For the third consecutive year, New Hampshire has been named one of the nation’s leaders for Most Effective Implementation of a universal school choice program by EdChoice. It is a distinction few states achieve and even fewer sustain.
In its newly released 2026 EdChoice Yearbook Superlatives, EdChoice again recognized New Hampshire, alongside Tennessee, for excellence not only in policy design but in turning policy into practice. While the recognition is awarded at the state level, it reflects the day-to-day work of the Education Freedom Account (EFA) program’s nonprofit administrator, Children’s Scholarship Fund (CSF), and the families the program serves.
Three consecutive years of national recognition reflect more than a successful launch. They reflect a system families can rely on, even during periods of rapid growth and significant policy change.
Why Implementation Matters
Passing a law is one thing, but making it work for real families is another.
Across the country, EdChoice has observed that the strongest school choice programs are not defined by headlines alone, but by whether families can depend on them. Effective programs open on time, communicate clearly, process applications efficiently, safeguard taxpayer dollars, and adapt responsibly as enrollment grows.
For families, strong implementation means applications are processed when school decisions are being made, accounts are funded on time, and approved educational expenses are handled consistently and fairly.
That is the standard New Hampshire has met and sustained, including through a pivotal year for the program. With the passage of SB 295, the Education Freedom Account program expanded to serve all New Hampshire families, and demand surged. Implementation excellence mattered more than ever, not as an abstract goal, but as the difference between families feeling supported or being left to navigate a complex system on their own.
What “Most Effective Implementation” Looked Like in New Hampshire
In August 2025, CSF announced a historic milestone: 10,000 students enrolled in Education Freedom Accounts for the 2025–26 school year, with additional families still seeking access. That milestone was not simply a number. It represented thousands of individual decisions by families searching for the learning environment where their child could thrive.
As CSF Executive Director Kate Baker Demers said at the time, “That number represents thousands of individual decisions by families trying to find the education setting where their child can thrive. “Every one of those students has a story, and effective implementation is what turns educational choice into real opportunity for families.”
Meeting that level of demand required more than goodwill. It required operational discipline, strong systems, and the capacity to manage a high-volume program at scale while maintaining consistency and trust.
Today, CSF administers tens of thousands of EFA transactions each year, supporting families across a wide range of educational settings, including public schools, private schools, homeschooling, tutoring, therapies, and hybrid learning models. As enrollment has grown, CSF has demonstrated the ability to scale responsibly while maintaining strong internal controls and responsive family support.
What Sets CSF’s Implementation Apart
Strong implementation does not require sacrificing accountability. In New Hampshire, it has meant building a system where flexibility for families and rigorous financial oversight reinforce one another.
CSF operates the EFA program with an administrative and implementation rate of approximately 7.83 percent, meaning more than 92 percent of funds flow directly to students’ educational expenses. This level of efficiency compares favorably with nationally recognized nonprofit scholarship organizations and is well below the administrative overhead typical of large public education systems.
That stewardship has been validated repeatedly. Nonprofit audits and required state oversight reviews have consistently confirmed compliance, strong financial controls, and program integrity.
Oversight is further strengthened through modern program administration technology. CSF has invested in tools such as optical character recognition and automated transaction screening systems that allow receipts and invoices to be scanned, categorized, and reviewed efficiently. These systems improve accuracy and speed while maintaining detailed audit trails. Transactions are processed through secure, purpose-built platforms that flag anomalies, enforce eligible-expense rules, and enable real-time monitoring without adding unnecessary friction for families.
Technology does not replace human judgment. Every EFA transaction is reviewed by hand, allowing automated safeguards and individualized review to work together. The result is strong oversight that protects taxpayer dollars while remaining accessible and user-friendly for families.
Families are required to document expenses, but the system is designed to support compliance rather than punish mistakes. Automated tools, manual review, and responsive customer support work together to reduce friction while maintaining accountability.
Built on Experience and Institutional Knowledge
CSF brings decades of experience administering need-based scholarships and education choice programs in New Hampshire. That institutional knowledge directly informed the design and rollout of the Education Freedom Account program and helped avoid common startup challenges seen in other states.
The organization’s long-standing role administering Education Tax Credit scholarships provided a strong foundation for fiscal discipline, compliance, and family engagement. Those same principles now underpin EFA administration.
Education Freedom Accounts are structured as limited grants for specific educational purposes, not unrestricted cash accounts. CSF’s systems enforce statutory eligibility rules while preserving flexibility for students with disabilities, unique learning needs, and non-traditional education paths. Accountability is aligned with the program’s purpose.
Real Families, Real Outcomes
The clearest measure of implementation is what it enables.
Over the past year, CSF has supported families using Education Freedom Accounts across a wide range of educational paths. Some families combine part-time public school enrollment with tutoring and enrichment. Others access therapies and specialized services tailored to children with disabilities. Rural families assemble hybrid learning models that would otherwise be unavailable.
Stories like those of the LaMontagne family, the Clegg family, and students such as Elianny illustrate what happens when a program is implemented in a way families can actually use. These are not edge cases. They are everyday outcomes of a system designed to work for people, not just on paper.
Recognition That Reflects a Broader Pattern
This year’s EdChoice Superlatives also named New Hampshire:
- Best Universal Options, for allowing families to use education funds flexibly across a wide range of educational goods and services
- Most Inspiring, for pairing strong policy with leadership that has influenced reform beyond the state’s borders
Taken together, these recognitions point to a clear conclusion: New Hampshire is not an experiment or an outlier. It is a proven model.
While some states have faced delayed launches, vendor failures, or unclear guidance during periods of rapid expansion, New Hampshire’s program has remained stable, transparent, and dependable as participation has grown.
Looking Ahead
CSF’s work is guided by a simple mission: ensuring that families, regardless of income, geography, or learning need, can access educational options that work for their children. Implementation excellence is not an end in itself, but the means by which that mission becomes real.
As the program continues to grow, CSF remains focused on stewardship. That means preserving what works, refining what can be improved, and ensuring the Education Freedom Account program remains dependable for families year after year.
CSF is proud to help administer a program that continues to earn national recognition and even more proud of the students and families who make that success meaningful every day.
About EdChoice
EdChoice is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan organization committed to advancing a K–12 education system that empowers every family to choose the schooling environment that best fits their children’s needs. Its mission is to advance educational freedom and choice as a pathway to successful lives and a stronger society.
