HB1222 (2022) Detail

Prohibiting coercion or interference in grading and assessment procedures in public schools, colleges, and universities.


HB 1222-FN - AS INTRODUCED

 

 

2022 SESSION

22-2292

04/05

 

HOUSE BILL 1222-FN

 

AN ACT prohibiting coercion or interference in grading and assessment procedures in public schools, colleges, and universities.

 

SPONSORS: Rep. Ford, Rock. 4

 

COMMITTEE: Education

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------

 

ANALYSIS

 

This bill establishes a criminal penalty for interference with or falsification of student records.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

22-2292

04/05

 

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

 

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Two

 

AN ACT prohibiting coercion or interference in grading and assessment procedures in public schools, colleges, and universities.

 

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

 

1  New Section; Falsification in Official Matters; Interference With or Falsification of Student Records.  Amend RSA 641 by inserting after section 8 the following new section:

641:9  Interference With or Falsification of Student Records.  

I.  In this section:

(a)  "Educational institution" means any public elementary or secondary school or public college, university, or other postsecondary institution operating in this state.

(b)  "Instructor" means any full-time or part-time employee working as a substitute, or adjunct teacher or administrator at an educational institution.

II.  A person shall be guilty of a class B felony if such person intimidates, coerces, persuades, or otherwise interferes with, or attempts to intimidate, coerce, persuade, or otherwise interfere with an official assessment or grading process in an educational institution, including any effort or attempted effort to change or cause the student’s instructor to change a legitimate, earned grade from the student’s earned grade or to a higher grade.

III.  Any instructor who acquiesces to an effort to intimidate, coerce, persuade, or otherwise interfere with an official assessment or grading process in an educational institution, or who is aware of such effort and fails to report it to the proper authorities, shall be guilty of a class B felony.

IV.  A person shall be guilty of a class B felony if such person causes a student to believe that benefits will accrue to a student that such person is not authorized to offer, or that such person can modify the student’s official academic transcript to reflect academic success regardless of academic performance.

V.(a)  Any person convicted under paragraph II or III shall be suspended from employment as an instructor at an educational institution in New Hampshire for a period of one year and shall have their professional credentials suspended by the appropriate licensing board for one year.  If the convicted offender is not employed at an educational institution, the person shall be sentenced to a minimum of 7 days of incarceration.

(b)  Any person convicted under paragraph IV shall be suspended from employment as an instructor at an educational institution in New Hampshire for a period of 3 years and shall have their professional credentials suspended by the appropriate licensing board for 3 years.  If the convicted offender is not employed at an educational institution, the person shall be sentenced to a minimum of 7 days of incarceration.   

2  Effective Date.  This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.

 

LBA

22-2292

10/28/21

 

HB 1222-FN- FISCAL NOTE

AS INTRODUCED

 

AN ACT prohibiting coercion or interference in grading and assessment procedures in public schools, colleges, and universities.

 

FISCAL IMPACT:      [ X ] State              [ X ] County               [    ] Local              [    ] None

 

 

 

Estimated Increase / (Decrease)

STATE:

FY 2022

FY 2023

FY 2024

FY 2025

   Appropriation

$0

$0

$0

$0

   Revenue

$0

$0

$0

$0

   Expenditures

$0

Indeterminable

Indeterminable

Indeterminable

Funding Source:

  [ X ] General            [    ] Education            [    ] Highway           [    ] Other

 

 

 

 

 

COUNTY:

 

 

 

 

   Revenue

$0

$0

$0

$0

   Expenditures

$0

Indeterminable

Indeterminable

Indeterminable

 

METHODOLOGY:

This bill establishes a criminal penalty relative to coercion or interference win grading and assessment procedures in public schools, colleges, and universities, which may have an impact on the New Hampshire judicial and correctional systems.  There is no method to determine how many charges would be brought as a result of the changes contained in this bill to determine the fiscal impact on expenditures, if any, in FY 2023 and each year thereafter.  However, the entities impacted have provided the potential costs associated with these penalties below.

 

Judicial Council

FY 2022

FY 2023

Public Defender Program

Has contract with State to provide services.

Has contract with State to provide services.

Contract Attorney – Felony

$825/Case

$825/Case

Contract Attorney – Misdemeanor

$300/Case

$300/Case

Assigned Counsel – Felony

$60/Hour up to $4,100

$60/Hour up to $4,100

Assigned Counsel – Misdemeanor

$60/Hour up to $1,400

$60/Hour up to $1,400

It should be noted that a person needs to be found indigent and have the potential of being incarcerated to be eligible for indigent defense services. Beginning in March of 2021, the public defender program has had to close intake to new cases due to excessive caseloads.  Historically, approximately 85% of the indigent defense caseload has been handled by the public defender program, with the remaining cases going to contract attorneys (14%) or assigned counsel (1%).  Due to these closures, the contract and assigned counsel program have had to absorb significantly more cases. The system is experiencing significant delays in appointing counsel and the costs of representation have increased due to travel time and multiple appointments.  The situation may improve by the bill becomes law, but at this time criminalizing new conduct will have a significant fiscal impact on an over-burdened system.

 

Department of Corrections

FY 2022

FY 2023

FY 2021 Average Cost of Incarcerating an Individual

$54,386

$54,386

FY 2021 Annual Marginal Cost of a General Population Inmate

$5,715

$5,715

FY 2021 Average Cost of Supervising an Individual on Parole/Probation

$603

$603

NH Association of Counties

FY 2022

FY 2023

County Prosecution Costs

Indeterminable

Indeterminable

Estimated Average Daily Cost of Incarcerating an Individual

$105 to $125

$105 to $125

 

This bill contains penalties that may have an indeterminable impact on the Judicial Branch system.  There is no method to determine how many charges would be brought as a result of the changes contained in this bill to determine the fiscal impact on expenditures.  In the past the Judicial Branch has used averaged caseload data based on time studies to estimate the fiscal impact of proposed legislation.  The per case data on costs for routine criminal cases currently available to the Judicial Branch are based on studies of judicial and clerical weighted caseload times for processing average routine criminal cases that are more than fifteen years old so the data does not have current validity.  A new case study is being conducted  and updated estimates will be available in the future.

 

Many offenses are prosecuted by local and county prosecutors.  When the Department of Justice has investigative and prosecutorial responsibility or is involved in an appeal, the Department may be able to absorb the cost within its existing budget.  However, if the Department needs to prosecute significantly more cases or handle more appeals, then costs will increase by an indeterminable amount.  

 

AGENCIES CONTACTED:

Judicial Branch, Departments of Corrections and Justice, Judicial Council, and New Hampshire Association of Counties

 

Links


Date Body Type
Feb. 9, 2022 House Hearing
Feb. 9, 2022 House Exec Session
House Floor Vote

Bill Text Revisions

HB1222 Revision: 33882 Date: Nov. 18, 2021, 1:57 p.m.

Docket


Feb. 16, 2022: Referred to Criminal Justice and Public Safety 02/16/2022


Feb. 16, 2022: Inexpedient to Legislate: MA VV 02/16/2022 HJ 3


Feb. 10, 2022: Committee Report: Inexpedient to Legislate (Vote 18-0; CC)


Feb. 10, 2022: Executive Session: 02/09/2022 09:45 am LOB 205-207


Feb. 1, 2022: Public Hearing: 02/09/2022 09:45 am LOB 205-207


Nov. 23, 2021: Introduced 01/05/2022 and referred to Education