and the amount due.
3. You upload the invoice to ClassWallet and submit a Direct Pay request.
4. CSF NH reviews and approves the request.
5. ClassWallet sends the payment directly to the school's bank account.

You don't handle the money yourself. The funds move from your child's EFA account straight to the school.

The Math: What the Grant Actually Covers

Base EFA aid for 2026-27 is $4,351 per student. Depending on the qualifying categories, differentiated aid can raise the total from $5,200 (ELL only) to $9,870 (all three categories).

Most New Hampshire private school tuitions run well above that. A parochial elementary school might charge $6,000-$10,000 per year; a secular preparatory school can be $20,000+. The EFA won't cover the full bill at most private schools, but it offsets a meaningful portion.

The gap between the EFA award and actual tuition is your responsibility — paid directly to the school out of pocket, not through ClassWallet. You cannot deposit personal funds into the ClassWallet account.

One advantage: unused EFA funds roll forward each year. If your child starts in a lower-cost setting (homeschool curriculum, online academy), the accumulated balance can be applied to private school tuition in a later year.

What Counts as "Tuition and Fees"

The statutory category covers:

• Tuition for full-time or part-time enrollment
• Registration fees and mandatory enrollment fees
• Lab fees, technology fees, and activity fees charged by the school as part of the enrollment package
• Uniforms if required by the school's dress code policy

It does not cover:

• Optional school trip costs (unless tied to a specific educational objective and purchased through ClassWallet)
• Lunch programs or cafeteria fees
• Donations, fundraising contributions, or capital campaign assessments
• Transportation to the school (though transportation is separately eligible under a different EFA category)

The Enrollment Requirement

An EFA student cannot be enrolled full-time in a public school or public charter school — but full-time private school enrollment is perfectly compatible with EFA status. In fact, using the EFA to fund private school tuition while attending that school full-time is one of the program's primary use cases.

The child's legal status under the EFA is not "homeschooled." They're classified as an EFA student satisfying compulsory attendance under RSA 193:1, I(i). A private school's testing can satisfy the Record of Educational Attainment requirement if it meets one of CSF NH's accepted assessment pathways and provides the required results.

What to Watch

Verify the school is a registered ClassWallet vendor. If it isn't, tuition payments can't flow through the platform. The school can register at any point, but processing takes time — don't wait until tuition is due.

Submit tuition invoices before each quarterly disbursement. EFA funds arrive in four tranches (September, November, January, April). Aligning your Direct Pay requests with the disbursement schedule prevents cash flow gaps.

Keep tuition invoices itemized per student. If you have multiple children at the same school, each child needs a separate invoice tied to their own EFA account. Bundled family invoices get rejected.

For a complete walkthrough of the tuition payment process, including invoice formatting requirements that pass CSF NH review on the first submission, see the New Hampshire EFA Parent Guide.

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