New Hampshire Charter Schools

New Hampshire charter schools are tuition-free public schools authorized either by the New Hampshire State Board of Education or by a local school board. Any New Hampshire resident may apply.

Program Type: Public charter school

Current Status: Active

Tuition: $0 – Completely FREE. New Hampshire charter schools are public schools and do not charge tuition.

Authorization: RSA 194-B (Public Chartered Schools) authorizes charter schools statewide

Oversight and Sponsorship:

• New Hampshire State Board of Education authorizes state-chartered schools
• Local school boards authorize district-chartered schools

Funding:

• Funded with public dollars on a per-pupil basis. Families pay nothing either way
• State-authorized charter schools receive state adequacy tuition plus an additional per-pupil grant of $4,900 set in state law and adjusted annually. Base adequacy was $4,265.64 per pupil in FY2026, putting the combined figure near $9,000
• The Virtual Learning Academy Charter School is funded differently, with an additional grant of $2,036 per full-time pupil
• District-authorized charter schools are funded by the resident district at not less than 80% of that district’s average cost per pupil, so the amount varies from district to district
• State-authorized charter schools receive no local property-tax funding

Who Can Attend:

• Any New Hampshire resident student in the grade span the charter school serves

Program Models: New Hampshire charter schools run a wide range of program models, including classical, Montessori, project-based, arts, STEM, competency-based, Waldorf, and dual-credit approaches.

Admission Process:

• Families enroll directly with the individual charter school
• When applications exceed seats, the school admits students through a lottery

Application Timing: There is no statewide charter application deadline. Each school sets its own, and common windows run winter through spring for enrollment the following fall. Check directly with the schools you are considering.

Program Scale:

• In its annual report to the State Board of Education, presented February 2025, the New Hampshire Department of Education counted 38 approved chartered public schools, 32 of them in operation
• 6,020 students were enrolled at that time, a 44% increase since 2019
• Counts vary by source depending on whether the statewide virtual charter school is included, so compare figures carefully

Examples of New Hampshire Charter Schools:

• Academy for Science and Design (Nashua)
• Arts Academy of NH (Salem)
• Founders Academy (Manchester)
• Compass Classical (Northfield)
• Lionheart Classical (Peterborough)
• Seacoast Charter (Dover)
• Spark Academy of Advanced Technologies (Manchester)
• Virtual Learning Academy Charter School (statewide, Exeter)
• New Hampshire Career Academy (statewide, community-college campuses)

Transportation: Not automatically provided. Each charter school sets its own transportation arrangements, so ask the school what it offers before you enroll.

Important Note: A student cannot be enrolled full-time in a charter school and receive an Education Freedom Account (EFA) at the same time.

Finding a Charter School:

• NH Department of Education: Public Charter Schools. The department’s charter school administrator can be reached at (603) 731-4821.
• New Hampshire Alliance for Public Charter Schools

Contact individual schools directly for grade spans, application dates, and enrollment details.