HB754 (2025) Detail

Establishing automatic discovery in due process hearings for actions seeking to enforce special education rights.


CHAPTER 73

HB 754-FN - FINAL VERSION

 

26Mar2025... 0608h

2025 SESSION

25-0868

09/05

 

HOUSE BILL 754-FN

 

AN ACT establishing automatic discovery in due process hearings for actions seeking to enforce special education rights.

 

SPONSORS: Rep. N. Murphy, Hills. 12; Rep. B. Boyd, Hills. 12; Rep. Grossman, Rock. 11; Rep. Kuttab, Rock. 17; Rep. Ball, Rock. 25; Rep. M. Smith, Straf. 10

 

COMMITTEE: Education Policy and Administration

 

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ANALYSIS

 

This bill establishes automatic discovery in due process hearings for actions seeking to enforce special education rights.

 

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

26Mar2025... 0608h 25-0868

09/05

 

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

 

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Five

 

AN ACT establishing automatic discovery in due process hearings for actions seeking to enforce special education rights.

 

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

 

73:1  New Paragraph; Special Education; Due Process Hearing; Automatic Discovery.  Amend RSA 186-C:16-b by inserting after paragraph III-a the following new paragraph:

III-b.(a)  The school district shall provide to the hearing officer assigned, with a copy to the parents, not less than 5 business days prior to any prehearing conference described in 20 U.S.C. section 1415(f)(2)(a) and RSA541-A:31, V(c), items and information in the possession, custody or control of the school district, which shall form a set of core documents in every due process case.

(b)  The specific core documents shall be limited to:

(1)  Documentation of the IEP team’s deliberation and conclusions for the federal eligibility determination if eligibility is at issue in the due process complaint, pursuant to 20 U.S.C section 1414(b)(4) and 34 C.F.R. section 300.306;

(2)  Current and/or partially accepted IEPs in place within the last 3 years;

(3)  Complete and/or partial IEPs currently being proposed by the school district;

(4)  Copies of all written prior notices within the last 3 years;

(5)  Copies of any evaluations by school district staff or independent contractors of the school district at the school district’s request, pursuant to 20U.S.C. section 1414(a) and 34 C.F.R. sections 300.301 and 305, within the last 3 years;

(6)  Copies of any independent educational evaluations, and written recommendations from outside providers, pursuant to 20 U.S.C. section 1415(d)(2)(b) and 34 C.F.R. section 300.502 regarding eligibility, placement or the IEP program or services that were presented to the IEP team within the last 3 years; and

(7)  All progress reports, pursuant to 20 U.S.C. section 1412(a)(15) and 34 C.F.R. section 300.157, related to IEP goals, benchmarks, short-term objectives, or progress toward meeting the annual IEP goals, within the last 3 years.

(c)  This paragraph's provision for requiring the presentation of core documents listed above shall not interfere with and does not negate any right or obligation of either party to comply with voluntary discovery requests and the presentation of supplementary information.  This supplemental provision and disclosure of documents shall occur pursuant to the timelines described in 20 U.S.C sections 1415(f)(2) and 1415(h) and 34 C.F.R. section 300.512(b).

(d)  An updated copy of the procedural safeguards pursuant to 20 U.S.C. section 1415(d) and 34 C.F.R. section 300.504, including this section, shall be given to the parents of a child with a disability before the child’s next IEP meeting.

73:2  Effective Date.  This act shall take effect upon its passage.

 

Approved: June 02, 2025

Effective Date: June 02, 2025

 

 

Amendments

Date Amendment
March 19, 2025 2025-0608h

Links


Date Body Type
Feb. 3, 2025 House Hearing
March 3, 2025 House Exec Session
March 12, 2025 House Floor Vote
April 10, 2025 Senate Hearing
Senate Floor Vote

Bill Text Revisions

HB754 Revision: 48503 Date: June 5, 2025, 11:33 a.m.
HB754 Revision: 47985 Date: May 2, 2025, 11:53 a.m.
HB754 Revision: 47647 Date: March 26, 2025, 10:48 a.m.
HB754 Revision: 47509 Date: March 19, 2025, 11:18 a.m.
HB754 Revision: 46735 Date: Jan. 22, 2025, 3:23 p.m.

Docket


June 6, 2025: Signed by Governor Ayotte 06/02/2025; Chapter 73; eff. 06/02/2025


May 23, 2025: Enrolled (in recess of) 05/22/2025 HJ 15


May 23, 2025: Enrolled Adopted, VV, (In recess 05/22/2025); SJ 15


May 1, 2025: Ought to Pass: MA, VV; OT3rdg; 05/01/2025; SJ 11


April 17, 2025: Committee Report: Ought to Pass, 05/01/2025; Vote 4-0; CC; SC 19


April 3, 2025: Hearing: 04/10/2025, Room 101, LOB, 10:15 am; SC 16


March 28, 2025: Introduced 03/27/2025 and Referred to Education; SJ 10


March 26, 2025: Ought to Pass with Amendment 2025-0608h: MA VV 03/26/2025 HJ 10 P. 17


March 26, 2025: Amendment # 2025-0608h: AA VV 03/26/2025 HJ 10 P. 17


March 19, 2025: Committee Report: Ought to Pass with Amendment # 2025-0608h 03/12/2025 (Vote 14-3; CC) HC 17 P. 12


Feb. 20, 2025: Executive Session: 03/03/2025 01:00 pm LOB 205-207


Jan. 29, 2025: Public Hearing: 02/03/2025 10:45 am LOB 205-207


Jan. 23, 2025: Introduced (in recess of) 01/09/2025 and referred to Education Policy and Administration HJ 3 P. 26