How to Withdraw Your Child from School in New Hampshire

You've made the decision to homeschool. Now you need to get your child out of school cleanly — without triggering truancy, without a confrontational meeting with the principal, and without handing over a curriculum plan you don't even have yet.

New Hampshire's home education law is actually parent-friendly. RSA 193-A gives you a clear right to educate your child at home, and the withdrawal process is simpler than most families expect. The key is knowing exactly what the law requires and nothing more.

What New Hampshire Law Actually Says

New Hampshire's home education statute is RSA 193-A. It gives parents the right to home-educate their children without district approval, without certified-teacher oversight, and without annual re-enrollment paperwork.

Two things happen when you start homeschooling:

1. You send a withdrawal letter to the school
2. You file a notification of intent with a participating agency

These are separate documents serving separate purposes. Conflating them — or skipping one — is the most common mistake families make.

As of 2026, roughly 6.34% of New Hampshire K-12 students are homeschooled, up 14.5% from the previous year. The process is well-worn, but that doesn't mean every school administrator will handle it smoothly.

Step 1: Send a Withdrawal Letter to the School

The withdrawal letter goes to the school your child currently attends. It does not go to the district office, the superintendent, or the NH DOE — it goes directly to the school.

Keep it short. The letter needs to say:

• The date your child is withdrawing
• Your intent to homeschool under RSA 193-A

That's it. You do not owe the school a reason. You do not need to explain your curriculum. You do not need to schedule a withdrawal meeting or attend any exit interview.

Send it via Certified Mail — Return Receipt Requested. This creates a dated paper trail and removes any ambiguity about when the school received notice. Keep your green card.

A school that tries to schedule a mandatory meeting, inspect your curriculum, or condition the withdrawal on some form of approval is acting outside its authority. RSA 193-A:11 and Ed 315 explicitly prohibit districts from enforcing policies more restrictive than state statute. The language implying district "approval" was removed from the law in 2022 precisely because it was being misused.

If you get pushback, the NH DOE Technical Advisory on Home Education is the document to reference. It clarifies the school's limited role in the withdrawal process.

Step 2: Notify a Participating Agency Within 5 Business Days

Within 5 business days of the date your home education program commences, you must file a notification letter with a "participating agency." This requirement comes from RSA 193-A and is administered under Ed 315.

You have three options for your participating agency:

1. Local superintendent (free) Your district's superintendent. Most families use this option. The address is publicly available on the district website.

2. NH DOE Commissioner (free) The Commissioner of Education. You can send your notification directly to Concord. Some families prefer this because it keeps the local district out of the loop.

3. A participating private school (fee charged) A private school that has chosen to offer this service. This option provides the most privacy — your local district never receives notification — but there is typically a fee.

The notification letter must contain only five things:

• Names of the children being home-educated
• Dates of birth of the children
• Address of the children
• Names of the parents
• Address of the parents
• Date the home education program commences

That is a complete, legally compliant notification. Do not add curriculum descriptions, grade levels, educational philosophy, or reasons for withdrawing. Anything beyond the statutory minimum is over-compliance and gives the agency more information than they're entitled to.

This notification is one-time per child. You do not re-file each year. Once submitted and acknowledged, your notification remains on file.

The participating agency is required to send you written acknowledgment within 14 days.

What Schools Cannot Require

This deserves its own section because these requests come up regularly:

• A withdrawal conference or meeting
• Curriculum plans or scope and sequence
• Proof you're "qualified" to teach
• Preemptive standardized testing
• "Approval" of the homeschool program
• Advance notice beyond what RSA 193-A requires

If a school makes any of these demands, they are operating outside the law. You can decline in writing and reference RSA 193-A:11 and Ed 315.

The 5-Business-Day Window Matters

The 5-business-day notification requirement is not a guideline — it's the legal standard. Your child's last day at school and the day your home education program begins are effectively the same date. The clock starts from the commencement date.

If there's a gap between when your child stops attending school and when you file the notification, your child can accrue unexcused absences during that window. Enough absences may trigger interventions under RSA 189:34, the truancy statute. In more serious cases, DCYF involvement is possible.

This is why the withdrawal letter and the notification should be prepared together, ideally submitted on the same day or within a day or two of each other.

If you're withdrawing mid-year, the timing is even more important. See our dedicated guide on mid-year withdrawal from school in New Hampshire for the specific considerations.

Homeschool vs. the Education Freedom Account

New Hampshire also has an Education Freedom Account (EFA) program under RSA 194-F, which provides state funding for education expenses. Some families want to do both — use EFA money while homeschooling under RSA 193-A.

You cannot do both simultaneously. If you're enrolled in the EFA program, you're on a different legal pathway. If you're currently homeschooling under RSA 193-A and want to switch to EFA, you must formally terminate your home education program under Ed 315.06 before enrolling. The reverse is also true.

Know which pathway you're choosing before you send anything.

What a Complete Withdrawal Looks Like

Here's what the full process looks like as a checklist:

1. Decide on your participating agency (superintendent, NH DOE Commissioner, or private school)
2. Draft your withdrawal letter to the school (brief, date of withdrawal + RSA 193-A intent)
3. Draft your notification letter to the participating agency (five elements only)
4. Send both via Certified Mail — Return Receipt Requested
5. Retain copies of everything plus the green return receipt cards
6. Wait for written acknowledgment from the participating agency (arrives within 14 days)

That's the complete legal process. No meetings, no approvals, no curriculum review.

If you want the exact letter language, correct addressing, and a step-by-step timeline that walks you through New Hampshire's specific requirements — including what to do if your school pushes back — the New Hampshire Legal Withdrawal Blueprint covers everything in one place.

After Withdrawal

Once your notification is acknowledged, you're operating under RSA 193-A. Your ongoing obligations include maintaining a portfolio of your child's work, conducting an annual evaluation (standardized test, portfolio review with a licensed teacher, or other approved method), and notifying your participating agency if you make certain changes to the program.

The first weeks after withdrawal are often the biggest adjustment — for parents and children both. You have more flexibility than most people expect, and less bureaucracy than most people fear. New Hampshire's law was written to respect parental authority, and it largely does.

The most important thing right now is the paperwork. Get the withdrawal and notification letters right, send them correctly, and keep your records. Everything else follows from there.

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