Homeschooling in New Hampshire — Considering New Hampshire

Education Freedom Accounts

An Education Freedom Account is money from the state for your child’s education. You spend it from an account on approved costs: tuition, tutoring, books, and online programs. Children’s Scholarship Fund NH runs the accounts. It is not the same program as home education under RSA 193-A. DOE says that on the Home Education page. You can still use the money while you teach at home.

For the 2026–27 school year the base grant is $4,351 per student. That is the same “adequacy” amount the state uses for kids in district schools. If the child qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, add $2,441 ($6,792 total). Special education adds $2,229. English language learner adds $849.

You and the student must live in New Hampshire, and the student must be eligible for public K–12. Full-time enrollment in the resident district or a public charter does not qualify.

Apply at Children’s Scholarship Fund NH. Applications for 2026–27 are open.

Why families look here

People come for the tax picture. Families also come because homeschooling is legal and ordinary.
NH dropped the notice, portfolio, and yearly evaluation paperwork that used to be required. A lot of other states still make you file that.
The official how-to is the Department of Education page.

Home education · 2016–17 to 2025–26

Total home schooled, all grades. NH DOE, Division of Education Analytics and Resources, Bureau of Educational Statistics. iPlatform Report 14, Final, report date 2/3/2026. Data from ESS-A12E and A12C, collected through i4see.

Do I have to notify the state?

Kids 6 to 18 have to be in school or homeschooled. That’s RSA 193:1. Home education is the exemption.
You no longer file start or stop paperwork with the state (as of July 2026). Governor Ayotte signed HB 1268 on July 10, 2026. The home-education parts took effect July 1, 2026.
DOE says notifications to start or stop a Home Education program are no longer required, and the Department no longer oversees Home Education. Its page is informational.
If you pull a kid from public school, still talk to the district. Confirm it with the resident district and with DOE.
The compiled RSA 193-A page on the General Court site, and DOE’s rules page, may still show the old notice, portfolio, and evaluation rules. Those can lag. Follow the main DOE Home Education page and its HB 1268 paragraph.

What ages?

The duty starts at 6 and runs until 18, unless the kid is homeschooled.
A child who turns 6 after September 30 is not required until the following school year.
Kindergarten is not required by that age rule.

Do I have to test?

No. NH dropped the yearly evaluation and the portfolio you used to file.

Homeschoolers do not have to take this. It is the federal NAEP given in public schools. In 2024 New Hampshire scored above the national average on all four. Reading was in the top 10% of states and jurisdictions. Math was top 12% in grade 4 and top 20% in grade 8. Massachusetts still scores a few points higher on the same tests.

NAEP 2024 · public schools

Grade 4 math 242 (was 239 in 2022) against a national 237. Grade 8 math 280 (279) against 272. Grade 4 reading 221 (223) against 214. Grade 8 reading 264 (263) against 257. NH DOE, 29 Jan 2025, checked against the NCES grade 4 math, grade 8 math, grade 4 reading, and grade 8 reading snapshots. More at nationsreportcard.gov. Massachusetts is a few points higher on the same four (NCES MA snapshots: 246, 283, 225, 268).

If a child under 18 finishes a high-school-level home education program, DOE offers an optional completion form. It is not required.

Sports and public-school classes

Homeschooled kids get equal access to district courses and cocurricular programs (clubs, sports, performing groups) in the resident district. That’s RSA 193:1-c.
The local board can’t make the policy tighter than it is for kids already in the school.
Ask the district how it runs that. If you want sports or a class, talk to them.

Co-ops

Private co-ops exist. DOE lists these associations: Granite State Home Educators, New Hampshire Homeschooling Coalition, Catholics United for Home Education. See the DOE list.

Official links

Start with DOE, then the statutes.

NH DOE — Home Education — start here. HB 1268 is the paragraph to read first.
NH DOE — Education Freedom Accounts — the state grant. Not home education.
Children’s Scholarship Fund NH — apply for an EFA — they administer it. 2026–27 applications are open.
RSA 194-F — Education Freedom Accounts.
NHED / LBA — SFY 2026 EFA funding formula — $4,265.64 base and the 2025–26 add-ons. Same rates district schools get.
RSA 198:40-d — 2% annual bump, rounded up, starting July 1, 2026. That is how 2026–27 becomes $4,351 / +$2,441 / +$2,229 / +$849.
NH DOE — rules and regulations — may lag. Prefer the main page.
NH DOE iPlatform — Home Education and NonPublic Enrollments — Report 14, Final, 2/3/2026. Last official statewide count. After HB 1268 this is a last count, not a live census.
RSA 193:1 — compulsory attendance.
RSA 193:1-c — equal access to district courses and cocurricular programs.
HB 1268 docket — General Court docket.
DOE lists these associations — Granite State Home Educators, New Hampshire Homeschooling Coalition, Catholics United for Home Education.
NH DOE — NAEP 2024 and Nation’s Report Card.

Not legal advice.