Homeschooling

Croydon has an active and welcoming homeschool community. Homeschooling your child can be a rewarding experience for both parent and child if you are committed to the process. Feel free to send us a message using the form at the bottom of this page if you wish to be connected with a local homeschooler to learn more about it.

Legally, homeschooling in NH is defined under RSA 193-A, and its key requirements are detailed below.

Requirement 1 – Notify an Authority

Parents are required to file an initial notice to a “participating agency” within five days of commencing a homeschool program or upon moving to a new school district and changing participating agencies. They are not required to re-notify each year.

A “participating agency” may be the commissioner of education, a public school district superintendent, or a principal of a nonpublic school. Locally, the following options exist for filing notice:

• Croydon School District Superintendent
• Mount Royal Academy

Requirement 2 – Teach Required Subjects

New Hampshire law requires you teach students science, mathematics, language, government, history, health, reading, writing, spelling, the history of New Hampshire and the United States, and exposure and appreciation of art and music.

Requirement 3 – Keep Records

Homeschooling parents are required by law to maintain a portfolio of records that includes the following:

• Log of reading materials used and samples of writing
• Worksheets, workbooks, or creative materials used or produced by the child

Parents are expected to retain the portfolio for 2 years.

Requirement 4 – Evaluate Annually

Parents must perform one of the following types of annual evaluations on their homeschooled child:

• A written evaluation of educational progress by a certified teacher or current nonpublic school teacher
• Any national student achievement test administered by a person meeting the provider’s qualifications
• The state’s student assessment test used by Croydon School District (NH SAS)
• Any other valid measurement tool as mutually agreed upon by the parent and the participating agency selected in requirement 1 above

Evaluation results are kept by the parent and are NOT sent to the participating agency. Results may be used to demonstrate academic proficiency but cannot be used as a basis for terminating a home education program.

Requirement 5 – Notify if Graduating Before Age 18

A child may be exempted from education under the age of 18 if they have graduated high school. As such, parents may “document the completion of a home school program at the high school level by submitting a certificate or a letter to the Department of Education.”

Using an Educational Freedom Account (EFA)

Families may use EFA funds for home-based education. However, the student will technically no longer be considered a homeschooled student according to New Hampshire law.

Click here to learn more about EFAs.

Useful Links

• New Hampshire Homeschool Law at a Glance (HSLDA)
• How to Comply with New Hampshire Homeschool Law (HSLDA)
• Upper Valley Homeschoolers (Facebook, heavily Croydon and Newport)
• Claremont NH Area Homeschoolers (Facebook)
• Sullivan County NH / Windsor County VT Homeschoolers (Facebook)
• NH Homeschooling Network (Facebook)