NEW HAMPSHIRE
Slamming the Brakes on DHHS Legislation
The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services tried to pull a fast one on home schoolers this year by passing "fast track" regulations which purportedly force home schoolers to provide immunization records to their public or private school supervisors. Unfortunately for DHHS, the fast track regulations were publicly opposed by legislators, lawyers for the Legislative Rules Committee, and a large number of concerned home schoolers. The DHHS has not formally withdrawn the regulations but has filed to have them enacted under the proper rule-making procedures. They have also agreed to change the objectionable language in the rules so that only those home schooled students who attend group activities would need to provide evidence of vaccinations. The DHHS has the authority to protect the public safety and so can probably limit group activities for school children in this way. But it has no authority to define "private school enrollment" in the manner in which the earlier regulations had done.
HSLDA reminds New Hampshire home schoolers that they are under no obligation to provide immunization records to either private or public school supervisors. The department of education routinely requests public school officials to obtain such records, but home schoolers have successfully stood on their rights under the law for the last five years. Thanks to the vigorous action of so many home schoolers, they may continue to do so this year as well.
