History of Compulsory School Attendance Age in New Hampshire

Prepared by Mary Faiella
Revised 3 April 2006

1842 Revised Statutes
Superintending school committees were assigned the duty, among others, “to use their influence that all the youth of each district attend and profit by the school therein.”

1852 Chapter 1278:1 of the Session Laws
Towns were “enabled” by state law to “make by-laws concerning habitual truants and children not attending school, without any regular and lawful occupation, between the ages of six and sixteen.”

1871 Chapter 2:1 of the Session Laws
Children were first compelled to attend school by New Hampshire state law. Parents were required to send children between the ages of 8 and 14 to school if they lived in a town where school was “annually taught for the period of twelve weeks” and the school was “within two miles by the nearest traveled road.” Children could be excused from attendance because of difficulties involving their physical or mental condition, or because they were “instructed in a private school or at home for at least twelve weeks.”

1891 Public Statutes of the State of New Hampshire
Between the years 1878 and 1891, the compulsory attendance statute was altered without legislation so that it appeared in the compiled Public Statutes of New Hampshire in 1891 requiring parents to send children between ages 8 and 16 for “twelve weeks at least, six weeks at least of which shall be consecutive.” While exceptions for physical and mental conditions and for children educated in private schools remained, this law no longer excused attendance for students educated at home.

1901 Chapter 61:1 of the Session Laws
The upper limit of the compulsory attendance age was reduced to 14 and children were required to attend (if there was a school) “all the time such school is in session.” Fines were established for failure to comply with the law.

1903 Chapter 13:1 of the Session Laws
Children who “cannot read at sight and write legibly simple sentences in the English language” are required to remain in school to age 16.

1911 Chapter 139:1 of the Session Laws
Parents may “apply to the state superintendent of public instruction for relief” if the parent “deems it to be against the moral or physical welfare of such child to attend the particular school required by law.”
1913 Chapter 221:1 of the Session Laws
Children who have not “completed the studies prescribed for the elementary schools” must continue to attend to age 16.

1917 Chapter 152:14 of the Session Laws
Procedures instated to allowing an exemption from attendance “[w]whenever it shall appear... that the educational welfare of any child above the age of fourteen will be best served by the withdrawal of such child from school.”

1919 Chapter 84:1
Changing the procedure for allowing an exemption as provided in 1917.


1921 Chapter 83 III:1 of the Session Laws
The compulsory attendance section which had grown quite unwieldy was divided into several sections, and in the new law, section 1 now read more simply “Every child between eight and sixteen shall attend the public school to which he is assigned or an approved private school during all the time the public schools are in session unless he is more than fourteen years old and has completed the studies prescribed for the elementary schools, or has been excused from attending on the ground that his physical or mental condition is such as to prevent his attendance or make it undesirable.”
Note that children were now required to attend the school to which they were assigned rather than to attend the school in their district if such a one was “annually taught,” but that they continued to be excused at age 14 if they had completed elementary school.


1949 Chapter 92:1 of the Session Laws
Perhaps to clarify that students were required to attend elementary school even if they had to be sent out of their own district to do so, the 1921 law was amended to read “shall attend the public school within the district or a public school outside the district to which he is assigned or an approved private school.”

1953 Chapter 223:1 of the Session Laws
If they resided in a district which maintained a high school, children would now be required to remain in school until age 16 even if they had completed elementary school. They remained free from attendance requirements if they were fourteen, had completed elementary school, and lived in a district without a high school.

1985 Chapter 47:1 of the Session Laws
Children under sixteen who had completed elementary school and who were living in districts without a high school were required to attend a high school to which they were assigned.


1990 Chapter 279:1 of the Session Laws
Home education acknowledged as means of complying with compulsory attendance law.

1994 Chapter 121:1 of the Session Laws
Parent permission required before a 16 or 17 year old student withdraws from school must be submitted 60 days prior to withdrawal.

1996 Chapter 157:1 of the Session Laws
“Foundation Aid Cross-Reference Revised”

1997 Chapter 183:1 of the Session Laws
“Definition of Resident District Removed; Gender Neutral”

1999 Chapter 17:42 of the Session Laws
“Reference Change” The words “his parent” were changed to “the parent” and RSA “198:27-33” was changed to “adequate education grants under RSA 198:41.”

1999 Chapter 39:1
RSA 193:1,IV Deletion of required 60 days notice of withdrawal. (1994 121:1)