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, unless otherwise announced, to discuss relevant issues and happenings that impact the independent, unfunded, RSA 193-A home ed community.
GSHE publishes HEAC videos 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 on the NH Department of Education’s website page for HEAC. 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.
May 9, 2025
Highlights:
At this month’s HEAC meeting, members offered critique and suggestions for the recently updated Home Education FAQ page on the NHED website. They also reviewed the proposed text of HEAC’s Annual Report 2024-25. The big topic of discussion, though, which also permeated the previous two, concerned the continuing battle to achieve clarity in the minds of both legislators and the public regarding the differences between Home Education and the EFA program.
The questions/answers from the NHED FAQ pages that generated discussion among members were Will my student receive a diploma at the conclusion of their Home Education program, Is my student eligible for EFA funding if they are enrolled in the Home Education program, and What is the difference between the Home Education program and homeschooling? Michelle Rohrbacher pointed out that the answer to the diploma question in the FAQ only states that the DoE issues a document acknowledging completion, which is not a diploma, and doesn’t really answer the question asked. She said the FAQ answer should state that parents have the legal right to produce a diploma completing a home education program. Also, Rep. Peternel briefly questioned whether notification to the DoE was required, and the membership confirmed that for students under 18 such notification was required. Though not discussed at the meeting, an email submitted for public comment by Michelle Levell raised concern that the DoE went beyond what was required by statute by issuing diploma-like documents, and accepting transcripts and notifications for students 18 and over. Such practices were cited by a former DoE representative to HEAC to suggest additional reporting requirements to the state. She requested that HEAC discuss this concern and asked that the DOE limit notifications only to what the law requires. Commissioner Edelblut’s replies to her emails were also submitted, wherein he stated he saw no problem sending certificates of completion, as a kindness and celebration of students completing their home ed program. He also stated it was incorrect that the DoE collected transcripts. Levell clarified in a second email that it was misinformed families that were sending more information than was required, and was something GSHE was trying to correct throughout the community this time of year. GSHE’s position is that going beyond the statute, while intended as a kindness, is “extra legal” and sets a potentially bad precedent.
Althea Barton suggested that the FAQ answer to the EFA question, “Students enrolled in the Home Education program are *not eligible* for EFA funding” could be answered with more positive connotation, to which Rebecca Anderson suggested “While enrolled in a Home Education program, students are not eligible” might give the answer a more positive spin. Also, Rep. Drye pointed out that it would be more accurate for the FAQ to state that a home education program should be terminated upon enrollment in the EFA program instead of upon application. The question regarding the difference between Home Education and homeschooling received the most discussion, with some members wondering if presenting a distinction between the terms would just invite confusion in the minds of those newly exploring the option of home educating. There was some talk of moving the question to earlier in the FAQ pages, and also of eliminating the question altogether. Members agreed that, if included, the question should present “Home Education” as the term in legal statute, with “homeschooling” presented as a colloquial term. Further discussion was put off until the next meeting in June.
The text in the draft Annual Report made mention of HEACs efforts in regard to facilitating communication between the NH DOE and various homeschool community representatives, promoting an understanding of Home Education, assisting with rule making efforts, and keeping members informed regarding home education law and rules. There has been rapid growth in the home education community this year, and HEAC has also increased its membership and its number of meetings, with more public interest and comment. The report also put forward those issues surrounding the EFA program has taken a substantial amount of attention from the council, especially from continually having to deal with the EFA program’s impact on both the public and legislator perceptions of the home educator community. For an example of legislator conflation of the home education and EFA pathways, consider remarks by Senator Ruth Ward. During this meeting, she mentioned that government demands for accountability have to do with the EFA program not being strict with income level eligibility, as well as the public having the (erroneous) perception that the EFA program is raising taxes, neither of which the home education community has anything to do with. She also asked Chairman Zuech to send her his ideas about how to improve the EFA program, which was not really appropriate during a meeting devoted to 193-A. Also, according to RSA 194-F:5 an EFA council exists to deal with its own issues. Senator Ward said she was unaware of the existence of this council, even though there was a recent Senate Education Committee hearing on a relevant bill, HB 676 (2025), just days prior. This is particularly concerning as Senator Ward also is chair of the EFA Legislative Oversight Committee.
The final proposed paragraph of the report was rather contentious, as it said that the council as a body sees the EFA program being used for home-based education as a long-term threat to the rights of home educators. Members were split between supporting this point of view and asking for more debate as a body before claiming this view as a consensus. Reps. Drye and Peternel discouraged using abrasive terms. They strongly suggested sticking with more positive language, especially if the home education community wanted to keep legislator support, which according to Peternel is waning because of infighting in the wider homeschool community. Chairman Zuech said he would rather drop the paragraph entirely than water it down with ‘bureaucratese’, and that if the council debates and doesn’t agree the council could simply take no position.
Earlier in the meeting, Zuech wondered if there was any hope of limiting the use of EFA funds to private schools, since those few using it for at parent-directed at-home schooling expenses were causing the problems. He was also curious what advantage the EFA had over a voucher program at private schools where the state already had some oversight via accreditation. Rep. Drye replied that money going to parents, who then decide where it is going, gets around the state giving money directly to religious schools. Rohrbacher pointed out that since the structure and oversight were already in place for the Education Tax Credit (ETC) program, as well as the facts that the ETC program uses private donations instead of public funds, and that use of the ETC would not change the legal pathway from home education, that ETC should be the program for home educators to use.
In regard to Equal Access as defined in RSA 193:1-c, O’Rourke asked the council how principals should determine who is eligible and who should be charged, saying he felt it wasn’t appropriate to ask directly. Barton said it was very appropriate to ask families seeking Equal Access if they are receiving public money. Rohrbacher suggested asking families to attest to whether or not they receive EFA funds. Other suggestions included obtaining a list of those using the EFA from CSF, or asking for SASID numbers, although those in the ETC also have SASID numbers. Per state law, and noted in the NH DOE’s pathway pages, EFA participants are not eligible to participate in curricular and co-curricular programs offered at their local schools at no additional fee through Equal Access.
Positives from the council meeting included Anderson and Rohrbacher reporting a successful curriculum sharing event co-hosted by CHENH/SME, Prax Village and GSHE. Several home education success stories submitted to HEAC in public comment. Anderson commented there were many young families attending the picks and pans curriculum event, excited to look at curriculum and ask questions. Rohrbacher related that, at the event she was able to properly inform families that, while there are general state education requirements, transcripts can be shaped to show students’ ambitions and pursuits for secondary education, and need not be submitted to any authority. This information produced a great sense of relief to the parents she spoke with. This is consistent with GSHE’s information, including a recent blog article about home ed graduation.
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, June 13, 2025
Links to meeting minutes and members’ contact information are available on the NH DOE’s HEAC page.
Read More About HEAC
HEAC Attempts to Improve Home Ed Communication
HEAC is Focused on Home Ed and the EFA is Public Education
HEAC Struggles to Define Mission and Statutory Obligations
Response to HEAC’s September 2024 Meeting
Confusion About Terminating a Home Ed Program
HEAC summary written by Deb Sullivan
