At a recent Connecticut homeschool fair, conversations about New Hampshire repeatedly turned into conversations about moving.
Jody Underwood and Robert Qua attended the event to introduce homeschool families to the Free State Project and to share information about New Hampshire’s growing education options.
The fair was heavily attended by parents looking for curriculum, resources and new ideas for educating their children.
“Have you heard of the Free State Project?” they asked.
Most attendees had not. But when asked whether they had considered leaving Connecticut, the response was strikingly consistent.
“You have no idea,” several people said.
Others shared that they had recently considered moving to New Hampshire, owned summer homes in the state or already loved visiting.
One attendee reportedly said her children “would move there in a heartbeat.”
The timing of the outreach was significant. New Hampshire recently enacted House Bill 1268, the Home Education Freedom Act, after Gov. Kelly Ayotte signed the measure into law in July.
The law removes the requirement that parents notify any official about their intent to home-educate their children., eliminates mandatory annual evaluations and makes the retention of homeschool records optional under the new framework.
The law places New Hampshire among the states offering the greatest independence to homeschool families. Supporters describe it as a recognition that parents, not government agencies, should have primary responsibility for directing their children’s education.
That development stands in sharp contrast to Connecticut’s newly adopted homeschool oversight law.
Connecticut lawmakers approved legislation requiring families to submit annual information identifying how their children are being educated.
Beginning in the 2027–28 school year, parents withdrawing a child from public school to homeschool will have to appear in person, and school districts will conduct background checks involving the state Department of Children and Families. Homeschooling may be blocked if an adult in the household is under active DCF investigation or listed on the child-abuse registry.
Supporters of the Connecticut law say the new requirements are intended to protect children and prevent abuse from being hidden behind the homeschool label. Critics argue that the law treats responsible homeschooling families as potential suspects and introduces unnecessary government involvement into private family decisions.
That contrast was central to the message shared at the Connecticut fair: at the same moment New Hampshire was reducing oversight of homeschool families, Connecticut was moving toward more oversight.
“New Hampshire’s education freedom is advancing for homeschoolers and EFA families alike,” wrote Jody Underwood in a recent newsletter distributed to education-freedom advocates.
Eric Brakey, Executive Director of The Free State Project and host of The Porcupine Report, recently featured Underwood in an episode titled “Even More Homeschool Freedom in NH,” discussing the new law and the expanding range of education options available to families in the state.
New Hampshire’s Education Freedom Account program is also seeing substantial demand. The program reached its 12,500-student enrollment cap for the 2026–27 school year, with another 943 eligible students placed on a waiting list. The program allows qualifying families to use state education funds for approved expenses, including private school tuition, curriculum, tutoring and other educational services.
Because the program’s enrollment cap can increase when demand reaches a specified threshold (90%), the growing number of applicants is likely to expand access in future years. New Hampshire officials and school-choice advocates view the demand as evidence that families want more control over where and how their children learn.
There were a few attendees who expressed support for Connecticut’s new law, including one person who said she believed the changes were necessary to prevent children from being abused at home. Organizers did not press those conversations. But Jody said those views were the exception rather than the rule.
The dominant message from the fair was simple: Connecticut families are paying attention.
For parents already frustrated with public schools, concerned about state oversight or searching for a more flexible education model, New Hampshire is increasingly presenting itself as an attractive alternative, one with expanded homeschooling freedom, a growing school-choice program and an established community of families who have already made the move.
