By GARRY RAYNO, InDepthNH.org

CONCORD — Mostly down party lines, the House Thursday passed a parental bill of rights that seeks to put all parental rights in one place and creates criminal and civil penalties for medical providers and educators who violate the provisions.

A top Republican priority that has been unsuccessful in the past, the controversial bill was overwhelmingly opposed in public comment to the House Children and Family Law Committee, by educators, medical providers and advocates for children and LBGTQ+ advocates, while supporters say parental rights have been eroded in recent years and a change is needed.

“Surely parents are losing the right to parent their children as they see fit,” said Rep. Debra DeSimone, R-Atkinson. “Society has decided you cannot call your school and ask a question and get an answer, you cannot call the doctor and get an answer. It is time for society to step it up and allow parents to parent their children.”

She said the US and New Hampshire supreme courts both recognize the fundamental rights of parents to parent their children.

The bill would allow parents to direct the education, care, upbringing, and moral/religious training of their children and make school and medical information available to parents upon request.

School materials, courses, and clubs’ activities and their purposes would have to be available to parents under the bill, and any medical procedure or care would need parental approval.

But opponents said the bill creates a Sophie’s Choice for teachers and doctors who are required reporters of child abuse by penalizing them whether they suspect abuse and report it, or if they don’t, said Rep. Heather Raymond, D-Nashua.

She said the bill makes no allowance for instances where the Division of Children, Youth and Family is involved with a family.

“In educational settings, this bill creates a new requirement for school staff to surveil students’ romantic and personal relationships for the purpose of answering parents’ questions and imposes penalties for teachers who would rather stick to just focusing on education,” Raymond said.

She said the bill’s penalties could end an educator’s career if he or she failed to respond to a parent’s question while the bill has too many conflicts with both the federal and state constitutions.

“If you are going to have a bill that puts parental rights in one easily accessible place, all (parental) rights should be there,” Raymond said. “New Hampshire law should not shield anyone who is hurting children.”
Rep. Peter Petrigno, D-Milford, said lawmakers should be honest with their constituents and tell them parental rights are already in statutes and court rulings.

The legislation defines parental rights, but not all of them and some of the bill is questionable constitutionally, he said.

“No one has the right to inquire and immediately receive any and all information on all matters,” Petrigno said “No one has the right to compel someone else to answer a question. In good conscience, you have the right to remain silent.”
The bill focuses on teacher conduct that has little to do with teaching, he said, it focuses on surveillance of students and running back to report to parents.

“As a teacher, I would never violate a student’s confidentiality when it puts them in harm’s way,” Petrigno said.

The bill needs to be retained by the committee to make it better and eliminate some of the problems it creates, he said.

But Rep. Jim Kofalt, R-Wilton, said “governments do not raise children, parents do. Government has a role to play, but parental rights are natural rights of parents who have a liberty interest in raising their children.”
He noted the state Supreme Court ruling in Jane Doe vs. the Manchester School Board which lowered the bar to rational basis and said the school district could conceal vital information from parents.

“That parents have a right to be informed by the school district is not a fundamental right, like free speech or fair housing,” he said, but today, lawmakers can affirm parents fundamental rights in the education of their children.

The bill passed on a 212-161 vote and now goes to the Senate, which approved a parental rights bill of its own.