HB 1610 re mandatory statewide testing is the worst home education bill in over 15 years.
Rep Corinne Cascadden from Berlin was the reason homeschoolers faced a horrible regulation bill in 2018, and she is the prime sponsor of HB 1610 (2024) that would mandate children "in all learning environments" participate in the statewide (public ed) testing.
The last time we faced anything like this was in early 2018 when Representative Robert Theberge (representing Coos 3, including the town of Berlin) sponsored a bill, HB 1263, that sought to reinstate annual notifications and reporting assessment results to Participating Agencies. These requirements were repealed from home ed law in 2012. Rep Theberge testified that the bill was put forward at the urging of Dr Corinne Cascadden, the superintendent of SAU 3 Berlin, who is now the prime sponsor of HB 1610 (2024).
Here is the text of HB 1263 (2018).
Over 600 homeschoolers flooded the state house for the public hearing on January 25, 2018. The hearing lasted over 3.5 hours. I found a video recording of it here. Watch bits of the HB 1263 (2018) hearing to be inspired as we head into our fight for home education freedom.
Here's a short article about HB 1263 (2018) public hearing.
Our community was engaged and outraged about this bill, and this is exactly what we need to do again for HB 1610. This year's bill is far, far more egregious.
If HB 1610 passes, it will make NH the most harshly regulated state in the country. According to HSLDA, none of the high-regulation states -- New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, or Rhode Island -- mandates home ed students to take their statewide exam.
HB 1610 (2024) does not have a public hearing scheduled yet, but we expect it to be announced very soon. The NH House of Representatives must finalize all bills by March 21, so they need to squeeze us in somewhere. Subscribe to the GSHE newsletter to stay informed. We need all hands on deck to defend home education freedom.
Read more about 2024 legislation here.
UPDATE: The public hearing for HB 1610 re mandatory participation in the statewide (public ed) assessment is scheduled for Monday, March 4 at 12:30pm in the Legislative Office Building room 205-207. We suggested the committee reserve a large room as we expect a very large crowd. You can find details about the hearing in our legislative alert and Facebook event.
GSHE Advocacy Resources
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Make a Difference – various ways to get involved.
NH Legislators – updated for 2024 with the Senate and House Education Committee members’ contact information. We make it easy to contact them.
Legislative Process – know how bills go through Concord.
GSHE Action Facebook Group – our group focused on advocacy for traditional, unfunded home education, open to NH homeschooling families and supporters not legislators or special-interest organizations.
Make a Difference video – how to be an effective advocate in Concord including how to follow bills, prepare testimony, and coordinate with like-minded people.
By Michelle Levell
