New Hampshire Funding Guide: ESA, Medicaid Waivers, and Homeschool Funding
Facts checked September 18, 2026 · 6-minute read · by the Brainrich Kids team
New Hampshire runs a universal Education Freedom Account, and its children's Medicaid waiver reports no waitlist. Neither one names play equipment as a covered purchase, and the EFA handbook lists home exercise gear as non-allowable. Here is what each official source says.
The quick answer for New Hampshire: New Hampshire's Education Freedom Account (EFA) is universal, worth a base of about $4,351 in 2026-27 and more with differentiated aid. The 12,500-student cap was reached in August 2026, with priority groups exempt. The Children's Scholarship Fund NH handbook lists exercise machines and trampolines as non-allowable recreational items, so a play gym is not an established EFA purchase. For a child with a developmental disability, the In Home Supports Waiver (ages 0 to 21) lists "Assistive Technology" and "Individual Goods and Services," and the state reports no waitlist.
Please read this first: program rules, amounts, and waitlists change every year, sometimes mid-year, and no vendor can promise that a program will approve a purchase. Every row below was checked against the linked source on September 18, 2026. Before you spend a dollar, confirm the current rules with the program itself.
Jump to: New Hampshire facts table · Can this fund a Brainrich gym? · Next steps · FAQ · The full guides · Sources
New Hampshire funding facts at a glance
Three kinds of public money can reach a family in New Hampshire: an education account or scholarship, a Medicaid waiver for a child with a developmental disability, and any homeschool-specific tax benefit. Here is what each official source says.
| Question | What the official source says (New Hampshire) | Source |
|---|---|---|
| ESA or scholarship program | Education Freedom Account (EFA). Active. | CSF NH |
| Who runs it | New Hampshire Department of Education, administered by the Children's Scholarship Fund NH (CSF NH). | NH Dept. of Education |
| Amount per student | 2025-26 base: $4,265.64. By the statutory formula (2% a year, rounded up from July 2026) the 2026-27 base works out to about $4,351, with differentiated aid on top for meal eligibility, special education, and English learners. CSF NH itself says "approximately $4,000 base." Paid in four installments. Confirm your child's exact figure with CSF NH. | RSA 198:40-d |
| Who qualifies | Universal since 2025, no income limit: NH resident, K to 12 age, not enrolled full time in a district or charter school. Cap: 12,500 students for 2026-27, reached in August 2026 (943 on the waitlist). Current students, siblings, children with disabilities, and families at or below 350% of the federal poverty level are exempt from the cap. | CSF NH cap notice |
| Can homeschoolers use it? | Partly. You can keep teaching at home, but the child stops being an RSA 193-A home education student and legally becomes an EFA student. CSF NH reports the child to the state, and leaving means filing a new homeschool Letter of Intent. | CSF NH FAQ |
| Curriculum | Allowed: "Textbooks, curriculum, or other instructional materials." | RSA 194-F:2 |
| Therapies and therapy equipment | Therapy services are allowed (occupational, behavioral, physical, speech-language). Therapy equipment is not addressed, and the handbook lists "medical equipment and supplies" as non-allowable. | CSF NH handbook |
| PE and play equipment | Not an established purchase. The handbook's non-allowable "recreational items" include exercise and aerobic machines, bicycles, and trampolines. The statute has a catch all for "any other educational expense approved by the scholarship organization," and CSF NH asks families to email for approval before buying. | CSF NH handbook |
| How purchases work | ClassWallet: digital wallet, marketplace, and reimbursement. | CSF NH |
| Medicaid waiver for children | In Home Supports (IHS) Waiver for Children with Developmental Disabilities, ages 0 to 21, run by the NH DHHS Bureau of Developmental Services through the area agencies. | Medicaid.gov |
| Equipment category to ask for | "Assistive Technology" and "Individual Goods and Services" (also "Environmental and Vehicle Modifications"). Dollar limits per service: confirm with the program. | NH DHHS |
| Waiver waitlist | NH DHHS states the IHS waiver "does not currently have a waitlist." Confirm with your area agency, since we could read this statement only in an official search snippet. | NH DHHS |
| Katie Beckett or TEFRA option | Yes: Home Care for Children with Severe Disabilities (HC-CSD), under age 19, where only the child's income counts. | NH DHHS manual |
| Other homeschool funding | None found on official sources. A home education family that does not join the EFA receives no state funding, and New Hampshire has no broad income tax to credit against. | Ask the program |
A row that reads "Confirm with the program" means we could not verify that fact on an official source, so we left it open instead of guessing.
Can this fund a Brainrich gym in New Hampshire?
A Brainrich gym is a steel indoor climbing frame: ladders, monkey bars, rings, a rope, and a swing point, for ages 3 and up with a parent in the same room. Programs do not approve brands. They approve categories, one purchase at a time. Here is how each lane looks today.
Not an established purchase
Education Freedom Account
The CSF NH handbook lists home exercise machines and trampolines as non-allowable recreational items, and nothing in the statute or handbook names PE or play equipment as allowed. The only opening is the catch all for other educational expenses, which needs CSF NH's approval by email before you buy. Plan on funding a gym another way unless CSF NH tells you otherwise in writing.
Case by case
In Home Supports Waiver
This is the stronger New Hampshire lane for a child with a developmental disability. Ask your area agency about "Assistive Technology" and "Individual Goods and Services." Approval is decided case by case in your child's individual service plan, usually with an OT or PT recommendation attached, and most waivers pay only after regular Medicaid or private insurance has said no. No state approves play equipment automatically.
Needs a Letter of Medical Necessity
HSA and FSA dollars (the same in every state)
HSA and FSA rules are federal, so New Hampshire families follow the same path as everyone else: with a qualifying diagnosis and a Letter of Medical Necessity, a play gym may be eligible. Your plan administrator makes the final call. Start with is a play gym HSA/FSA eligible? and the Letter of Medical Necessity template.
What Brainrich does, and does not do. We never promise that a program will approve a purchase. That decision belongs to the program. Applications, service plans, and therapist letters are the family's and their professional's work.
The one document we provide is an itemized invoice or quote. Email info@brainrichkids.com with (1) your full name, (2) your address, and (3) the model and color. We send back the invoice with shipping, applicable taxes, and the full total, ready for a case worker or a program portal.
🧩 A budget does not have to cover the whole build
Every Brainrich gym is modular. A Model T3 that fits this year's budget becomes a Spider V3 the day you add the Monkey Bars, and each add-on is its own purchase with its own invoice. Families fund the frame from one budget cycle and the expansion from a later one, out of pocket, or as a gift. That means matching real purchases to real budget cycles. It never means splitting a single purchase to slip under a review threshold, which programs treat as a red flag.
Next steps for New Hampshire families
1. EFA families: email CSF NH for approval before buying anything outside the listed categories. If you are not enrolled, check whether your child falls in a priority group that is exempt from the cap.
2. If your child has a developmental disability, contact your area agency about the In Home Supports Waiver now. The state reports no waitlist.
3. When a case worker, support broker, or program portal asks for pricing, request an itemized invoice from us: email info@brainrichkids.com with your full name, your address, and the model and color. We reply with shipping, applicable taxes, and the full total.
Frequently asked questions: New Hampshire
Does New Hampshire have an ESA (education savings account)? Yes. The Education Freedom Account is universal, with no income limit since 2025, and is administered by the Children's Scholarship Fund NH through ClassWallet. The 2025-26 base was $4,265.64, and the statutory formula puts the 2026-27 base at about $4,351 plus differentiated aid. The 12,500-student cap for 2026-27 was reached in August 2026, though priority groups are exempt.
Can New Hampshire homeschoolers use the EFA? Partly. A family can keep teaching at home, but the child legally becomes an EFA student instead of an RSA 193-A home education student. Read the participation terms before you sign.
Can a New Hampshire EFA pay for a play gym or PE equipment? It is not an established purchase. The CSF NH handbook lists exercise machines and trampolines as non-allowable recreational items. The statute allows other educational expenses only when the scholarship organization approves them, so ask CSF NH in writing before buying.
Which New Hampshire Medicaid waiver can fund sensory or adaptive equipment? The In Home Supports Waiver for children ages 0 to 21 lists "Assistive Technology" and "Individual Goods and Services." NH DHHS reports no waitlist. Whether a specific item is approved is decided case by case in the child's service plan.
Does Brainrich work with New Hampshire funding programs? We provide the itemized invoice or quote that New Hampshire programs and case workers ask for: email info@brainrichkids.com with your full name, your address, and the model and color, and we send it back with shipping, applicable taxes, and the full total. We do not prepare applications or service plans, and we never promise that a program will approve a purchase. That decision belongs to the program.
📚 The full funding guides
Can You Buy PE and Play Equipment With ESA Funds? · State Disability Waiver Programs: All 50 States · Homeschool Grants and Funding, State by State · Is a Play Gym HSA/FSA Eligible? · Letter of Medical Necessity Template · Financial Assistance: every door in one place · Funding guides for other states
Sources
All sources checked September 18, 2026. CSF NH. Education Freedom Accounts. · CSF NH. Parent FAQ, September 2025. · CSF NH. Parent Handbook. · CSF NH. Enrollment cap notice, August 2026. · NH RSA 194-F:2, qualifying expenses. · NH RSA 198:40-a and 198:40-d, adequacy amounts and annual adjustment. · Medicaid.gov. New Hampshire waiver factsheet. · NH DHHS. In Home Supports Waiver services FAQ.