A New Hampshire Field Guide · Updated for 2026

How to start homeschooling in New Hampshire.

Live free and learn - New Hampshire's home education law is one of New England's lightest, and it trusts parents on purpose. One notification, filed once, within 5 business days. An annual evaluation that stays in your filing cabinet. State funding now open to homeschoolers. Here is the whole picture, in plain language.

The Path · Getting Started

Five steps from deciding at dinner to a working home education program.

№ 01
01

Pick your participating agency.

New Hampshire lets you choose who receives your notification: the Commissioner of Education, your resident district superintendent, or the principal of a nonpublic school that has agreed to participate. The choice matters little legally - RSA 193-A:11 bars every agency from adding requirements beyond the statute - so pick whichever feels most comfortable.

Your three options
  • Commissioner of Education ([email protected])
  • Resident district superintendent
  • Principal of a participating nonpublic school
  • All are receipt-only - none can approve or deny
02

Send the one-time notification.

Within 5 business days of beginning your program (or withdrawing from school, or moving into a district), send a short written notification. It needs only each child's name, address, and birth date - and it stays in effect permanently. No annual re-filing, ever.

The notification contains
  • Each child's name
  • Address
  • Birth date
  • That's the entire statutory list (RSA 193-A:5)
03

Plan instruction across the eleven areas.

RSA 193-A:4 names the ground your program should cover - from reading and math to the history of the New Hampshire and U.S. constitutions, plus an appreciation of art and music. How you cover it is yours: no curriculum approval, no required days or hours, no prescribed methods.

Useful starting points
  • NH Homeschooling Coalition guides & mentors
  • Local co-ops, nature programs & museum passes
  • Library systems across the state
  • Curriculum review sites like Cathy Duffy
04

Keep the portfolio as you go.

The law asks for a simple portfolio: a log of reading materials used, plus samples of writings, worksheets, workbooks, or creative work. Keep it for two years alongside each annual evaluation. A folder per child per year, filled as you teach, satisfies the statute without weekend catch-up sessions.

Keep on file
  • Reading log
  • Work samples - writing, worksheets, creative projects
  • Annual evaluation results
  • Two years of retention, kept at home
05

Evaluate annually - and file it at home.

Each year your child's progress gets documented one of four ways: a written evaluation by a certified or nonpublic school teacher, a national achievement test, the state assessment, or another measure you and an agency agree on. Since 2012, the results are yours - kept by the parent, sent to no one.

Four evaluation routes
  • Portfolio review by a NH-certified or nonpublic school teacher
  • National standardized test (e.g., Iowa, Stanford)
  • State student assessment used by your district
  • Mutually agreed alternative measure
The Law · New Hampshire

One statute, two ways to resource it

№ 02

Home education in New Hampshire runs under RSA 193-A, with department rules at Ed 315. Since the 2012 reforms the model is notify-once, evaluate-annually, keep-it-yourself - and RSA 193-A:11 forbids agencies from demanding more. A separate program, the Education Freedom Account (RSA 194-F), now lets families add state funding if they accept that program's rules.

Option 01

RSA 193-A Home Education

Best for families who want maximum independence - one notification, private annual evaluations, and no state money or strings.

  • One-time notification within 5 business days
  • Teach across the 11 areas of RSA 193-A:4
  • Annual evaluation - results kept by you, filed nowhere
  • Portfolio kept at home for two years
  • Governed by RSA 193-A and Ed 315
Option 02

Education Freedom Account (EFA)

Best for families who want state grant funds for curriculum, tutoring, classes, or therapies - and will trade some independence for them.

  • State grant funds per child, income limits removed in 2025
  • Spend on approved expenses via the program administrator
  • Annual recordkeeping & program rules apply
  • A separate legal track from RSA 193-A home education
  • Governed by RSA 194-F
Requirements · Curriculum

Eleven areas of learning, woven your way.

№ 03

RSA 193-A:4 says home education 'shall include' instruction in these areas - and says nothing about how, when, or with what. The list below groups the statute's eleven areas into nine cards; the constitutions of New Hampshire and the United States ride along with history, exactly as the law names them.

01

Reading

Phonics, fluency, comprehension, literacy across genres and grade levels.

02

Writing & Spelling

Composition, mechanics, spelling, and writing across the curriculum.

03

Language

Grammar, vocabulary, and command of the English language.

04

Mathematics

Numeracy, arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and applied math reasoning.

05

Science

Inquiry, observation, life sciences, physical sciences, earth & space.

06

Government

How federal, state & local government work - and the citizen's part in it.

07

History + NH & U.S. Constitutions

World and American history, plus the founding documents of state and nation.

08

Health

Wellness, nutrition, safety, and the habits of a healthy life.

09

Art & Music appreciation

Exposure to and appreciation of art and music - the statute's own phrase.

5
Business days to notify

Send your notification within 5 business days of commencing the program, withdrawing from school, or moving into a district.

1
Notification, total

The filing is one-time and stays in effect. RSA 193-A:11 forbids agencies from requiring annual re-notification.

2
Years of portfolio

Keep the reading log, work samples, and evaluation results for two years - at home, produced for no one by default.

11
Areas of instruction

From reading and math to the NH and U.S. constitutions, plus art and music appreciation, per RSA 193-A:4.

Questions · Answered Honestly

What Granite State parents really want to know

№ 04
No. RSA 193-A sets no qualifications for the parent - no degree, license, or certification. The law defines home education as instruction directed by the parent, and the annual evaluation (not parental credentials) is how progress gets documented. Anyone can begin by sending the one-time notification.
Yes, any time. Withdraw the child from school, then send your notification to a participating agency within 5 business days of commencing your home education program. Keep dated copies of the withdrawal letter and notification together - that pair documents the status change cleanly.
No. Participating agencies receive your notification; they do not approve it. RSA 193-A:11 expressly prohibits agencies from imposing requirements beyond the statute - no curriculum pre-approval, no home visits, no annual re-notification, no demands to see your portfolio absent due process. The program is yours to run.
No - and this is the part of NH law families most often get wrong. The annual evaluation is required, but since the 2012 reforms the results are kept by the parent. Nothing is filed with the commissioner, the district, or any school. Keep each year's evaluation with the portfolio for two years and you have fully satisfied the law.
A portfolio: a log of reading materials used, plus samples of writings, worksheets, workbooks, or creative materials, kept for two years along with each annual evaluation. It lives at your house. Many families also keep a transcript through high school - colleges will want it even though the state never asks.
Yes. RSA 193:1-c gives home educated pupils access to curricular courses and cocurricular programs - clubs, athletics, performing groups - in the district where they live, and district policies cannot be more restrictive for homeschoolers than for enrolled students. For interscholastic sports, NHIAA eligibility rules also apply, so contact the athletic director early.
Yes. Parents set graduation requirements and issue the diploma and transcript. New Hampshire also offers an unusual courtesy: families may document completion of a high-school-level home education program by submitting a certificate or letter to the Department of Education, which some students use as supporting paperwork for colleges or employers.
Yes. The Education Freedom Account program (RSA 194-F) provides state grant funds for approved expenses like curriculum, tutoring, and classes, and 2025 legislation removed the income limits. Be clear-eyed about the trade: EFA students follow the EFA program's own rules and reporting, a separate track from RSA 193-A home education. Verify current details with the program before enrolling.
Resources · New Hampshire

Where New Hampshire families put down roots

№ 05
Official - State

New Hampshire Department of Education

The Home Education page - notification forms, the Ed 315 rules, FAQs, and the technical advisory on RSA 193-A.

Visit NHED
Community - Statewide

New Hampshire Homeschooling Coalition

The state's long-running, inclusive homeschool network - legal requirement guides, local group listings, and seasoned-parent mentoring.

Visit NHHC
Legal - National

Home School Legal Defense Association

Plain-language summaries of RSA 193-A, plus member-only legal advocacy if an agency ever asks for more than the statute allows.

Read the Law
The New Hampshire Getting Started Kit

The law, translated into paper you can file.

The New Hampshire Getting Started Kit turns RSA 193-A into documents you can actually use - five polished, print-ready pieces matched to the statute's exact requirements, so your first year runs on a system instead of a worry.

  • NH Notification template - the one-time letter with everything RSA 193-A:5 requires (name, address, birth date), addressed to the participating agency of your choice.
  • NH Compliance Checklist - the 5-business-day filing window, the annual evaluation, and the two-year portfolio rule as checkable items.
  • Portfolio Builder - a reading log and work-sample system matched to RSA 193-A:6, designed to fill itself as you teach.
  • Evaluation Planner - the four evaluation routes compared, with a checklist for booking a certified-teacher review or ordering a national test.
  • First 30 Days Roadmap - a day-by-day action plan from decision to your first week of teaching.
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Arrowstead Academy provides educational information, not legal advice. Homeschool law changes; verify current requirements with the New Hampshire Department of Education and your school district, or consult an attorney. Statute citations reflect New Hampshire law as of 2026.

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