Revision: June 23, 2011, midnight
HB 542-FN – VERSION ADOPTED BY BOTH BODIES
15Mar2011… 0726h
06/01/11 2251s
22June2011… 2422CofC
2011 SESSION
04/05
HOUSE BILL 542-FN
AN ACT relative to exceptions for objectionable material in public school courses.
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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.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
22June2011… 2422CofC
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 06/22/11
HB 542 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 Senate (Amendment #2011-2251s), will have no fiscal impact on state, county, or local revenues or expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department states that this bill will have no fiscal impact. The 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. School districts may utilize the model policy of the New Hampshire School Boards Association in dealing with parental objection to instructional material, which can be modified at no cost to accommodate the requirements of the bill as amended.