Without any discussion with the home education community or advance warning to the Home Education Advisory Council (HEAC), a non-germane (unrelated) amendment, #2025-2234h, was filed on a public education bill, SB 57, by Republicans in an ambush effort to dissolve HEAC. The amendment has a public hearing on Tuesday, May 27, 2025 at 10:30am in the House Education Policy and Administration Committee in the Legislative Office Building (LOB), room 205-207.
WHAT: SB 57 amendment public hearing that includes a non-germane section to dissolve the Home Education Advisory Council (HEAC)
WHERE: House Education Policy and Administration Committee in Legislative Office Building, 33 N State Street, Concord, rooms 205-207
WHEN: Tuesday, May 27 at 10:30am
ACTION STEPS
1. Sign in using the House’s remote testimony portal.
2. Email the committee; emails are available on the GSHE website here, in our Make a Difference how-to guide.
3. Attend in person to testify using the pink cards to indicate you wish to speak and turn it in to a committee member; keep remarks limited to 3 min or less. This is the most effective option.
4. Attend in person to sign in your position on the bill – there’s a sheet of paper on a table near the door; your presence can speak volumes.
DETAILS
Republicans are irritated with GSHE, CHENH, and others who have protected the statutory definition of HEAC serving the 193-A community. Concerns have been brought forward to Commissioner Edelblut in private before they were discussed at HEAC in public or published on GSHE and in other Facebook groups.
The original purpose of HEAC was to be a communication bridge between the home ed community and the DOE as well as other educational pathway organizations including the NH School Board Association, School Administration Association, Association of School Principals, and the nonpublic school advisory council.
With the favorable deregulation in recent years, a primary responsibility of HEAC is no longer needed to be a platform for families who had to submit to retributions from SAUs that previously had great power over home ed students and programs.
Over the past several years, various home ed support organizations worked together to make HEAC more functional and effective, to better meet the purpose of the council.
Unfortunately, these efforts have been stifled, I believe, by the DOE’s unwillingness to be attentive to the concerns and issues HEAC raised in meetings as well as annual reports. Although HEAC is statutorily focused on 193-A home education, some appointed members continued to conflate the Education Freedom Account with independent home education. This was exacerbated when the Commissioner appointed an EFA vendor to the council this fall.
THIS AMENDMENT IS A HIGHLY DIVISIVE ISSUE WITHIN THE 193-A COMMUNITY and does not have broad support.
BACKGROUND
GSHE has closely followed HEAC for years and publishes summaries after each meeting. You can find the 2024-25 reports here.
HEAC Seeks Clarity re Home Education
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
