Interested in Unschooling in New Hampshire? We can help

We’re lucky to be living in a country that allows parents to take their kids out of school and educate them at home. However, there are still often a lot of regulations placed on homeschoolers, especially if you’re living in a stricter state like New Hampshire.

This can be a problem if you want to do unschooling — that is, to let your children chart their own educational courses on their own timelines. How do you give your kids authentic freedom if they have to take tests and are required to learn certain subjects by law? In this article we’ll explain what the requirements are, and then explore loopholes that can get you out of them.

New Hampshire’s Regulations

New Hampshire’s homeschooling laws require the following: 

1. Must submit an initial notice with a “participating agency” (commissioner of education, public school district superintendent, or principal of a nonpublic school)
2. Must teach the required subjects: science, math, language, government, history, health, reading, writing, spelling, the history of the constitutions of New Hampshire and the United States, and an exposure to and appreciation of art and music
3. Must keep good records and materials relative to the home education program, which includes a log of reading materials, writing samples, worksheets, workbooks, and creative materials used or produced by your child
   • All records and materials within the most recent 2 years must be kept
4. Must evaluate your child annually via 1 of 4 options:
   • A written evaluation of education progress by a certified teacher or current nonpublic school teacher prepared after reviewing the student’s portfolio and discussing with the parent or child
   • The results of any national student achievement test administered by a person meeting the provider’s or publisher’s qualifications
     • Must get at least a score of the 40th percentile
   • The results of the state student assessment test used by the resident district
     • Must get at least a score of the 40th percentile
   • An evaluation using any other valid measurement tool mutually agreed upon by the parent and the participating agency

Loophole #1: Check with your local school district

If you are a homeschooler in New Hampshire, you are required by law to abide by the above regulations. However, these regulations may or may not be enforced at the local level. If you are interested in unschooling, you can give your local school district a call to find out what guidelines they actually enforce.

This can go the other way too. If your local school district is asking for something that is not required by the state, there are homeschool legal defense associations that will step in and help you maintain your rights.

Loophole #2: Online self-directed private school

If your child is enrolled in a private school, they are not considered a homeschooler and are exempt from all homeschooling regulations.

But isn’t the whole point of unschooling that the child is not in a school?

Enter The Open School. We have a virtual program that you can enroll in from anywhere in the world. And as a self-directed school, our program is perfectly aligned with unschooling. We have no required subjects and no tests. Instead, students design virtual activities to do with other students and staff, including art projects, video games, workshops, one-on-one lessons, and anything else you can imagine. It’s a community of self-directed learners, and a great place for unschoolers to make deep, lasting friendships.

If you want your child to be a free learner in New Hampshire, without being subject to standardized tests or a strict curriculum, a virtual private school may be your best bet. You can read more about our virtual program, or contact us directly, by clicking one of the buttons below.

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