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New Hampshire · 2026-2027 school year

New Hampshire homeschooling law, 2026-2027

Last checked against the statutes:

Start your family's records

Know the law. Keep your records. Teach your day.

Every rule below is kept apart from Trellis's own record-keeping tools. Each one goes to the state's own page. This is a planning aid, not legal advice. For a hard case, ask your school district. You can also ask the state, or a New Hampshire lawyer.

NH

What New Hampshire asks: teach at home from age six through eighteen. Since July 1, 2026 there is nothing to file to start. There is nothing to file each year. Nothing to file to stop in most cases. One exception: an EFA child keeps a district course, team, club, or test. Tell the district. No one reviews your lessons. No school worker may make a rule about your home teaching.

2026-2027 at a glance New Hampshire law

  • Know the ages. A child from age six until they turn eighteen. A sixth birthday after September 30 waits one more school year.
  • Nothing to file, unless. Two calls need a short written note. One is leaving a public school. The other is asking a school for a course, team, or test.
  • Your home teaching counts. A missing folder may not count against you.
  • Your schools may not make rules about you. Course rules may not be harder for you than for its children.
  • Finishing is yours to say. You may send the state a paper that says your child finished. The state has 30 days after it receives the paper. Then it sends you a certificate.

What you teach, and who may look at it New Hampshire names no subjects. There is no list you must cover. The state counts your home teaching as your child's schooling. It may not use your home teaching, or a missing folder, against you. New Hampshire sets no count of days or hours.

What you never have to do

  • No notice to start, stop, or file each year. If an EFA child keeps a district course, team, club, or test, tell the district.
  • No declaration, except in two cases.
  • No folder of your child's work. No log.
  • No yearly evaluation, no test, no teacher review.
  • No subjects the law names.
  • No fewest days or hours.
  • No yes-or-no before you start.
  • Your records are not tracked, except by count or test.
  • Education means learning. A government office keeps what you share about home education secret. It shares only with your yes in writing.
  • No review, hearing, or fine of its own.
  • No state diploma. The finishing paper is yours to give.
More on the 2026 change

The law changed on July 1, 2026.

Chapter 297 rewrote the home-education law and struck the old record and evaluation rules. None of them is asked now. Chapter 297, 2026

Who this covers

Home schooling is a parent's right under New Hampshire law. It is a full exemption from compulsory attendance for any child, no matter their need.

A child from age six until they turn eighteen. A child whose sixth birthday is after September 30 waits one more school year.

The state counts your home schooling as your child's schooling. In a child-protection matter it may not use these against you.

A child with a need has the same right to home schooling. The district may also find your child and check for a need.

More on the duty's end, and superintendents

The duty ends at eighteen. It also ends early if you send a certificate or letter to the state. Each child is their own case.

Your child does not count as a private school pupil. So those help rules do not cover your child. Your school office can tell you what it offers.

A superintendent works with you on request. But no official can review, approve, or evaluate your program.

The law changed on July 1, 2026. Chapter 297 rewrote RSA 193-A:1-5 and struck the old record and evaluation rules. RSA 193:1

The two cases that need a note

For most families, never. But two calls need a short written declaration:

  • A child leaves a public school. Give a short written note. The law does not say who gets this paper, or by what day. The school your child is leaving can tell you what it wants. Name your child, their birth date, and your address. It is signed by you.
  • You want a district course, team, or test. Your child may take a district course, join a club, or take the state test. The district may not be harder for your child than for its own pupils. Give a short written note.
More on ending and papers

Joining a school ends home schooling. So does starting an EFA. No filing marks the end. One exception: an EFA child keeps a district course, team, club, or test. Tell the district.

An EFA is state money under a different law.

You may send the state a paper that says your child finished. The clock starts after the state receives it. It has 30 days. Then it sends you a certificate.

A certificate or letter you send to the state ends the duty before eighteen.

A family that filed before July 1, 2026 owes nothing further. A district holding that filing holds your own papers.

The only fine the law names is for a parent not teaching a child.

What is not settled

Four things the law does not settle.

What is not settled

The 2026 law ordered the old Ed 315 rules taken off the books. We could not check if that step is done.

The home school law (RSA 193-A) says nothing about school shots. Does one course at the public school bring your child under the school shot rules? The law we read does not answer that. Your school office can tell you what it asks for.

The law does not say who gets this paper, or by what day. The school your child is leaving can tell you what it wants.

The law names four things a completion paper may show. The Department's high school form asks for more, such as an address and phone.

Questions New Hampshire families ask

What does New Hampshire law require?

Show answer
Since July 1, 2026 a parent may teach their own child at home. No filing starts it. No filing stops it. No filing comes each year. There is no test, no evaluation, and no list of subjects. Two calls need a short written note. One is leaving a public school. The other is asking a school for a course, a team, or a test. This page explains them. RSA 193-A

Do I have to file anything to start?

Show answer
No. New Hampshire asks nothing to start. It asks nothing to stop. It asks nothing each year. Two calls need a short written note. One is when a child leaves a public school to learn at home. The other is asking a school for a course, a team, or a test. RSA 193-A:3

When do I need a declaration?

Show answer
Only in two cases. One is when a child leaves a public school to learn at home. The other is asking a school for a course, a team, or a test. The note is a short written statement. It says the child is home schooled. It gives the child's name, birth date, and your address. RSA 193-A:1

Does New Hampshire set a test or evaluation?

Show answer
No. There is no test the state sets. There is no yearly evaluation by the state. There is no teacher review. The old law asked for these. They are gone. Chapter 297:10

What subjects must I teach?

Show answer
None. New Hampshire names no subjects. There is no list you must cover. RSA 193-A:4 (as changed by 2026, 297:3)

What records must I keep?

Show answer
None that the state asks for. You may keep a log of what you taught. You may keep some of your child's work. You may keep the test scores. No one asks to see them. No one may use a missing folder against you. Chapter 297:10

What ages are covered?

Show answer
A child from age six until they turn eighteen. A child whose sixth birthday is after September 30 waits one more school year. The duty ends at eighteen. It also ends early if you send a certificate or letter to the state. RSA 193:1

Can my child take a district course or sport?

Show answer
Yes. Your child may take a district course, join a club, or take the state test. The district may not be harder for your child than for its own pupils. It may ask for a short written note. It may not ask for anything else. RSA 193:1-c

Does New Hampshire give a diploma?

Show answer
No. There is no state diploma. You set what finishing needs. You give your own paper. You may send a paper showing your child finished to the state. If you send it, the state sends you a certificate in 30 days. That certificate is not a state diploma. For college aid your child signs a statement that they finished high school at home. Each college can tell you what else it wants. RSA 193-A:5

Is there a homeschool compliance planner for New Hampshire?

Show answer
This is for homeschool families. Compliance means meeting what your state asks, on time. Trellis is a planner that keeps the record behind each date. It counts the ages your child is covered. It records the note you gave and the paper for your child's finish. Trellis never files anything for you. The card below starts your family's records.

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