We received a few questions about a newsletter article distributed by another organization that claims families do not need to terminate a home education program when they enroll in the EFA. This was discussed at the September HEAC meeting.
Here are the facts based on three NH laws:
RSA 193:1 clearly states there are 4 educational options — 1) public ed (charter or district), 2) private school, 3) home ed, and 4) the EFA. When you leave one for the other, there is a withdrawal or switching process. It’s that simple and consistent. Regardless of how the EFA funds are used, enrolling in that program is *separate* from home education.
It is also clearly stated in both RSA 193-A (home ed law) and RSA 194-F (the EFA law), that a family must terminate their home ed program.
193-A:5, III Written notice of termination of a home education program shall be filed by the parent with the commissioner of education, the resident district superintendent, or the nonpublic school principal within 15 days of said termination
RSA 194-F:2 IX A home education program pursuant to RSA 193-A:5 is terminated upon the commencement of a student’s participation in an EFA program. A parent shall provide notification pursuant to RSA 193-A:5 when a student starts participating in an EFA program.
Further, look at the NH DOE’s website on home education that says, “Students who have previously notified as Home Educating under RSA 193-A must terminate their Home Education program in accordance with NHED rule Ed 315.06 and RSA 193-A:5(III) prior to enrolling in the EFA program pursuant to the requirements of RSA 194-F:2, IX. Additionally, unlike students notified as Home Educating under RSA 193-A, EFA students do not have the same right to access their resident public school curricular and cocurricular programs as guaranteed by RSA 193:1-c.”
Why does it matter?
The distinction between independent home ed and the EFA is the only protection 193-A families have from the dozens of hostile bills that we’ve seen since the EFA began. There have been over 30 bills filed since 2021 intended to regulate or remove the program, and of those, three — two background check bills and the statewide assessment bill — also entangled independent homeschoolers. Imagine having to fight off dozens of bills without the firewall between these two educational pathways! There would be no protection at all.
Do you value your home ed freedom? Then be vigilant and involved.
There are threats to home education everywhere — the federal and in-state push for “school choice” funding programs and continue conflation between the options, NH has “growing antagonism about home education among legislators” that I reported from the spring HEAC meetings, cases of child abuse in other states that are leading to calls for wellness checks on homeschoolers, and an anti-homeschool org pushing for more regulation of homeschoolers in many states.
Do you value the home ed freedoms we enjoy today?
- 1x notification with the ed agency of your choice
- no additional interaction with that agency again, if you so choose
- use of any resource you want without any approval or reporting to anyone else
- no tracking of your educational resource selections and use
- financial privacy
- student academic privacy
- ability to select the assessment option that reflects your child’s progress, not limited to a test or evaluation
Freedom is not free. It requires vigilance and effort.
GSHE has resources and tools to help members be effective advocates. Go to our website, www.gshenh.org, create a free account, and find the how-to guide on Making a Difference.
