The Home Education Advisory Council (HEAC) is intended to support and advise the NH Department of Education regarding their work with the home education community and be a bridge to education agencies in the public-school arena. It is the only public board that represents the home-education community at the state level. It is established in state law RSA 193-A:10 with more definition of the function and purpose in Ed rules 315.09 and 10.
Members typically meet every-other month of the traditional school year to discuss relevant issues and happenings that impact the independent, unfunded, RSA 193-A home ed community.
Videos are not part of the official public record; GSHE publishes them on our YouTube channel to benefit the home ed community. They are unedited, published without alternations or modifications.
Several new members are appointed; see the updated list for their contact information. The public is welcome to attend in person at the DOE’s Concord office or via Zoom. Details are available at the bottom of this article.
December 20, 2024
Meeting Draft Minutes – n/a
Highlights:
- New representatives of the home education community were welcomed and a new Chairman was elected after extensive discussion regarding what is a “home education organization” and how that applies to HEAC as defined in state law RSA 193-A. This is an ongoing issue at council meetings.
- Several HEAC meetings have been focused on EFA requirements, clarification, and participant questions.
- The September meeting was characterized as dominated by the EFA.
- It is unclear if council members and organizations represent the independent, 193-A home education community or are “hybrid” that also represent the Education Freedom Account community.
- There is a separate seven-member committee for the EFA that consists of families and vendors.
- Three members of the public provided comment. Michelle Levell addressed concerns that arose from the September meeting. Amanda Weeden remarked that a post from a GSHE private group on Facebook was shared without consent or any attempt to contact her; by sharing it with the NH DOE, it became subject to NH’s Right to Know law. The council recommends making more effort to vet future information that is shared from the community. Amanda also encouraged the council to remain focused on 193-A home education. Another member of the public reiterated her concern that a council member shared information without making an attempt to contact the author prior to it being shared with the department and council.
- Michelle Rohrbacher (CHENH/SME) mentioned concerns regarding the Education Tax Credit scholarship program having more delayed reimbursements and a perception that the Children’s Scholarship Fund is “pushing the ETC aside.” Per the council’s direction, she will draft a letter to Commissioner Edelblut and it will be discussed at the next council meeting. She also read a letter from Amanda Weeden to HEAC re the perceived over-focus on EFA issues when the council is charged with serving the independent home education community alone. Dianne Nolin (secretary, Catholics United for Home Education) said that the Commissioner has discretion about who is appointed to the council. More discussion about what constitutes a “home education organization” and its relevance to HEAC ensued.
Contact us at info@GraniteStateHomeEducators.org if you have any questions or wish to discuss our summary of any HEAC meeting.
Next Meetings
HEAC meets at the NH Department of Education’s office at 25 Hall Street in Concord. They meet on the second Friday of alternating months starting at 2:30pm, unless announced otherwise. The public may attend in-person or via Zoom. Zoom meeting information is available here. The scheduled 2024-25 meeting dates are as follows.
Friday, January 10, 2025
Friday, February 14, 2025 (if needed)
Friday, March 14, 2025
Friday, April 11, 2025 (if needed)
Friday, May 9, 2025
Friday, June 13, 2025 (if needed
Links to meeting minutes and members’ contact information are available on the NH DOE’s HEAC page.
Read More About HEAC
Response to HEAC’s September 2024 Meeting
