NH Homeschool Documentation for Dyslexia, Special Needs, and the EFA Differentiated Aid

New Hampshire's homeschool law is unusually well-suited to children with dyslexia and other learning differences — not because it carves out special exemptions, but because the core legal standard is inherently individualized. The statute requires that a child demonstrate educational progress "commensurate with the child's age, ability, and/or disability." That phrase is doing significant work. It means your dyslexic child is evaluated against their own trajectory, not against a grade-level benchmark they may not have reached yet.

Understanding exactly how that standard operates — and building documentation that makes it visible — removes most of the evaluation anxiety that families with learning-different children carry into June.

What "Progress Commensurate with Ability" Actually Means

The language in RSA 193-A:6 was deliberately modified in 2022 by House Bill 1663. Before that change, the statute required children to score at or above the 40th percentile on standardized tests. A child with dyslexia working two grade levels below peers in reading could fail to meet that threshold even with genuinely strong progress — creating a structural problem for families of learning-different children.

The current standard has no percentile floor. There is no grade-level equivalency requirement. "Commensurate with ability" means exactly what it says: if your child with dyslexia is reading at a first-grade level in third grade but has improved from ten words per minute to forty words per minute over the year, that is progress commensurate with their ability and disability. A properly conducted portfolio review reflects that improvement.

The law goes further: RSA 193-A:6 explicitly states that evaluation results "shall not be used as a basis for termination of a home education program." Even if a portfolio review produces a result indicating concern about progress, the state has no legal mechanism to remove a child from a home education program based on that evaluation. Your family cannot be forced back into the public school system through the evaluation process.

Why Portfolio Review Is Usually the Best Evaluation Option for Children with Learning Differences

The four permitted evaluation methods under RSA 193-A are portfolio review, standardized testing, state assessment, and a mutually agreed alternative. For children with dyslexia, ADHD, autism, or other learning differences, portfolio review is almost always the strongest choice.

Here is why:

Standardized testing captures a snapshot at a fixed moment under timed, structured conditions. For a child with dyslexia, reading fluency issues may significantly suppress test performance even when genuine academic learning is occurring in other areas. A low test score does not document what the child actually knows; it documents how the child performs on that format of assessment under those conditions. While the 2022 changes mean a low score cannot be used against you, it also fails to tell a complete story about progress.

Portfolio review allows multidimensional evidence. A certified teacher evaluator who knows how to evaluate special needs learners can look at fluency tracking graphs, oral narration videos, structured literacy lesson records, occupational therapy progress notes, phonics mastery checklists, and written work samples — and form a complete picture of genuine progress that a test score could never convey.

The evaluator interview component is valuable. Experienced evaluators often spend twenty minutes or more talking with the student or the parent about what was learned during the year. For a child who struggles with written output, verbal demonstration of knowledge counts. A student with dyslexia who cannot write a coherent five-paragraph essay can still demonstrate comprehensive understanding of American history through a structured conversation.

How to Find an Evaluator with Special Education Experience

Not every certified teacher evaluator is equipped to evaluate a portfolio for a child with significant learning differences. An evaluator who primarily worked in traditional general education settings may not know how to interpret:

• Below-grade-level written work that reflects dyslexia rather than educational neglect
• Accommodation-modified assessments (oral tests, dictation, reduced writing requirements)
• Therapeutic progress records alongside academic records
• Sensory regulation documentation and its connection to academic availability

Before booking an evaluator, ask these questions directly:

• "Do you have experience evaluating portfolios for children with dyslexia or other learning differences?"
• "Are you familiar with structured literacy approaches (Orton-Gillingham, Wilson, Barton)?"
• "How do you interpret progress for a child who is working significantly below grade level?"
• "Are you comfortable with a portfolio that includes occupational therapy notes and phonics tracking charts rather than traditional worksheets?"

The GSHE evaluator list is the most complete publicly available resource for New Hampshire. When you call an evaluator, this conversation takes ten minutes and determines whether the evaluation will be validating or stressful. A special-education-experienced evaluator is worth waiting for.

Building the Documentation Stack for a Dyslexic Learner

For a child with dyslexia, the portfolio has two parallel jobs: demonstrating compliance with RSA 193-A's reading and language arts requirements, and demonstrating a trajectory of individualized progress that the evaluator can trace.

The reading log for dyslexic children:

The reading log is still required, and it still needs to include title and author. The content of the log will look different from a neurotypical child's log — fewer independently read books, more read-alouds, audiobooks, and read-together texts. This is fine. Document all of it. An evaluator who understands dyslexia knows that a twelve-year-old who listens to thirty audiobooks in a year is building vocabulary, comprehension, and literary knowledge at an appropriate level — the physical decoding of print is a separate skill being addressed through your structured literacy program.

Specifically note on the reading log: "Read aloud," "Audiobook," "Independent," or "Assisted reading" next to each entry. This context prevents misinterpretation.

Structured literacy documentation:

If you are using a structured literacy program — Orton-Gillingham, Wilson Reading, Barton System, All About Reading, RAVE-O, or similar — keep a record of:

• The program and level you started the year at
• Monthly or quarterly fluency tracking scores (words read correctly per minute)
• The program level completed by year-end
• Any mastery checklists from the program

A graph showing fluency progress from September to May is one of the most powerful portfolio documents you can include for a dyslexic child. It translates effort into visible trajectory.

Written work accommodations:

If your child uses dictation software, a scribe, or oral responses in place of written output, document this as part of the portfolio. A note on each work sample explaining the accommodation used — "This essay was dictated using speech-to-text; student composed all content" — contextualizes the work accurately for the evaluator.

Observation logs:

For children who do not produce much written output, parent observation logs are essential. A brief weekly note — two or three sentences describing what the child worked on, what they demonstrated understanding of, and what challenges arose — creates a year-long narrative of active instruction and responsive teaching. This is admissible portfolio evidence under RSA 193-A.

EFA Differentiated Aid: What Documentation Is Required

Families utilizing New Hampshire's Education Freedom Account (EFA) program may qualify for Differentiated Aid — additional funding beyond the standard grant — if their child qualifies based on documented need. As of the 2024-25 program year, differentiated categories include:

• Students with an Individualized Education Program (IEP) developed by a public school
• Students with a qualifying disability documented by a licensed medical or psychological professional
• English Language Learners
• Students from low-income households

For families seeking differentiated aid based on a learning disability like dyslexia:

IEP documentation: If your child previously held a public school IEP and you withdrew them to homeschool, keep that IEP. The Children's Scholarship Fund, which administers the EFA, accepts IEP documentation to qualify for differentiated funding. You do not need to maintain an active public school IEP — the most recent one from before you withdrew is sufficient to establish initial eligibility.

Medical Certification Form: If your child was never in the public school system, or if their IEP has lapsed, a Medical Certification Form signed by a licensed medical professional (pediatrician, neuropsychologist, speech-language pathologist) can establish eligibility. The form must document the qualifying disability and its impact on educational functioning. A formal psychoeducational evaluation documenting dyslexia or a related processing disorder satisfies this requirement.

Annual Record of Educational Attainment: All EFA families — regardless of differentiated aid status — must submit this record to the Children's Scholarship Fund by July 15th to renew their grant for the following year. Acceptable forms are:

• A standardized test score showing Total, Math, and ELA scores
• A signed portfolio evaluation letter from a certified teacher confirming educational progress

For children with dyslexia, the portfolio evaluation letter is typically more appropriate than a standardized test, since it can be written to reflect progress commensurate with ability rather than against a grade-level standard. Ensure the evaluator's letter explicitly includes a statement that the child has made educational progress during the year — the Children's Scholarship Fund requires this specific language.

ClassWallet receipts for dyslexia-related materials: EFA funds can be applied to qualified educational expenses including structured literacy curricula, tutoring from credentialed specialists, phonics programs, assistive technology, and educational materials. Every receipt submitted through ClassWallet must include the provider's name, the student's full name, a description of the educational service, the date of service, and the per-pupil cost. For ongoing tutoring, your tutor should provide invoices that meet these specifications.

What You Cannot Lose from the Public School IEP

When families with special education children withdraw from public school, they sometimes assume they are leaving behind the legal protections the IEP provided. This is partially true: your child's public school services and rights under IDEA do not follow them into a private homeschool program. The public school is no longer responsible for providing specialized instruction, assistive technology, or therapy services.

However, certain rights persist:

• Child Find services: The public school district must still conduct evaluations upon parent request if there is reason to suspect a disability. You can request a psychoeducational evaluation from your local district at no cost even if your child is homeschooled. This is a federal right under IDEA, and it applies regardless of your participating agency choice.
• Evaluation data: You own the evaluation data the public school produced for your child's IEP. Request copies before you withdraw. That documentation is often the fastest path to qualifying for EFA differentiated aid.

The ability to independently document your child's learning difference journey — without the school system controlling the narrative — is one of the genuine advantages of home education for families of children with dyslexia and other learning differences. A well-maintained portfolio, built by a parent who understands their child's specific profile, often tells a more complete story of progress than any standardized assessment can.

If you want fillable portfolio templates designed for New Hampshire's requirements — including an observation log format, reading accommodation notations, and an evaluator-ready summary sheet that explains the "progress commensurate with ability" standard to evaluators who may not know NH law as well as you do — the New Hampshire Homeschool Portfolio Guide includes a dedicated section for learning-different learners.

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