HB 1663 New Hampshire Homeschool: What the 2022 Law Change Actually Means

If you've been searching for information about New Hampshire homeschool testing requirements and keep running into references to the 40th percentile, here's the short version: that requirement was eliminated in 2022 and no longer applies.

House Bill 1663, signed into law during the 2022 legislative session, made significant changes to RSA 193-A:6 — the section of NH law governing annual educational evaluations for homeschooled students. Understanding what changed, and what the law actually says now, will remove a persistent source of confusion for many families.

What the Law Said Before HB 1663

Prior to the 2022 changes, RSA 193-A:6 required that children who used standardized testing as their annual evaluation method score at or above the 40th percentile on a national norm-referenced test. If a child scored below the 40th percentile, the law triggered a formal remediation process:

• The family had to submit a written remediation plan to their participating agency
• The plan outlined how the parents would address the identified academic deficiencies
• A follow-up evaluation was required
• Continued failure to demonstrate adequate progress could theoretically result in the participating agency seeking termination of the home education program

This framework created genuine legal jeopardy for some families — particularly those with children who have learning disabilities, test anxiety, or who simply performed poorly on standardized tests for reasons unrelated to their actual academic progress.

What HB 1663 Changed

The 2022 legislation dismantled the remediation framework entirely. The specific changes:

The 40th percentile threshold was removed. There is no longer a minimum passing score for standardized tests used to satisfy the annual evaluation requirement. A child can score in the 15th percentile, the 5th percentile, or anywhere else on the test, and they have still legally satisfied the evaluation requirement.

The remediation mechanism was eliminated. There is no longer any statutory process by which a poor evaluation result triggers mandatory follow-up, remediation plans, or state oversight. The remediation pathway had already been partially dismantled in 2012; HB 1663 completed that process.

The "reasonable progress" standard was clarified. The current legal standard for annual evaluation is that a child demonstrates educational progress "commensurate with the child's age, ability, and/or disability." This language explicitly individualizes the standard — progress is measured against the specific child, not against a grade-level benchmark or national percentile.

The evaluation results were confirmed as private family property. RSA 193-A:6 now explicitly states that evaluation results "shall not be used as a basis for termination of a home education program." The results stay with the family, are not submitted to the participating agency or the state, and cannot be weaponized against a family in any administrative or legal proceeding.

What Hasn't Changed

HB 1663 did not eliminate the annual evaluation requirement itself. New Hampshire homeschool families are still required to conduct an annual evaluation under RSA 193-A:6. The options remain:

1. Portfolio review by a certified teacher
2. A national standardized achievement test
3. The state assessment test (free, administered by the resident district)
4. Any other valid measurement tool mutually agreed upon in writing with the participating agency

HB 1663 changed the stakes around option 2, not the requirement to choose one of the four methods.

What "Reasonable Progress Commensurate with Age, Ability, and Disability" Actually Means

This phrase is the current legal standard, and it matters because it's the framework your evaluator — whether a certified teacher reviewing a portfolio or a parent administering a standardized test — is applying when assessing your child's year.

"Commensurate with age" means the evaluator considers what's developmentally reasonable for a child of that age. An 8-year-old learning to read independently demonstrates reasonable progress for their age even if they're reading books targeted at slightly younger children.

"Commensurate with ability" means the child is measured against their own demonstrated capability, not against an external standard. A highly capable child who was enrolled in an accelerated curriculum might be measured differently than a child with a typical academic profile. Both are assessed against their own trajectory.

"Commensurate with disability" is the most significant phrase for families with neurodivergent children. A child with dyslexia, ADHD, autism, or other learning differences is assessed against progress appropriate for a child with that profile — not against neurotypical benchmarks. This is why portfolio review with an evaluator who has special education experience is strongly preferred for these children. The evaluator can interpret the portfolio within the correct developmental and clinical context.

The practical implication: there is no realistic scenario in which a child who has been genuinely educated at home fails to satisfy this standard. The law is designed to protect parental rights, not to provide a mechanism for state oversight.

The EFA Program Has Different Rules

One important nuance: House Bill 1663 and the RSA 193-A framework apply to traditional independent homeschoolers. Families in the Education Freedom Account (EFA) program operate under RSA 194-F, which has its own accountability structure.

EFA families must submit an Annual Record of Educational Attainment to the Children's Scholarship Fund by July 15th each year as a condition of maintaining their grant eligibility. This submission must include either a standardized test score (with Total, Math, and ELA results) or a signed evaluation letter from a certified teacher confirming educational progress was made.

While the 40th percentile requirement doesn't apply to EFA evaluations either — the standard remains "reasonable progress" — the difference is that EFA families are submitting documentation to a third party as a funding condition, not merely keeping it privately on file. HB 1663's privacy protections apply to the independent homeschool pathway, not to the EFA program's accountability structure.

If you are an EFA family, understanding this distinction is critical. Conflating the two frameworks is one of the most common compliance mistakes NH homeschool families make.

The Bottom Line for Your Annual Evaluation

If you were waiting for the right moment to stop dreading standardized test results, this is it. Under current NH law:

• Your child's test score doesn't need to reach any threshold
• A poor score triggers no mandatory follow-up or state intervention
• The score stays private in your files
• You can switch evaluation methods year to year — there is no requirement to use the same method annually

If you found the pre-2022 framework stressful and have been avoiding standardized testing because of it, the regulatory environment has changed significantly in your favor. The choice between standardized testing and portfolio review now comes down entirely to what works best for your child — not what protects you from legal consequences.

For documentation that reflects the current law — including an evaluation letter template, a standardized test record sheet, and a dual-pathway checklist for both RSA 193-A and EFA families — the New Hampshire Portfolio & Assessment Templates is built around the post-HB 1663 legal framework.

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