Dear Senator Bragdon,

My name is Diane Lachance and I am a homeschooler who was in attendance at this morning's Senate education Committee Executive Session.  First of all, I would like to thank you for your support, and confidence, in the homeschoolers of the State of NH.  With continued freedoms in homeschooling, I am certain that the homeschool community here in NH will continue to produce well educated citizens.

While I was pleased to see the committee vote favorably this morning on HB406 Amendment 1824s, I was dismayed this afternoon when I finally had the opportunity to read the actual text of the amendment.  I know how hard you have worked to get the language correct, so it is with no satisfaction that I call your attention to this matter.  I only wish I had access to the text of the amendment prior to this morning's meeting.  I apologize if I should have known it was available; I see that it is dated June 7, 2005.

If I may call your attention to lines 23 through 27.  On line 24, the designation of the "commissioner of education", as the person to whom the parent must have previously received acknowledgement, should most likely read as "commissioner of education, resident district superintendent, or principal of a nonpublic school", or simply " a participating agency".  Many, many, if not most homeschoolers have never used the DOE(assuming DOE qualifies as commissioner of education) as a reporting agency.  In effect, the wording of this amendment would require that most homeschoolers in the state submit a letter of intent and curriculum to the commissioner of education this fall, should the bill pass.  I am sure you are aware that there are currently about 4,000 homeschoolers in the state of NH.

One other equally important matter is the use of the word permitted, also on line 24.  Under the current laws and rules, homeschoolers have not been required to receive "permission" to homeschool, but have received "acknowledgement" that their program meets the requirements of the law.  This one word can make a significant difference in the interpretation of the participating agency's role in administering homeschool programs.

I am not experienced in the writing of laws, so I will leave suggestions on how this language might be remedied to others who also have plans to alert you to these two issues.

Again, I thank you for your time, patience and efforts to support the homeschool community here in NH.

Sincerely,

Diane Lachance

Contoocook, NH