How to Withdraw Your Child From Public School in New Hampshire (2026): Step by Step

How Withdrawal Works in New Hampshire

New Hampshire establishes home education through a one-time notification, and you choose which of three agencies receives it. Filing the notification is what excuses your child from public school attendance, and you do not refile it each year. You also notify your child's public school. There is no approval and no parent credential. New Hampshire has been moving to loosen these rules in recent years, so the current requirements are lighter than the state's older reputation suggests.

The three agencies are the commissioner of education at the state level, your local school district, or a nonpublic school that agrees to serve as your participating agency. You pick one, file once, and that step is complete. After the notification, two things carry through each year: teaching the required subjects and keeping an annual evaluation of your child's progress. That evaluation belongs to you and stays in your records; you do not send it to anyone.

For the full picture of what New Hampshire requires beyond the withdrawal itself, the New Hampshire homeschooling guide covers the required subjects, the annual evaluation options, and the Education Freedom Account in one place.

Step 1: Choose Your Agency and File the Notification

New Hampshire lets you file your one-time notification with one of three participating agencies: the commissioner of education at the state level, your local school district, or a nonpublic school that agrees to serve as your participating agency. Many families file with the commissioner to keep the relationship at the state level rather than with the local district. Filing with the district is also lawful, and some families find it more convenient if their district is accessible and responsive. The nonpublic school option is the least common of the three but is available to families who prefer a school-based relationship for their program.

The notification identifies your child and states your intent to provide home education. It is one-time per child; you do not refile each year. If your circumstances change, such as a move to a new district, you may need to notify a different agency, but under ordinary conditions you file once and the step is done. Keep a copy of your notification and any written acknowledgment you receive from the agency. That documentation confirms the date your home education program officially began.

We cover the notification and the agency choice in the New Hampshire homeschooling guide. Before you settle on curriculum for your first year, run a free reading and academic assessment so you know where your child stands. That baseline makes planning the year much more precise than starting from a general grade-level assumption.

Step 2: Notify the School

Send your child's public school a short written notice that the child is withdrawing to home education, so attendance tracking stops. Keep a copy of that note with your notification filed with the agency. Filing the notification with the agency is the legal step that establishes your home education program, but notifying the school directly closes attendance tracking on the school side and prevents absences from being recorded as truancy while the records are updated.

If you filed the notification with your local district as your agency, the district office may handle the school notification as well. Even so, a clear written note to the school building avoids crossed wires about the timing of your child's last attendance day.

For a mid-year withdrawal, file the notification with your chosen agency and send the school note close together so your child moves cleanly out of the public system without a gap in the records. Mid-year withdrawals follow the same process as start-of-year ones; New Hampshire law does not restrict when you can file.

Step 3: Keep Records and Know the Evaluation

Keep your notification and any acknowledgment from the agency from the moment you file. Shortly after withdrawal, request your child's school records, including immunization records and any academic records or transcripts you want on hand for future reference. Having those records at home makes planning your starting point much easier and means they are accessible when you need them later.

After the notification is filed, New Hampshire asks two ongoing things of you. First, teach the required subjects: science, mathematics, language, government, history, health, reading, writing, spelling, the constitutions of the United States and New Hampshire, and an appreciation of art and music. That list covers the breadth of a standard school year, and most curricula address all of it without extra planning on your part.

Second, have your child's progress evaluated each year. This is where New Hampshire's framework surprises families who expect to submit a report to the district: the evaluation stays in your own records. You do not send it to anyone and there is no deadline for completing it. The evaluation can be a portfolio review by a New Hampshire certified teacher, a standardized achievement test, a state assessment, or another method agreed with your participating agency. Choose the format that fits how you document your school year.

Keeping a running record of subjects covered, materials used, and work samples from each subject through the year makes whichever evaluation method you choose much easier to complete. Building that record as you go rather than reconstructing it at year end means the evaluation is a matter of organizing what you already have. The planning guide can help you map the required subjects across a full year so the curriculum record and the evaluation reinforce each other from the start.

Funding Note and Special Education

If you are exploring state funding, New Hampshire's Education Freedom Account is now open to all families after income limits were removed in 2025. Our New Hampshire homeschool funding guide covers the current amount, eligibility, and how to apply. The Education Freedom Account is a separate program from the home education notification, and participating in it may affect which rules apply to your family, so understand which track you operate under before you enroll.

If your child has an Individualized Education Program, the special education services provided through the public school end when you withdraw to home education. New Hampshire districts may offer limited services to home education students, but the IEP entitlement that applies to enrolled public school students does not carry over. Contact your district's special education office before withdrawing if services are in place. Ask what remains available and what steps, if any, you need to take to preserve access to any services that might continue.

A Note from Homeschool Teacher Guide: What This Really Means for You

New Hampshire is lighter than families expect. File the one-time notification with the agency you prefer, many choose the commissioner, and you will not file again for that child. Send a short note to your child's school so attendance tracking stops, and keep copies of both. The notification step is finished after one submission.

The annual evaluation is real, but it stays in your own records. You do not submit it. Keep a running record of subjects covered, materials used, and work samples through the year; that record makes the evaluation straightforward no matter which method you choose, and it gives you a foundation for a high school transcript when those years arrive.

One caution worth naming: New Hampshire has been weighing whether to make even the notice and evaluation optional, so check education.nh.gov before you file to confirm the current rules. If funding interests you, the Education Freedom Account is now open to all families, but it is its own track with its own rules; our New Hampshire funding guide covers what you need to know. Our New Hampshire homeschooling guide covers the evaluation options and the required subjects in full.