Legal News

Upcoming Meetings

House of Representatives Session (HB1580 to be voted on) Wednesday, March 17, 2:00

Board of Education working group on ED315 9:00,Thursday, March 18, 2010.
Please see the article below for details.

Board of Education Obtains an Extension to Work on the Homeschooling Rules ED315

On Wednesday, March 10, the NH Board of Education discussed the matter of a Final Proposal for Ed 315, the home education rules. The board had received a significant amount of public comment on the Initial Proposal, and also on a document, produced by the Department of Education at the request of the chairman, John Lyons, which contained four choices for various sections of the rules (see documents below). The acting chair, Stephen L'Heureux, stated that during his three year tenure, the board had never had such a contentious set of rules. He had sought and obtained a 30-day waiver from the Joint Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules (JLCAR) for the submission of a Final Proposal; otherwise the board would have been required to approve one that day, or start over with the rule-making process. He proposed that a working group, made up of a BOE member (himself), four homeschoolers (Abbey Lawrence - chair of the Home Education Advisory Council, Chris Hamilton, Mary Faiella, and Kristine Bolstridge), and a DOE representative (Paul Leather, who is under consideration for the vacant position of Deputy Commissioner) create a Final Proposal to bring before the BOE for a vote at its April 14 meeting. The Commissioner of Education, Virginia Barry, has committed to being part of this process. The basis of the Final Proposal is to be a document containing the recommendations of the Council, and the resulting document will take into account feedback from JLCAR staff, public input, and board preferences. The board voted unanimously to adopt Stephen L’Heureux’s 30-day waiver.

During the public comment period, Abbey Lawrence read a statement (posted below) which included a motion from HEAC asking the board to request a 60-day waiver, to allow the council to make technical corrections to its original proposal. Chris Hamilton provided the board with a document containing that proposal, and another document with needed technical changes. Michael Faiella said that the draft Final Proposal exceeds the both the spirit and letter of RSA 193-A and that it overturns 20 years of precedent in the process and the product. Mary Faiella spoke of the extent to which the consent of the governed in the homeschooling community had eroded in the face of recent events and how important it was that the Board response to the rules' situation should be open and public. Kristine Bolstridge stated that after reviewing the four column draft final proposal she was wondering why the 4th column did not include suggested discussion items submitted by the home-schooling community and that she supported the 60-day waiver request by HEAC. George D'Orazio said that the Initial and Final Proposals were not the result of collaboration with stakeholders, and stated that there had never in the many years he had served on the council been such a divergence between the council's recommendations and proposals made by the department. (View the relevant documents at the end of the article.)

During the Commissioner's report, Virginia Barry stated she was very surprised and upset to return from Washington to find the document with four columns. Before she left, she had left specific directions for what she wanted, and that document was not what she expected.

The working group will meet at 9AM on Thursday, March 18 in the Board Room at the DOE, 101 Pleasant St, Concord, NH. A second meeting is scheduled for 9AM on Thursday, April 1 at the same place. Commissioner Barry has committed to attending the second meeting. If additional meetings are required, they will be scheduled at the March 18 meeting. Meeting notices will be published at the DOE website. All meetings are open to the public.

Remarks to the State Board from the Home Education Advisory Council, March 10, 2010- Abbey Lawrence

The Executive Summary that accompanied the initial proposal last October gave as the rationale for action "language changes to the rules as a result of changes in the law (RSA 193-A) due to the enactment of Chapter 13 of the Laws of 2006 and Chapter 344 of the Laws of 2008."

This summary omitted another change that necessitated the revisions, namely Chapter 242 of the Laws of 2007. In any case, the State Board really should understand that the Advisory Council's version of the rules fully and clearly accommodated the needed changes, in a process that was at all times in the open. The changes the DOE made to the rules were not warranted, not authorized by any change in the law, and not done in the open.

The final proposal you now have before you is deeply flawed, and includes provisions not authorized by any changes to the law, and which conflict with legislative intent and the practice of 20 years.

Yesterday the HEAC passed this motion:

"Due to problems in the proposal under consideration, the Council respectfully requests the State Board of Education to request an extra sixty days from JLCAR so that the Council can make technical corrections to its March 10, 2009 proposal in order that the proposal can serve as a recommended Final Proposal."

The Council also wished me to convey our thanks to the Commissioner for the time she has put into this. And I know each of you has had much time taken up in reading and answering emails and phone calls. I am sorry for the trouble, as I am sorry for the hundreds of hours that my fellow homeschoolers have had to put into this matter. Let me remind you that it would not have happened had the Department not overreached with rules revisions that were uncalled for .

If you begin with the HEAC's proposal--the left column in the document the DOE provided you--there are a very few technical corrections needed to create a new Final Proposal. Chris Hamilton has already done most of the work necessary to accomplish this.

Documents referenced above
ED315 Proposal from the Home Education Advisory Council, March 10, 2010
Technical changes to the Proposal from the HEAC, March 10, 2010
The Four Column Comparison of the Rules Proposed by HEAC and by the Department of Education
If you cannot see these documents, please click here to download Adobe Acrobat for free.

HB1580 An Act Relative to Homeschooling

House Bill 1580, proposed by the Parents First group, leaves the responsibility for a child's education in the hands of the parents, who may choose to homeschool, to homeschool under the current law RSA193-A, to send the child to a public school, or to a private school. The bill is scheduled to be voted on in the House on Wednesday, March 10. There is a possibility the House will not get to the bill until Thursday, March 11. Some

HB 1580 – AS INTRODUCED

2010 SESSION

10-2632

04/05

HOUSE BILL 1580

AN ACT relative to home schooling.

SPONSORS: Rep. Ingbretson, Graf 5; Rep. Vita, Straf 3; Rep. Willette, Hills 6; Rep. Hogan, Hills 25

COMMITTEE: Education

ANALYSIS

This bill establishes that parents have a natural, fundamental right to determine and direct the education of their children. The bill also exempts children who are receiving educational instruction from a parent from the compulsory attendance requirements.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

10-2632

04/05

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Ten

AN ACT relative to home schooling.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 Compulsory Attendance by Pupil; Duty of Parent. Amend the section heading in RSA 193:1 and RSA 193:1, I to read as follows:

The term “duty of parent” dates back to the first compulsory attendance law of New Hampshire in 1871, G.L. 91: 14, confirming that the "duty of the parent" to instruct his child goes back to the earliest laws of our state.

193:1 Rights and Duty of [Parent] Parents; Compulsory Attendance by Pupil.

Explicitly recognizes "right of parent":

I. It is the natural, fundamental right of parents to determine and direct the education of their children. A parent of any child at least 6 years of age and under 18 years of age:

Reiterates and enumerates the "duty of parent" to instruct his child; modeled on General Statutes of Connecticut, Sec. 10-184 which originated from the earliest law of Connecticut in the Code of 1650: Ludlow’s Law:

(a) Shall raise such child in a lawful and honest field of employment and instruct such child or cause such child to be instructed in science, mathematics, language, government, health, reading, writing, spelling, and the history of the constitutions of New Hampshire and the United States, and shall cause the child to be exposed to art and music; or

(b) Shall cause such child to attend the public school to which the child is assigned in the child’s resident district. Such child shall attend the public school to which the child is assigned full time when such school is in session unless:

[(a)] (1) The child is attending a New Hampshire public school outside the district to which the child is assigned or an approved New Hampshire private school for the same time;

[(b)] (2) The child is receiving home education pursuant to RSA 193-A and is therefore exempt from this requirement;

[(c)] (3) The relevant school district superintendent has excused a child from attendance because the child is physically or mentally unable to attend school, or has been temporarily excused upon the request of the parent for purposes agreed upon by the school authorities and the parent. Such excused absences shall not be permitted if they cause a serious adverse effect upon the student's educational progress. Students excused for such temporary absences may be claimed as full-time pupils for purposes of calculating state aid under RSA 186-C:18 and adequate education grants under RSA 198:41;

[(d)] (4) The child is attending a public or private school located in another state which has been approved by the state education agency of the state in which the school is located;

[(e)] (5) The pupil has been exempted from attendance pursuant to RSA 193:5;

[(f)] (6) The pupil has successfully completed all requirements for graduation and the school district is prepared to issue a diploma or the pupil has successfully achieved the equivalent of a high school diploma by either:

[(1)] (A) Obtaining a GED certificate; or

[(2)] (B) Documenting the completion of a home school program at the high school level by submitting a certificate or letter to the department of education;

[(g)] (7) The pupil has been accepted into an accredited postsecondary education program; [or]

[(h)] (8) The pupil obtains a waiver from the superintendent, which shall only be granted upon proof that the pupil is 16 years of age or older and has an alternative learning plan for obtaining either a high school diploma or its equivalent.

[(1)] (A) Alternative learning plans shall include age-appropriate academic rigor and the flexibility to incorporate the pupil's interests and manner of learning. These plans may include, but are not limited to, such components or combination of components of extended learning opportunities as independent study, private instruction, performing groups, internships, community service, apprenticeships, and on-line courses.

[(2)] (B) Alternative learning plans shall be developed, and amended if necessary, in consultation with the pupil, a school guidance counselor, the school principal and at least one parent or guardian of the pupil, and submitted to the school district superintendent for approval.

[(3)] (C) If the superintendent does not approve the alternative learning plan, the parent or guardian of the pupil may appeal such decision to the local school board. A parent or guardian may appeal the decision of the local school board to the state board of education consistent with the provisions of RSA 21-N:11, III[.]; or

Exempts children instructed by parents from compulsory attendance:

(9) The child is otherwise instructed by the parent and is therefore exempt from this requirement.

2 Truant Officers; Duties. Amend RSA 189:36 to read as follows:

189:36 Duties. Truant officers shall, when directed by the school board, enforce the laws and regulations relating to truants and children between the ages of 8 and 18 years not attending school or who are not participating in an alternative learning plan under RSA 193:1, I[(h)](b)(8); and the laws relating to the attendance at school of children between the ages of 8 and 18 years; and shall have authority without a warrant to take and place in school any children found employed contrary to the laws relating to the employment of children, or violating the laws relating to the compulsory attendance at school of children under the age of 18 years, and the laws relating to child labor. No home school pupil nor any person between the ages of 6 and 18 who meets any of the requirements of RSA 193:1, I[(c)-(h)](b)(3)-(8) shall be deemed a truant.

3 School Attendance; Bylaws as to Nonattendance. Amend RSA 193:16 to read as follows:

193:16 Bylaws as to Nonattendance. Districts may make bylaws, not repugnant to law, concerning habitual truants and children between the ages of 6 and 18 years not attending school or who are not participating in an alternative learning plan under RSA 193:1, I[(h)] (b)(8), and to compel the attendance of such children at school; failure to comply with such bylaws shall constitute a violation for each offense.

4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.

HB368 Voted ITL

Wednesday, January 13, HB368 was voted inexpedient to legislate (ITL). The minority, who supported passage of the bill with an amendment that would have added more regulations to the homeschooling law, did not present their amendment. Legislators voted 324 to 34 to get rid of HB368.

HB368 was discussed at the House Education Committee meeting on November 19, and even though several amendments were proposed, the Committee voted the bill ITL (inexpedient to legislate). These were the statements presented to legislators for the House session:
Rep. Barbara E Shaw for the Majority of Education: After much debate, numerous subcommittees and committee discussion the committee has agreed that no changes in current law should be made at this time. Vote 14-6.

Rep. Judith E Day for the Minority of Education: Current law requires certain subjects to be taught in a home education program, but there is no specification for how often even core subjects are studied. 2) Current law does not require written notification of the intent to home educate, creating ambiguous situations about truancy. 3) Current law requires the parent to provide yearly results of either the results of one standardized test OR an evaluation of the child's portfolio, for which there are no standards. (Evaluations are brief; the evaluator need not meet with the child, parents pay the evaluator and can shop for positive evaluations, and parents who are certified or private school teachers can write their own evaluations). There is no way to know whether students who choose the test option are keeping portfolios. Administrators do not have sufficient information to determine whether a home education program needs remediation or should continue. The minority amendment addresses each of these problems. Half of the committee does not believe greater accountability is excessively burdensome to parents who have chosen to take on this type of education and concurrent great responsibility. Half does believe each and every child is of precious value and deserving of education and meaningful oversight of that education.

To read the amendments to HB368, go to http://gencourt.state.nh.us/house/caljourns/calendars/2010/houcal2010_01...

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Read about the current New Hampshire homeschooling law. We will be posting information about homeschooling legislation as it comes up. Please make sure to read about what's going on, form your opinions, and contact your legislators.

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.