By GARRY RAYNO, InDepthNH.org

CONCORD —- Overhauling state statutes to homeschool a child would eliminate most requirements in place today, and would leave parents to decide their child’s education.

House Bill 1268 was generally supported by many of the homeschool parents who turned out to testify at a public hearing Friday before the House Education Policy and Administration Committee, but not all, many were concerned the changes may leave homeschool programs more vulnerable to investigations by state agencies.

The prime sponsor and chair of the committee, Rep. Kristin Noble, R-Bedford, said she worked with different groups and individuals to reduce regulations and to clarify the separation between homeschooling without state aid, and homeschooling under the Education Freedom Account Program.

Most of the mothers and fathers testifying were clear they did not want state regulations under the EFA program to find their way into what is RSA 193A which is the homeschool statutes when parents take no state or local money to educate their children.

At issue is certification, which would be voluntary under the bill. Also parents would no longer have to notify public schools when they remove their child and begin a home education program, or to retain records of their children’s progress.

The bill also exempts homeschool students from the state’s compulsory attendance law, which several parents said is often cited by the Division for Children, Youth and Families as a reason to investigate neglect allegations against those who homeschool their children.

The bill also would remove educational neglect as a reason for investigating neglect allegations.

Language in the bill protects against home inspections without a warrant, and also protects against bad faith reporting.

Under the bill, the Department of Education could not share information with other state agencies without parental consent and homeschool student data would not be included in the DOE’s database.

Receiving a certification letter of completion of the program would only need a parent’s declaration, under the bill, and homeschooling as an alternative to public school would be removed from statutes and be replaced by “the natural right” of a parent to direct the education of their child including home education, including children with disabilities.

“This puts parents in the driver’s seat,” said Noble.

She noted the special education section in statutes for the EFA program would apply to the 193A program, which several parents objected to saying that it would lead to more government involvement.

Noble said New Hampshire is considered a moderately regulated state, while others have less regulation and her bill would move the state in that direction.

Former representative J.R. Hoell of Dunbarton supported the bill saying under it, a parent is presumed innocent and not guilty in the eyes of the state of New Hampshire.

He said he and his wife, who gave up her career as a teacher, homeschooled their children, the last of whom  is a freshman in college.

He noted that the biggest school system in the state, Manchester, has 75 percent of their students testing below proficiency levels in the core areas. Why not go after Manchester and Concord and the other big cities that tests about the same.

He noted the DCYF’s educational neglect investigation failure rate is 95 percent.

Hoell said that is very inefficient and steals money away from the real abuse cases that need to be addressed.

Rep. Muriel Hall, D-Bow, asked Hoell how do you determine if your child is under performing or over performing.

He said from the data that his children have gotten into good colleges and have done very well.

Hoell said the Manchester school system is not doing a good job, although they have teachers who love kids and parents who love kids, but they are not setting them up for success.

Rep. Alissandra Murray, D-Manchester, said she was homeschooled from kindergarten through 12th grade, and as the oldest child in a large family, a lot of responsibility fell on her shoulders. She said her parents did not expect her to go to college.

When she applied to college, she said, she found she had to go back and piece all she had done in homeschool together in order to finally be accepted at 24 years old. Her parents had not preserved those records, she noted.

Murray said there should be some way for homeschool students in her situation to find out what they need to do and retain in order to apply for college. 

“I was unprepared for life after homeschool,” she said.

Amanda Weeden, co-chair of Granite State Home Educators, representing herself said she was neutral on the bill saying some of the changes would leave a homeschool parent open to accusations without any protections.

She said the bill conflicts with other child protection laws and should be resolved.

She suggested bill sponsors reach out to many more homeschoolers for suggested changes noting the last two weeks have been encouraging in that respect.

Such a massive rewrite of the homeschool laws without the consent of those affected is problematic, she noted.

“It needs more time and collaboration,” Weeden said.

Angela Kantz of Ossipee and a member of the NH Homeschooling Coalition, said she has never had a problem homeschooling in New Hampshire.

She said she has never needed certification and her children were able to play sports at the local high school and they were never asked about their grades.

“I’ve helped many families move to New Hampshire and I rarely heard of any issues or problems,” Kantz said. “I am hesitant to support this change.”

She noted as homeschoolers they need greater protection since the addition of the EFA pathway, noting they are two different pathways.

“Changing the law will not change how deeply I care about my children’s education,” Kantz said.

Nicole Handfield of Wolfeboro called herself “a refugee from Maryland.”

“The laws on the books here are way better than what we had in Maryland,” she said. “I would not want to have what happened in other states happen in New Hampshire.”

The committee is expected to continue working on the bill.

Garry Rayno may be reached at garry.rayno@yahoo.com.