A new bill would increase the level of oversight over homeschool students in the state.
Each year, homeschool students in New Hampshire are required to demonstrate their educational progress. They can do that in a lot of different ways, including with a standardized test or an evaluation by a teacher.
But the way the law is currently written, parents aren’t required to share the results of those assessments. The state is also specifically forbidden from using the results of those evaluations as a basis for forcing a child out of homeschool.
Democratic state Rep. Larry Laflamme wants to change that. He says under this current system, some children could be getting an inadequate education and no one, except the parents, would know.
“The majority of homeschoolers that I’ve talked to do a really, really good job. I’m concerned about the children who aren’t. The rights of parents – they have to balance off of the rights of the children, and the children have the right to a good education.”
Some homeschool advocates argue these requirements would be too stringent.