In New Hampshire, families are required to file a notification when they begin a home education program for their “school-aged” child. That means that if their child is six years old by September 30 of the current school year, parents/guardians must file a simple notice with their local public school district office, a private school that offers this service, or the state Department of Education. This entity is referred to as a Participating Agency. The process is very simple and takes effect as soon as the parent chooses.
The GSHE website makes this as simple as possible with optional forms along with videos and FAQs.
These Participating Agencies report the number of new notifications filed with them to the NH Department of Education as of October 1 of each year. The Participating Agency or the NH DOE make a best guess at what grade level the student is based on the child’s birth date because it is not one of the datapoints that a family must share. The enrollment data is not a running tally nor does it note any terminations filed over the year. Consequently, the department’s enrollment data may not represent the actual number of home educating students.
Nonetheless, school districts, private schools, and the NH DOE compile notification counts and it is available here.
Why Enrollment Data Matters
We hear repeatedly at HEAC meetings and through the community that many families that switch from independent home education (defined in RSA 193-A) to the Education Freedom Account (EFA, defined in RSA 194-F) are not filing terminations with their Participating Agencies as required in both state statutes. This was also a hot topic at HEAC’s September 2024 meeting.
It is important to know that the information is available because just a year ago, the NH DOE representative to the Home Education Advisory Council (HEAC) expressed concern about the home ed enrollment data.
This can too easily lead to additional home ed regulation such as:
- Annual notification such as what existed prior to 2012
- Mandatory notification of completion (graduation) regardless of age when currently it is required only for students who are 17 years old or younger
In late summer, GSHE heard that a potential bill was underway to encourage home ed completion notifications to be filed with the NH Department of Education for 2025. Several times throughout the fall, GSHE lobbied key education committee House representatives, urging them to withdraw the Legislative Service Request (LSR) before the 2025 legislative session begins. Below is an excerpt from an email to them:
As it pertains to completion (graduation) currently, home educating families only need to notify the Department of Education if their student completes the equivalent of high school prior to age 18 per Ed 315.15. If the child is 18 years old or older, no notification is required; the parents’ self-certification is sufficient. This has worked for hundreds of families with children entering college, the trades, the workforce, and the military. Several other states including Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, Massachusetts, Texas, and Utah have no completion/graduation language, with no apparent challenges to parental certification.
A complication is that the Department has been issuing a paper, not a state diploma or anything that is official. It was used recently to aid two graduates who wished to join the military and the recruitment offices wanted something that appeared more official than an affirmation from the family. While this was intended to be helpful, instead, it undermines the existing parental right to declare that their students completed home education satisfactorily.
In New Hampshire, the Education Freedom Accounts program does not have a completion notification requirement in statute or rules.
Last September, I attended an alt ed conference hosted by the Josiah Bartlett Center and VELA. The EFA was prominently featured and policy experts from around the country openly said that ESA language is modeled after home ed regulation. They also said “what government defines, government controls.”
I suggest that we leave RSA 193-A alone as is. Don’t mess with something that works quite well for most people. There isn’t a compelling argument to expose the home education statute to modification.
Keeping track of home education data and potential legislation matters. It’s all part of remaining vigilant and engaged.
