Home education
Homeschooling in New Hampshire
Why families look here
- People come for the tax picture. Families also come because home education is legal and ordinary — not a workaround, not a gray area.
- New Hampshire dropped the notice, portfolio, and annual-evaluation paperwork that used to be in RSA 193-A, the kind of filing many other states still require. That is the comparison.
- This site does not rank fifty states. Read the Department of Education page.
What the law requires now
- Compulsory attendance is RSA 193:1. A parent of a child at least 6 and under 18 causes attendance at the assigned public school unless the child is receiving home education under RSA 193-A. That is the exemption.
- What instruction means is defined in RSA 193-A. This page does not reprint a subject list.
- Governor Ayotte signed HB 1268 on 10 July 2026 (Chapter 290). The home-education sections were effective 1 July 2026.
- DOE says notifications for commencement and termination of a Home Education program are no longer required, and Home Education is no longer overseen by the Department. Its page is informational.
- The compiled RSA 193-A HTML on the General Court site may still show the old notice, portfolio, and evaluation rules. That page may lag. Follow DOE, not a stale statute printout.
- This is not legal advice.
Ages
- The duty in RSA 193:1 starts at 6 and runs until 18, with the home-education exemption.
- A child who reaches a sixth birthday after September 30 is not required until the following school year.
- Kindergarten is not required by that age rule.
When you still talk to the district
- You do not file a routine start or stop notice with DOE.
- If you pull a child from public school, or you want district classes or sports, the district still has to know. Confirm that with the resident district and with DOE. This site does not invent a form.
- DOE’s rules page may still talk about notifying the district. That page may be stale too. Prefer the main Home Education page and its HB 1268 paragraph.
- If a child under 18 finishes a high-school-level home education program, DOE offers an optional completion form. It is not required.
Classes, sports, and co-ops
- RSA 193:1-c says home-educated pupils shall have access to curricular courses and cocurricular programs in the resident district. The local board’s policy shall not be more restrictive than the policy for resident pupils.
- Cocurricular includes clubs, athletics, and performing groups. Ask the district how it runs that.
- Private co-ops exist. This site does not inventory them.
- DOE lists these associations — not this site’s list, and not a partnership: Granite State Home Educators, New Hampshire Homeschooling Coalition, Catholics United for Home Education. See the DOE list.
A different path (EFA)
- An Education Freedom Account under RSA 194-F is not Home Education under RSA 193-A. DOE says so on the same Home Education page.
- If you are looking at EFA money, you are on a different statute. Do not mix the two.
Official links
Read these, not a forum post.
- NH DOE — Home Education — live page. HB 1268 is the paragraph to read first. Statute is RSA 193-A.
- NH DOE — rules and regulations — may lag; prefer the main page.
- RSA 193:1 — compulsory attendance.
- RSA 193:1-c — equal access to district courses and cocurricular programs.
- HB 1268 docket — General Court. Some automated fetches get 403.
- DOE lists these associations — Granite State Home Educators, New Hampshire Homeschooling Coalition, Catholics United for Home Education. Not this site’s list.
Not legal advice. Not official Free State Project.