Legal News

Home Education Rules Ed 315 have been updated to align with the law

On June 9, 2010, the Home Education rules, Ed 315, were updated in three main areas to keep them in line with current home education law.The age 16 references were changed to 18, the section on subjects and scope and sequence was deleted, and the addition of legislative members to the Home Education Advisory Council (HEAC) was included. Read the current rules here: http://www.education.nh.gov/legislation/ed315.htm.

Past Legislation

Age of Compulsory Attendance raised to 18 as of July 1, 2009

As of July 1, homeschoolers will need to send in a letter of notification for students who are 16 or 17. And if a student has not reached the age of 18 by the end of the school year, you will need to send in an evaluation for them at the end of the year.

You can find a summary of the requirements for older teens at each step of the way for the past year and the year ahead in this table.

If your student has finished high school but is younger than 18, you must certify high school completion with the New Hampshire Department of Education. Send a letter to the Commissioner of Education at the Department of Education. No homeschooling notification or evaluation is required for students enrolled full-time in college (“an accredited post-secondary education program”).

These changes are due to Senate Bill 18 which raised the age of compulsory attendance to 18.

Read the final text of SB337.  This is the bill that requires homeschoolers to send a letter of notification by the first day of school in their district, or within 5 days of withdrawing a child from school.  It also established the HB337
Commission whose report is not released yet, but the Commission did recommend no
changes to the homeschooling law.

How will SB18 and HB99 affect homeschoolers? 
Read more...

Home Education Advisory Council

The Home Education Advisory Council (HEAC) meets monthly to discuss
homeschooling issues. Advising the NH Board of Education, the HEAC has members
who are homeschoolers as well as representatives from the Department of
Education, public school administrators, school board members, and a
representative of private schools. If you want to be informed of homeschooling
issues and lend support to our representatives, attend a meeting. The HEAC meets
on the second Tuesday of the month, 3:30-5:00, room 15, Department of Education.
Contact Abbey Lawrence for more info, 539-7233. Also check

http://www.ed.state.nh.us/education/doe/organization/accountability/HEAC.htm  at the Department of Education website.  You will not be allowed to participate in Council discussion.