Last month, New Hampshire’s Gov. Kelly Ayotte signed House Bill 1817 into law. House Bill 1817 allows students who receive educational vouchers and who are not enrolled full-time in public schools to have access to school programs, classes and clubs, free of charge. This is a big deal for homeschoolers and any student pursuing alternative forms of education in New Hampshire. It exemplifies a turning point happening in education policy across the nation.
Before this bill became law, schools in New Hampshire already allowed homeschooling students to attend schools, but districts were inconsistently charging families to access public school classes or programming. For students who took an alternative approach to education and received state vouchers, many districts had no clear model for charging or even accepting students into school district programs or classes. This caused a problem for families across New Hampshire because bureaucratic rules differed unfairly in their approach to students who wished to join their school part of the time for certain activities.
This bill will standardize enrollment practices for alternatively educated students across the state who receive state education funds through vouchers. This means every public school must allow alternatively educated students to attend classes, clubs, and teams with no additional charge.
The bill has caused a lot of debate in New Hampshire. Opponents of this bill say that this will cause “double dipping”. Schools are paid per-pupil, so if a student who receives an educational voucher from the state takes a public school course for free, the school district will not receive state funding for that student. The state already paid school districts for homeschooling students, but if a student were to have a schooling voucher and attend a public school course, it would be paying for that student’s education twice.
Proponents of the new law cite that New Hampshire has some of the highest school property taxes in the nation. While schools are partially funded per-pupil, they are also funded in large part by property taxes. They argue that neighbors who already support and pay taxes for school districts now have their rightful opportunity to access those public goods, and this bill brings fairness and consistency to students across the state.
The way that people educate their children is changing rapidly, Many families are veering away from a traditional schooling or homeschooling model, and are finding a hybrid schooling model that fits their needs. This trend is only accelerated by House Bill 1817 which will allow many home educated families to access more educational opportunities at their local public school without needing to pay additional funds.
What Could This Mean for Homeschoolers?
Homeschoolers have always been at the cutting edge of individualized educational models, and a mix-and-match approach to schooling is at the forefront of how homeschool families are currently approaching education. This bill is a part of a multitude of new laws shifting education policy to make this form of education frictionless for families.
House Bill 1817 represents a larger remodeling of education policy across our nation, which has already been changing rapidly. Money has been funneled into homeschooling and alternative forms of education in the last five years. Because of this, there are increased conversations across the nation about registration, data tracking, and accountability measures for alternative educators. Learn more about what these policies might mean for you by checking out our recent blogs on the federal COMPASS Act, Federal Education Tax Credit y Connecticut’s new homeschooling law.