NHHR-POLITICS: HB406 as amended
Chris Hamilton nhhr-politics@mailman.dimentech.com
Sat, 04 Jun 2005 06:52:03 -0400

A report on HB406 was filed by the Senate Education Committee on June 2, 2005. The recommendation is Ought to Pass with Amendment. I have put a copy of the amendment at:

http://www.empire.net/~beaverlodge/legislation/legislation2005/HB406/050531_sec_amendment.html

Here are the changes I see:

1. It leaves intact in 193-A:4 the requirement to have "planned and supervised instructional and related educational activities, including a curriculum".
2. It leaves intact the requirement in 193-A:5 that the commissioner of education inform a parent of his/her rights when there is a dispute between a participating agency and a parent.
   • I don't think the authors of either the original bill or the amendment understand that this is what the language accomplishes. I think they both believe that it requires acknowledgement from the commissioner before a program can start.
3. Notification must now take place 30 days before the start of a program or before the start of school.
   • No more withdrawing a child from school and starting a home education program that same day.
   • The fate of the current 30 day grace period to file the curriculum portion of the letter of intent is unclear (to me).
4. It now permits a parent who has previously received permission from the commissioner to initiate a program to continue that program without specifying a curriculum at the time of notification.
   • Homeschoolers did not have to get permission before, only acknowledgement that the program met the requirements of the law. Permission came from the legislature, not the DOE.
   • It only permits parents to avoid specifying the curriculum if that one-time permission comes directly from the commissioner (i.e. the DOE). Is the DOE really prepared to handle the onslaught of programs it will be receiving shortly? It could mean all 4,000 programs in the state get sent to Angie LeBel next fall for that permission. She is currently having difficulty handling 200.
   • As it is written, it could be interpreted either that permission could be required only for the first time for the child, or for the first time for each child. I have heard both interpretations already from people who were present at the executive session where the amendment was discussed.
   • In effect, this amendment creates two tracks for home educators (and I don't know if that's what the authors intended or not):
     1. File once with the DOE, get your permission, and avoid specifying a curriculum in future years, or
     2. continue filing each year with a participating agency, specifying a curriculum each time.
5. It leaves intact "RSA 193-A:7 Home Education; Hearing; Notice and Procedure", and the references to it in "RSA 193-A:6 Home Education; Records" and "RSA 193-A:8 Home Education; Order; Appeals". This leaves in law the right of a parent to have a hearing if there is a dispute at the time of notification, which is entirely appropriate, since some parents will still be specifying curriculum at the time of notification.

Chris Hamilton
Beaver Lodge Homeschool