- No portfolio, reading log, work samples or annual evaluation for home education, since July 1, 2026 (2026 ch. 297, HB 1268).
- You file a declaration of home education only when you withdraw from public school or want district classes, sports or tests.
- Education Freedom Account (EFA) families still owe a yearly record: a test, the state assessment, or a portfolio a teacher evaluates.
The paper in your hand may be last year’s portfolio: a reading log by title and a stack of work samples, with the evaluation letter or test scores clipped in front. Beside it may sit the notice you sent when you started. The old law asked for all of it (RSA 193-A:5, 193-A:6, before July 1, 2026).
Good news: that law is gone. This page covers home education under RSA 193-A. If your child has an EFA or goes to a private school, see which route you’re on.
Does New Hampshire require a homeschool portfolio?
No, not since July 1, 2026. A 2026 law, ch. 297, repealed RSA 193-A:6, the section on records and evaluation (2026 ch. 297:10, I).
The home education law now in force has no portfolio, no annual evaluation, no time to keep records and no notice to start or stop (RSA 193-A).
It goes further. A lack of notice, records, evaluations or assessments can’t be used as a failure to educate in a child protection case, as long as you run your program under the chapter (RSA 193-A:4, V).
No school district, local or state official may set a policy for home educated students, except for district classes and programs (RSA 193-A:4, II). Your dates, hours and school year are your own (RSA 193-A:4, III).
What changed on July 1, 2026
The new law is HB 1268, the “Home Education Freedom Act.” It was approved July 10, 2026, and its home education sections took effect July 1, 2026 (2026 ch. 297:1, 297:21).
Here’s the before and after, rule by rule.
| Rule | Before July 1, 2026 | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Notice when you start | Within 5 business days, to the Commissioner, your superintendent or a nonpublic school principal | None. A declaration only when you withdraw from public school or join district programs (RSA 193-A:3) |
| Notice when you stop | Within 15 days | None. Home education ends when your child enrolls full time in a school or an EFA (RSA 193-A:4, VII) |
| Portfolio | A log of reading materials by title, plus samples of writings, worksheets, workbooks or creative materials | None |
| Keeping it | 2 years after instruction ended | No time set |
| Annual evaluation | Required, one of four ways (teacher review, national test, state assessment, or another agreed tool) | None |
| Required subjects | A list from science and math to art and music | None in RSA 193-A |
The “before” column is the law as HB 1268 found it (RSA 193-A:4, I; 193-A:5; 193-A:6, as amended by 2012 ch. 227 and 2022 ch. 131).
Even under the old law, you didn’t send the evaluation in. You kept a copy (former RSA 193-A:6, III).
The new law also tells the State Board of Education to repeal its home education rules, Ed 315 (2026 ch. 297:9).
What New Hampshire still asks of you
Very little. Home education under RSA 193-A counts as school for any child from age 6 to under 18 (RSA 193:1, I(b)). The rest applies only when you want something from the district, or is optional.
The declaration of home education
You need one in two cases: when you withdraw your child from a public school, and when you want district classes or programs (RSA 193-A:3).
It’s a short written statement, signed by a parent. It names your child, with date of birth and current address, and says your child is home educated and meets New Hampshire’s attendance law (RSA 193-A:1, III).
The law doesn’t say where it goes. Our advice: send it to the school you’re leaving, or the district whose program you want, and keep a copy. HSLDA suggests certified mail, return receipt requested. That’s advice, not law.
District classes, sports and tests
Your child can join your district’s classes and cocurricular programs, such as clubs, sports and performing groups. That includes the statewide assessment and the PSAT (RSA 193:1-c, I).
The school board sets the rules, and they can’t be stricter for your child than for the district’s own students (RSA 193:1-c, I).
Your privacy
Anything you give a state agency, school district or government office about your home education program is confidential. It can’t be shared without your written consent (RSA 193-A:4, VI).
The optional certificate of completion
When your child finishes, you may sign a certificate of completion. It can list your child’s name and date of birth, your names, the completion date and your signature (RSA 193-A:5, I).
Send it to the Commissioner of Education, and the Commissioner issues a state certificate within 30 days (RSA 193-A:5, II).
Home education, EFA or a private school: which rules apply
The 2026 change covers home education under RSA 193-A. A child in the Education Freedom Account program is not a “home educated student” under that law, and follows the EFA agreement instead (RSA 193-A:1, IV).
| Route | Law | Portfolio or yearly record? | Who keeps the records |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home education | RSA 193-A; RSA 193:1, I(b) | No | You, if you choose to |
| Education Freedom Account (EFA) | RSA 194-F | Yes, one of three each year: a norm-referenced test with results to the scholarship organization, the state assessment, or a portfolio a teacher evaluates | You, with the scholarship organization |
| Approved private school | RSA 193:1, I(a) | Not under RSA 193-A | The school |
Starting an EFA ends a home education program (RSA 194-F:2, IX). If your EFA student uses district programs, tell the district your child is now in the EFA program (RSA 194-F:2, IX).
The signed EFA agreement satisfies the attendance law (RSA 194-F:3, IV).
What counts as a work sample for an EFA portfolio?
The EFA portfolio includes a log of reading materials by title and “samples of writings, worksheets, workbooks, or creative materials” your child used or made (RSA 194-F:3, III(d)(3)(C)).
A teacher you choose evaluates it, after reviewing it and talking with you or your child. The teacher must be certified, or currently teaching in a nonpublic school (RSA 194-F:3, III(d)(3)(C)).
The law sets no number of samples. Examples, not rules: a dated math page, a narration, a lab sheet, a photo of a project.
The New Hampshire homeschool year, date by date
Home education has no statewide homeschool deadline. Your dates are your own (RSA 193-A:4, III).
| When | What | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Ages 6 to under 18 | Home education satisfies the attendance law | RSA 193:1, I(b) |
| When you withdraw from public school | Declaration of home education | RSA 193-A:3 |
| When you join district classes, sports, the state assessment or the PSAT | Declaration of home education | RSA 193-A:3; RSA 193:1-c |
| All year | Nothing to file, keep or show under RSA 193-A | RSA 193-A |
| When your child finishes (optional) | Certificate of completion; the Commissioner issues one within 30 days | RSA 193-A:5 |
| EFA families, each year | Test results to the scholarship organization by the end of the school year, the state assessment, or a teacher-evaluated portfolio | RSA 194-F:3, III(d)(3) |
How long to keep homeschool records in New Hampshire
The law no longer sets a time. The old two-year rule for the portfolio was in RSA 193-A:6, and that section is repealed (2026 ch. 297:10, I).
HSLDA advises keeping high school records permanently. That’s advice, not law.
Our advice: keep high school work, any declaration you filed, your certificate of completion, and anything an EFA evaluator or a program asks for.
Will an evaluator accept a digital portfolio?
No New Hampshire law requires paper or mentions digital records (RSA 193-A; RSA 194-F).
If you keep an EFA portfolio, ask the teacher evaluating it, and your scholarship organization, which format they want. A printed copy works for anyone who wants paper.
What changes in 2026 and 2027
2026
The big one is HB 1268 (2026 ch. 297), effective July 1, 2026. It rewrote RSA 193-A, ended the portfolio, the annual evaluation and the starting and stopping notices, and kept the declaration for two cases and the optional certificate (2026 ch. 297:3, 297:10).
A second law, HB 1817 (2026 ch. 183), took effect August 18, 2026. It rewrote the access rule, which now names EFA students and covers the statewide assessment and the PSAT (RSA 193:1-c).
2027
Nothing in the 2026 home education law is scheduled to take effect in 2027 (2026 ch. 297:21).
No legislative service request touching home education had been filed for the 2027 session when we checked (New Hampshire General Court LSR list). Requests are not law.
Keeping the portfolio in KidsFoldr
Snap each worksheet as your child finishes it, and it’s filed under that child, grade and subject, with nothing to sort and nothing to type. Once it’s scanned, the paper can go: scan it for peace of mind, then toss it. Less clutter, and years of work fit on your phone.
Keep the originals someone may ask for: your certificate of completion, any declaration you filed, and high school work a school or college may weigh for credit. Scan them too, so everything is in one place.
- Organized with zero effort. Every paper is filed by child, grade and type as you snap it, and schoolwork and tests by subject too. A name at the top of a page files it under the right child, and any word on any paper is searchable.
- The paperwork keeps up. Forward a score report or an evaluator’s letter that arrives by email, and it files the same way. A test date or an evaluator’s appointment on a paper lands on your family calendar, linked back to its paper, with nothing to type.
- A portfolio, on demand. Start a New portfolio, set your own dates, and create a PDF with a cover page and contents. Share it or print it, or share your child’s Portfolios folder read-only with an EFA evaluator.
- Keepsakes, safe. Artwork and favorite work are kept as scans. Turn on automatic backup, and every paper goes to KidsFoldr Cloud as it is filed. One tap on Back up copies every paper to your own Google Drive or iCloud.
You pick the sections. For an EFA portfolio:
- Reading log: books by title.
- Work samples, grouped by subject, and Artwork for creative work.
- Evaluations for the teacher’s letter, or Test results for a score report.
- Letters and notices for a declaration or your certificate.
Common questions
Do I still need a homeschool portfolio in New Hampshire?
No. The portfolio rule was repealed effective July 1, 2026 (2026 ch. 297). EFA families may keep one as one of three yearly options (RSA 194-F:3).
Do I have to notify anyone that I homeschool?
Only in two cases: a declaration of home education when you withdraw from public school, or when you want district classes or programs (RSA 193-A:3).
Do I need an annual evaluation?
Not for home education under RSA 193-A. EFA families send a yearly record: a test, the state assessment, or a teacher-evaluated portfolio (RSA 194-F:3, III(d)(3)).
How long do I have to keep homeschool records in New Hampshire?
The law no longer sets a time. HSLDA advises keeping high school records permanently.
Can my homeschooler play school sports or take the PSAT?
Yes. Home educated students can join district classes and cocurricular programs, including the PSAT, under district rules no stricter than for district students (RSA 193:1-c). File a declaration first (RSA 193-A:3).