Home educated students are eligible to attend public school curricular courses and programs, including athletics. School districts may adopt policies regulating homeschool participation, as long as the policies are not more restrictive than those governing public school students. New Hampshire Revised Statutes § 193:1-c.
New Hampshire Revised Statutes § 193:1-c
Access to Public School Programs by Nonpublic or Home Educated Pupils.
I. Nonpublic or home educated pupils shall have access to curricular courses and cocurricular programs offered by the school district in which the pupil resides. The local school board may adopt a policy regulating participation in curricular courses and cocurricular programs, provided that such policy shall not be more restrictive for non-public or home educated pupils than the policy governing the school district's resident pupils. In this section, “cocurricular” shall include those activities which are designed to supplement and enrich regular academic programs of study, provide opportunities for social development, and encourage participation in clubs, athletics, performing groups, and service to school and community. For purposes of allowing access as described in this section, a “home educated pupil” shall not include any pupil who has graduated from a high school level program of home education, or its equivalent, or has attained the age of 21.
II. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require a parent to establish a home education program which exceeds the requirements of RSA 193:1.
Things to keep in mind:
Public school access includes participation in public school classes, sports, activities, etc.
States use a unique vocabulary in this area: “extracurricular,” “cocurricular,” “curricular,” “interscholastic,” “program,” “activity,” etc. Care should be taken to distinguish one from another. When a state defines a word, it is important.
While athletic association rules are not “law,” public schools are generally constrained to operate within them, or their teams could be disqualified. We therefore refer to association rules of particular importance in a number of entries.
We strive toward keeping this information 100% up to date in this rapidly changing area of the law. However, this post should not be considered authoritative because of the possibility of unobserved changes in association rules, statutes, regulations, or case decisions, and because of lag time between changes and the publication of updates.
Please note: The information on this page has been reviewed by an attorney, but it should not be taken as legal advice specific to your individual situation.