The House Children and Family Law Committee planned to continue the public hearing on HB 1650 re educational neglect on Tuesday, February 13th; however, because it did not appear in the House Calendar, it is rescheduled for Wednesday, February 21st, immediately before the committee will vote on the bill.
This is unfortunate because the final two organizations to testify are the Division of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) and Child Protective Services (CPS), both divisions of the NH Department of Health and Human Services. We intended to video record their testimony and report back to the homeschool community. This delay eliminates our opportunity to refute anything they may say to the committee.
Please contact the committee today, urging them to support HB 1650 that removes education-only investigations from DCYF and allows them to focus on cases that need their attention, resources, and expertise. Let the state Department of Education and local SAUs handle education investigations as they are already empowered to do through existing compulsory attendance and truancy laws. The Home Education Advisory Council (HEAC) asked DCYF for more information about “homeschool contacts” and there is no evidence these encounters need DCYF’s attention; investigations can be handled through education agencies that better understand these issues and home-education requirements.
The committee’s email is CFL@leg.state.nh.us
More information, including our testimony with additional talking points and evidence, is available at Level the Playing Field for Homeschoolers.