#HB542 re:objectionable material in public school courses-passes 240 to 108 #nhhouse #nhpolitics

HB 542-FN – AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE

15Mar2011… 0726h

06/01/11 2251s

2011 SESSION

11-0828

04/05

HOUSE BILL 542-FN

AN ACT relative to exceptions for objectionable material in public school courses.

SPONSORS: Rep. Hoell, Merr 13

COMMITTEE: Education

AMENDED ANALYSIS

This bill requires school districts to adopt a policy allowing an exception to specific course material based on a parent’s or legal guardian’s determination that the material is objectionable.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

15Mar2011… 0726h

06/01/11 2251s

11-0828

04/05

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eleven

AN ACT relative to exceptions for objectionable material in public school courses.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 New Paragraph; State Board of Education; Duties. Amend RSA 186:11 by inserting after paragraph IX-b the following new paragraph:

IX-c. Require school districts to adopt a policy allowing an exception to specific course material based on a parent’s or legal guardian’s determination that the material is objectionable. Such policy shall include a provision requiring the parent or legal guardian to notify the school principal or designee in writing of the specific material to which they object and a provision requiring an alternative agreed upon by the school district and the parent, at the parent’s expense, sufficient to enable the child to meet state requirements for education in the particular subject area. The name of the parent or legal guardian and any specific reasons disclosed to school officials for the objection to the material shall not be public information and shall be excluded from access under RSA 91-A.

2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2012.

LBAO

11-0828

Amended 03/30/11

HB 542-FN - FISCAL NOTE

AN ACT relative to exceptions for objectionable material in public school courses.

FISCAL IMPACT:

•  

  The Department of Education states this bill, as amended by the House (Amendment #2011-0726h), may increase local expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2012 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on state, county, or local revenues, or state or county expenditures.

METHODOLOGY:

This bill mandates that school districts shall not compel a parent to send his or her child to any school or program to which he or she may be conscientiously opposed, and that school districts shall not approve or disapprove a parent’s education program or curriculum. The Department of Education states it can not accurately estimate the fiscal impact of the proposed legislation because information is not available to determine the number of students that would be affected, as it cannot predict the occurrence of parents objecting to various programs offered in each district. The Department states local expenditures could be increased as a result of the necessity of school districts to implement and deliver programs to serve as alternatives to those which parents may object.