Alexandra Carter

This bill removes basic safeguards that ensure every child in New Hampshire receives a meaningful education and is safe, visible, and supported. While framed as “freedom,” the reality is that it strips away the minimal oversight that protects children’s right to learn. Progressives believe deeply in respecting families and supporting diverse educational paths, including homeschooling. But rights come with responsibilities, and the state has a duty to ensure that every child—not just those in public schools—has access to literacy, numeracy, and a basic educational foundation. Eliminating notification requirements and making evaluations optional does not protect freedom; it removes accountability. Without consistent notification and assessment, the state loses its ability to ensure that children are not falling through the cracks—academically, socially, or in cases of neglect or abuse. Schools, social services, and communities rely on these minimal touchpoints to ensure that children remain visible and supported. Removing them risks isolating vulnerable children behind closed doors with no mechanism to confirm they are receiving an education at all. This bill also creates inequity. Public school students are subject to standards, assessments, and transparency. Families who choose homeschooling should not be subject to punitive regulation—but nor should they be exempt from the basic expectation that children are learning and progressing. The goal of education policy should be to expand opportunity, not to eliminate safeguards. Oversight does not have to be heavy-handed to be meaningful, and the existing requirements are modest protections that balance parental autonomy with children’s rights. HB 1268 shifts that balance too far, prioritizing deregulation over student welfare and educational equity. For the sake of children’s rights, public accountability, and equal opportunity, this bill should be rejected.