Home educators: Laws discriminate

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February 19, 2009

By Suzanne Laurent

CONCORD — Close to 1,000 home educators and their children, many from the Derry/Londonderry area, packed the State House on Wednesday, Feb. 11, to oppose changes to home schooling laws.

Two house bills were sponsored by Rep. Judith Day, D-North Hampton, who said she filed the bills to make sure all home educators are aware of state laws and to make sure the state meets its obligation to educate all children.

The current New Hampshire home schooling law already requires annual evaluations of all home-schooled students and gives parents three options: standardized testing, a portfolio evaluation of the child's work by a certified teacher or a mutually agreed upon valid tool that the home educator and the supervisory agency agreed upon. This agency is the superintendent or can be a private school administrator.

Proposed House Bill 367 requires two forms of evaluation — testing and portfolio evaluation — every year for every home-schooled student.

"House Bill 367 singles out home-schoolers by requiring evaluation measurements that exceed those required for other New Hampshire students," said Londonderry resident Jane Grady.

"The proposed bill does not provide an objective standard or minimum score by which educational progress is measured. Under the proposed bill, educational progress for home-schooled students is determined solely in the superintendent's or principal's judgment."

Grady has been home schooling her children for 14 years. She is the coordinator of the New Hampshire Homeschooling Coalition, but makes it clear that her comments in the article are not on behalf of the coalition.

"These are my personal opinions," Grady said. "They are not expressed on behalf of any organization or representing other homeschoolers."

The second bill being proposed by Day is House Bill 368, which would require local school districts and private schools to assume full responsibility for providing home schooling information, advice and resources to home schooling families.

"HB368 is nothing more than a law that unfairly singles out one group of citizens requiring that we certify we have read and are complying with the law — all of this done while in the act of complying," Grady said.

Grady added that the two bills and their amendments are "discriminatory, arbitrary, intrusive and unnecessary."

"Neither bill addresses a problem, but will create problems and increase expenses for home-schoolers and school districts," she said.

Jeanne Latulippe of Derry, who has home-schooled her four children since 1997, agreed.

"It will be cost prohibitive for some families to do both (testing and a portfolio)," she said.

"The test costs $65 and if a teacher administers the test (as required by the proposed law), it could run hundreds of dollars over the few days it takes to complete."

In addition, the portfolio is reviewed by a certified teacher who charges $25 to $50 per child.

"I'm surprised that when there's such overwhelming evidence to support the success of the home schooling experience, they are trying to fine-tune it," Latulippe said.

Latulippe said if a standardized test is given to a grade level in school and half the class scores below average, the students are not held back.

What she fears is that if the superintendent looks at the test results of a home-schooler and it is lower than the previous test results, the student might be put on probation.

"The objective is to show progress and most students are doing well," she said.

Londonderry Superintendent Nate Greenberg, who presently oversees 62 home-schoolers, said there are concerns with a small percentage of home-schoolers not meeting their educational requirements.

"If parents are not providing the appropriate educational experience and the kids come back into the public school system, there could be a problem," he said. "I've spoken with other superintendents who say that some kids are not doing the work that is required."

Latulippe said while her own children do well on tests, others just aren't good test takers.

"The parents' method is then called into question," she said. "Then it's up to one person, the superintendent, and kids are subject to his or her judgement."