Republican Rep. Kristin Noble has repeatedly turned to an unlikely source in recent weeks as she crafts legislation to remove nearly all requirements from New Hampshire’s home education law.
Instead of relying solely on her fellow lawmakers or members of the Office of Legislative Services, the chair of the House Education Policy and Administration committee workshopped the bill with the 2,200 members of a public Facebook group.
Over the last 10 days, the group — which is popular among home education families — has served as the nexus for an unusually collaborative and iterative process of public lawmaking. Over a handful of posts and hundreds of comments, Noble and group members have debated word choices and paragraph structure in granular detail, prompting at least two revisions to the bill.
Underpinning their process is a fundamental question that members of the state’s home education community can’t quite agree upon: Will removing nearly all requirements make home educators freer, or more prone to the risks of government intrusion?
On Friday, the debate spilled from the internet to a legislative hearing room, where lawmakers heard more than two hours of testimony.
The majority of speakers — almost all of whom are current or former home educators — favored the current iteration of the bill, HB 1268, which would eliminate the requirements currently in place to notify the state or a school when a family initiates a home education program; to maintain portfolios of their child’s work; to obtain annual academic evaluations; and to submit a letter or certificate to the Department of Education when their child completes high school.
“Parents making educational choices for their own children is a fundamental natural right that precedes our government,” said Tara Elly. “And if there is any question as to whether a parent is educating their children, putting the burden on the parent to prove that they are educating them is backwards.”
Elly’s belief isn’t controversial among members of the state’s home education community active in this legislative process, a group that is fiercely protective of maintaining complete control over their families’ educational choices. But their views on the particular means of accomplishing that goal vary.
Some parents said they worry that eliminating mandated documentation could make them more vulnerable to government oversight — not less.
“This isn’t liberty; this is legal silence,” said Portsmouth resident Kate Abbott.
“This bill,” she added, “paints a giant target on home educators.”
Parents said they were particularly worried about being subjected to questions from the Division for Children, Youth and Families, though proponents responded they believed that mandated notification would protect them from those investigations.
Twelve states don’t currently require notification when families initiate home education programs. In Connecticut, the closest of the states to New Hampshire, home educators are generally happy with their system, according to Ian Huyett, a lawyer for the Christian organization Cornerstone Action, who spoke in favor of the bill.
An addition inserted into the latest draft of the bill in response to feedback would make people personally liable for damages of at least $1,000 if they make a report to DCYF that is “motivated primarily by the family’s participation in home education.” The draft bill language also prohibits members of DCYF or law enforcement from entering the home of a home-educating family without a warrant, absent an emergency.
The bill, which would be the largest change to New Hampshire’s home education law since at least 2012, appears poised for more revisions. Lawmakers peppered opponents of the bill about how to assuage their concerns.