Reject HB 1263 NH Hostile Homeschool Bill

As homeschoolers, we have a sizable job on our hands. To pass this bill would only add greater responsibility to a job we live-out day and night with the utmost care, attention and love. Don't detract from all that we dedicate to our children by taking on the role of both parent and educator. Don't load on more red tape and hoops to jump through for parents who simply desire and do the best for their children.

This bill should not pass! We are not in favor of it!

Please protect our rights to homeschool our children

Please reject this bill. The current standards do hold parents accountable. The focus should be on improving the schools.

This ill conceived bill should not pass!

There should not be any impositions placed on home schooled children that are not placed on public school children. This bill is an unwarranted invasion on the inalienable rights guaranteed to parents through the constitution.

This would create an unnecessary bureaucracy. If an evaluator is a certified teacher then it's the same as if a student is in a classroom under that teacher. There is no need to micro-manage parents. I feel it is overstepping the governments bounds.

There are so many reasons for homeschooling!! I wish people would leave homeschoolers alone and focus on fixing the public education system!!!

This is a paternal rights issue. Don't take away our rights and what we know is best for our children. Homeschooling is not neglect and not abused!

I ask you to reject HB 1263. This is a bill without a need. Homeschoolers consistently perform as well or better than their traditionally schooled counterparts under the current law. Yet this bill presumes that homeschoolers need stricter guidelines than students educated at public and private schools in spite of all evidence to the contrary. For a state that proudly touts the motto “Live Free or Die”, this bill unfairly punishes New Hampshire residents who have chosen to homeschool their children. Please reject HB 1263.

Parents should ALWAYS have the right to do what is best for their child. Nothing makes the public school thrive more than educational choice.

Homeschooling is the most wonderful gift you could give your child

This is not right

I have homeschooled 9 children in NH over the past 20 years. They have all grown up to be productive, successful adults. The four who have gone to college have graduated magna and summa cum laude. Homeschool works as it is. Don't turn it into a burden on parents and the state. This bill is simply unnecessary.

Parents should be able to decide how it is best to educate their own children. This bill is a direct attack on parental rights.

Its unjust that homeschoolers are held to a stricter standard than public/private schools.

Homeschooled children have the best possible learning environment. Why? Because the teacher-yes, the parent(s)-know them better than anyone, and can, therefore, teach in the manner best suited to the child's way of learning. Even in the 21st century, kids are still individuals and no "one-size-fits-all, cookie-cutter" classroom environment can do an individual child justice. Homeschooling parents take their responsibility to their children's education very seriously. Why do a few in state government feel they need to make it harder on the many families who are already doing a tremendous amount of work to ensure their children receive the best possible education?

I was homeschooled when I'm was little after being in public school for a few years, and it made a huge difference in my education. I think homeschooling is better than public school, and I fully support it and wanna help keep it easier to homeschool children.

There is no reason to make things harder for those trying to do what is best for their family. My daughter has come a long way this year due to being taught at home.

Article 83 of the State Constitution, often cited in the education funding debate, commands legislators and magistrates to cherish seminaries and public schools, and to encourage private and public institutions. If this is understood to require state funding of education, it would also mean that the state shall respect private schooling, which includes homeschooling. Most importantly, absent from the state constitution is any mandate to standardize educational requirements. But since we somehow found ourselves needing to impose various metrics on a child’s intellect, let it be known that the past century has seen a decrease in student qualifications upon graduating secondary schools. Schools and teachers are not held accountable for the failures of students to meet state expectations, for pushing them through the system without discrete evaluations that meet or exceed performance tests– so why foist such requirements upon homeschoolers? Why does homeschooling scare so many people to the point that they want to control a child’s development under the color of law? A fear of lost revenue? A fear of differing worldviews? A fear of losing control of a generation of children? Consider this: if an agency of the government said your child was not moral enough and would be compelled to attend church, how would you respond? (See NH Constitution Article 6) If institutionalized schooling was the best option for a child, what parent would NOT want to voluntarily enroll them? Why would a free republic undermine parental rights? Certainly not because bureaucrats do not trust parents. To school one’s own children is a natural right of parents. Children do not belong to the state; it does not take a village to raise a child.