The Law, As It Would Be Amended

The law, as it would be amended / What the sponsors say it does / What it does / Comments
193-A:5 Notification and Other Procedural Requirements. – A parent may provide home education to a child or children at home, subject to the following requirements:
I. (a)Any parent commencing a home education program for a child, for a child who withdraws from a public school, or for a child who moves into a school district shall notify the commissioner of education, resident district superintendent, or principal of a nonpublic school of such within [30] five business days of commencing the program.
(b) A parent planning to continue a home education program shall notify the commissioner of education, resident district superintendent, or principal of a non-public school by the first school day according to the school calendar in the child’s resident district.
/ For new programs, a parent must notify the district within 5 business days of the start of school, of withdrawing the child from school, or of moving into the district.
For existing programs, notification must be submitted by the first day of school. / For new programs, this change reduces the grace period for submitting notification from 30 days from the start of the program to 5 business days from the start of the program.
For existing programs, notification must be submitted by the first day of school. / The parent is allowed a grace period under RSA 189:35-a, the truancy statute, of 20 half-days. The five business day grace period in RSA 193-A:5 could begin after 9-1/2 days of absence from school. A parent could notify up to 14-1/2 days after withdrawing a child from school without facing truancy charges.
V. (a) Prior to the initial year of a home education program, or as provided in subparagraph VI(b), a parent shall provide to the department of education, resident district superintendent, or principal of a non-public school, information which summarizes a plan of supervised instruction pursuant to RSA 193-A:4 at the time notification is made pursuant to subparagraph I(a), or within 30 days of such notification; or
(b) Prior to the initial year of a home education program, or as provided in subparagraph VI(b), a parent shall meet with the commissioner of the department of education, resident district superintendent, or principal of a nonpublic school to discuss a plan of supervised instruction and age-appropriate expectations and resources pursuant to RSA 193-A:4, at the time notification is made pursuant to subparagraph I(a), or within 30 days of the notification. / At the start of a program (within 30 days of notification), a parent must either submit a written plan, or meet with the participating agency to discuss a plan.
If a single child’s evaluation did not comply with RSA 193-A:6, II, or was not submitted, then the next year the parent must submit a plan for all the children in the program. / At the start of a program (within 30 days of notification), a parent must either submit a written plan, or meet with the participating agency to discuss a plan / The sponsors intend to remove the conflict between “prior to” and “within 30 days”, rewording it so it is clear homeschoolers have a 30-day grace period.
Prior to HB406, the participating agency didn't send out a letter of acknowledgement until the plan was received and examined for compliance with the law. The plan was part of notification.
Now the plan is not part of notification, and acknowledgement must occur within 14 days of notification, which could be prior to submission or discussion of a plan. There's nothing in this language requiring the participating agency to acknowledge the planning phase. And yet having submitted a plan that complies with the law is necessary to avoid charges of truancy.
Acknowledging a plan could be required in the rules, but just like the acknowledgement of the receipt of evaluation (which is in the rules, but not the law), it could be ignored by districts.
VI. (a) A parent currently providing a home education program shall be exempt from the provisions of subparagraph I(b), provided that each child participating in such parent’s home education program meets or exceeds the annual educational evaluation criteria set forth in RSA 193-A:6, II. This exemption shall apply to the school year immediately following the school year in which the annual education evaluation results are available. / If a parent had a successful year last year, there is no need to provide formal notification.
If a single child’s evaluation did not comply with RSA 193-A:6, II, or was not submitted, then the next year the parent must notify a participating agency that the program is continuing.
If a parent was adding a child to the program, the parent would have to notify the participating agency for all children. / It does exactly what the sponsors say it will do. / The current law (and this goes back to its inception) is somewhat ambiguous about whether a program is for a family or a child. The language in certain provisions refer to a program (notification) with multiple children and others as though each child has his/her own program (evaluation). This language puts all children in one program. But several years ago, maybe 5, the DOE decided that it would act as though each child had his/her own program, so that if one child's evaluation failed to meet the criteria in 193-A:6, II, the other children's programs didn't need to go on probation. This language undermines that decision.
VI. (b) A parent currently providing a home education program shall comply with the provisions of paragraph V, for each school year in which a child participating in such parent’s home education program fails to meet the annual educational evaluation criteria set forth in RSA 193-A:6, II. This requirement shall apply to the school year immediately following the school year in which the annual education evaluation results are available. / If a single child’s evaluation did not comply with RSA 193-A:6, II, or was not submitted, then the next year the parent must submit a plan for all the children in the program. / It does exactly what the sponsors say it will do.
VII. A parent shall be afforded as much flexibility as possible in the implementation of a home education program under this chapter. / Participating agencies must allow flexibility in what constitutes an adequate plan. / Participating agencies and the DOE must allow flexibility in all parts of administering a home education program. / This language does not really belong in the notification section. If it applies to the whole chapter, it should be in 193-A:2 or 193-A:3.
VIII. The commissioner of the department of education, resident district superintendent, or principal of a non-public school shall have no role in the approval or rejection of any plan, or other information provided by a parent who is implementing a home education program. / Participating agencies may not reject a plan because they don’t like it. / Participating agencies may not reject a program. / Let's say a letter of notification didn't meet the requirements of the law. Is refusal to acknowledge a program equivalent to "rejection of ... other information provided by a parent who is implementing a home education program"? If so, the participating agency would be forced to acknowledge a deficient letter. This could be very confusing, and make a letter of acknowledgement useless.
Non-public schools would not be able to reject a plan, which could mean their participation is no longer voluntary.
193-A:10 Home Education Advisory Council. –
I. There is established the home education advisory council [comprising 12 members] which shall consist of the following members:
(a) Two members of the house of representatives from the house education committee, appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives.
(b) One member of the senate from the senate education committee, appointed by the president of the senate.
(c) The following [members of the council] individuals who shall be appointed by the commissioner of the department of education from persons named as follows:
[(a)] (1) Six members nominated by home educator associations organized within New Hampshire.
[(b)] (2) Two members nominated by the commissioner of the department of education, or designee.
[(c)] (3) One member nominated by the New Hampshire School Administrators Association.
[(d)] (4) One member nominated by the New Hampshire School Boards Association.
[(e)] (5) One member nominated by the New Hampshire School Principals Association.
[(f)] (6) One member nominated by the nonpublic school advisory council established by the state board of education pursuant to RSA 21-N:9, II(f).
II. The duties of the council and the terms of office of [its] the members appointed under subparagraph I(c) shall be prescribed in accordance with rules proposed by the commissioner of education and adopted by the state board of education pursuant to RSA 541-A. Legislative members of the council shall serve a term which is coterminous with their elected office.
III. The chair of the council shall be elected by the council members from the home educator membership on the council appointed under subparagraph I(c). All vacancies on the council shall be filled in the same manner as that of the original appointment.
IV. Legislative members of the council shall receive mileage at the legislative rate when attending to the duties of the council. / Three legislative members are added to the council – two from the House Education Committee (which has about 20 members) and one from the Senate Education Committee (which has about 6 members). This will allow the legislature to better understand home education. Re-imbursement for mileage is standard. / It does exactly what the sponsors say it will do / Legislative presence will allow the legislature to participate in discussions and votes. It will allow oversight of the HEAC. It will allow the legislature to become aware of problems early on, which may or may not result in legislation.
For homeschoolers, the tone set by the legislators will be important. Legislators friendly to homeschooling freedoms could push for a liberal interpretation of laws; legislators who wish to increase regulation could push for stricter interpretations.
If legislators see their role as observers, rather than stakeholders, there may be very little change.
Will the appointed legislators have the time to attend?
All six members appointed by home education organizations would be able to meet without constituting a quorum, as would all six non-homeschooling non-legislative members.
3 Commission Established. There is established a commission to examine New Hampshire’s home education statutes.
4 Membership and Compensation.
I. The members of the commission shall be as follows:
(a) Two members of the house of representatives from the house education committee, appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives.
(b) One member of the senate from the senate education committee, appointed by the president of the senate.
(c) One member from the New Hampshire School Administrators Association, appointed by the association.
(d) One member from the home education advisory council established under RSA 193-A:10, appointed by the chair of the council.
(e) One member from the New Hampshire School Boards Association, appointed by the association.
(f) One member from the New Hampshire Homeschooling Coalition, appointed by the coalition.
(g) One member from the Christian Home Educators Association of new Hampshire, appointed by the association.
II. Legislative members of the commission shall receive mileage at the legislative rate when attending to the duties of the commission.
5 Duties. The commission shall examine New Hampshire’s home education statutes.
6. Chairperson; Quorum. The members of the commission shall elect a chairperson from among the members. The first meeting of the commission shall be called by the first-named house member. The first meeting of the commission shall be held within 45 days of the effective date of this section. Four members shall constitute a quorum.
7 Report. The commission shall report its findings and any recommendations for proposed legislation to the speaker of the house of representatives, the president of the senate, the house clerk, the senate clerk, the governor, and the state library on or before November 1, 2008. / The sponsors intend to add a member appointed by CUHE (Catholics United for Home Education), and also a member appointed by the DOE.
The sponsor might be intending to add the following language to the Duties section:
“and make recommendations regarding data collection and possible future legislation”.
Some people are going to have a busy summer if this passes.
During the worksession, both Reps Carson and Dunn implied that the work of the commission could take a full year.
8. Effective Date. This act shall take effect July 1, 2008 / The sponsors intend to have the creation of a commission and legislative membership on HEAC be effective immediately, and all other provisions be effective July 1, 2009, to give the commission a chance to deal with any problems this legislation may create.