NH 2006 Legislative Session

Bills of interest to Homeschoolers

last updated 10/16/05 at 8:00AM

All the bills or LSR's (legislative services requests)listed here address issues that have in the past affected homeschoolers in this state or in other states, or have the potential to affect homeschoolers here in NH.

Obviously, one person alone cannot track all these bills. I would be indebted to anyone who passes along information, or who takes on the task of tracking particular bills. If you notice any errors or glaring omissions, please contact me.

Chris Hamilton
673-0189

Issue Last updated
Bill number and title*Status
Home education law 10/14/05
HB 406 - an act revising certain provisions of the home education statutes * 2005 action
Senate
    06/09/05 Rereferred to Senate Education Committee
When the NH BOE published the first draft of the new minimum standards for public schools, they started with a declaration that these rules constituted the definition of an adequate education. Many legislators want that definition to be determined by the legislature, as it has significant impact on the budget. Consequently, the process by which rules are adopted is undergoing a great deal of scrutiny this session.
LSR 2168 - requiring legislative approval of any rules proposed by the state board of education. * May affect adoption of new rules if HB406 passes.
LSR 2345 - relative to voting procedures for statutorily created boards * Could affect HEAC.
LSR 2360 - prohibiting the use of false documentation for employment, government services, or permits * Could the language be so broad as to include letters of intent?
LSR 2405 - defining certain terms under the administrative procedures act. * May affect adoption of new rules if HB406 passes.
LSR 2409 - making certain changes to the administrative procedures act * May affect adoption of new rules if HB406 passes.
Compulsory attendance, dropout, expulsions 10/14/05
LSR 2656 - adding a definition of public academy to New Hampshire law * May affect RSA 193:1
LSR 2955 - raising the age for the required attendance of children in school. * Would probably affect both RSA 193:1 and RSA 193-A.
Educational alternatives, charter schools 10/14/05
LSR 2480 - establishing a committee to study the financial implications on local school districts when special education students attend charter schools. * The effect of home educated students entering a charter school is greater than that of a public school student. The increased costs of educating a special needs student who was formerly home educated will exacerbate that effect.
Dual enrollment 10/14/05
LSR 2112 - relative to the definition of a sending district * May affect districts which pay tuition.
LSR 2191 - requiring state education aid to be used exclusively for public education * Could conflict with RSA 193:1 c
LSR 2656 - adding a definition of public academy to New Hampshire law * Could end a loophole in RSA 193:1 c that allows public academies to deny access to homeschoolers.
Vouchers, abatements, tax credits 10/14/05
SB 131 - establishing a school choice certificate program * At this point the bill does not contain any references to home education.
LSR 2138 - establishing a school choice certificate program * A House member got tired of waiting for the Senate to finish their bill!
Special education 10/14/05 There seem to be a large number of bills dealing with special education this session. Several of them deal with a shortage of speech and language therapists.
LSR 2218 - establishing a committee to study revising the New Hampshire special education statutes * Study committees with a broad scope can produce proposals with far-reaching side-effects.
LSR 2540 - establishing a special needs scholarship program * This may be made available to homeschoolers.
LSR 2722 - revising the special education statutes * This is a very vague description.
LSR 2808 - requiring that the funding and management of special education services be assumed by the state * Although this would not change the federal government's stand on the lack of a federal mandate to provide special services to NH homeschoolers, this would produce a policy toward homeschoolers that is consistent statewide.
LSR 2848 - establishing a commission on special education funding * Commissions with a broad scope can produce proposals with far-reaching side-effects.
Driver's education, youth operators 10/14/05
LSR 2175 - relative to motor vehicle insurance coverage for certain minors and relative to waivers of liability for certain minors. *
LSR 2297 - relative to eligibility to receive moneys from the driver training fund *
LSR 2372 - relative to including motorcycle safety in driver education courses *
LSR 2983 - relative to vertical drivers' licenses for persons under 21 years of age *
Child labor laws 10/14/05
no known LSR's
College access 10/14/05
LSR 2574 - relative to financial programs administered by the postsecondary education * Scholarships?
LSR 2694 - relative to the department of regional community-technical colleges and making an appropriation therefor. * A larger state appropriation means lower tuition?
Early childhood 10/16/05
No known LSR's
School improvement programs 10/14/05
There are several LSR's that set new expectations for accountability for the Department of Education. There are also several LSR's that are reactions to No Child Left Behind and the lawsuits it has generated, but it is not clear if the complaint is with the policy or with the (lack of) funding.
LSR 2234 - relative to implementing an adult roles and responsibilities curriculum * Indirect impact - expectations may be set for curriculum content of home education programs.
LSR 2390 - relative to human immunodeficiency virus education, prevention and control. * Indirect impact - expectations may be set for curriculum content of home education programs.
School accountability 10/16/05
There is not a lot of activity in this area this session. This probably indicates satisfaction with the new public school minimum standards adopted by the BOE this past year.
School funding 10/16/05
There seem to be three areas of major concern this session: use of surplus funds, use of federal funds, and how special education is funded. There is also a bill that challenges last year's solution to funding adequate education grants, proposing to eliminate the increase in the tobacco tax.
Claremont 10/16/05
LSR 2052 - defining an adequate education and relative to calculating the cost of an adequate education and adequate education grants. * Redefining an adequate education can have an indirect impact on expectations of home education program content.
LSR 2228 - relative to the definition of an adequate education * Redefining an adequate education can have an indirect impact on expectations of home education program content.
LSR 2228 - relative to the statement of purpose in the statewide education improvement and assessment program. * The original purpose of this program was to measure whether students were receiving an adequate education. Redefining an adequate education can have an indirect impact on expectations of home education program content.
Teacher certification 10/16/05
No known LSR's
Child Protection Act, DCYF, custody 10/16/05
LSR 2601 - relative to certain authority of the department of health and human services * This language is very vague, but if it affects authority granted to DCYS, it could affect home education programs.
Parental rights 10/16/05
There are several bills that do not affect home education programs directly, but whose outcome will depend on the legislature's view of the role of the parent, an issue of concern to home educators.
LSR 2296 - establishing an autism registry in the department of health and human services * Will parents have the option of opting out of this registry for their children? What safeguards will be in place to protect the privacy of these children? To what use will this registry be put?
LSR 2875 - establishing babysitter age guidelines and children home alone guidelines * Home educated children are supervised by their parents for longer periods of time than children in school. Home educators are often more closely scrutinized for child-rearing practices than other populations.
Miscellaneous 10/16/05
LSR 2251 - relative to the protection of personal information * Could possibly impact information provided by parent to meet requirements of the home education law.

Bills that have been vetoed

No bills have yet been vetoed.

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