NH House to consider hotly debated 'parents' bill of rights'

The NH House will take up a so-called “parents' bill of rights” on Thursday that is easily one of the most controversial measures in the Statehouse this year.   

A total of 4,921 people submitted their opinions on Senate Bill 272 to the House Education Committee, 2,010 in support and 2,911 in opposition. Online testimony submissions for other measures before the Legislature this year tend to number in the hundreds, not the thousands.

The most hotly debated portion of SB 272 is a requirement that public schools fully answer parents’ questions on whether their child is identifying by a new gender.

Opponents say this provision would force schools to “out” vulnerable young people who are not ready to discuss sensitive gender-identity issues with their parents. Supporters say parents have a right to know and are the best people to help their children.

The Republican-controlled Senate passed the bill along party lines in March, 14-10.

SB 272 also lists a couple dozen parental rights that already exist in state and federal law, such as directing a child’s upbringing, religious training and education. 

The bill says parents could bring lawsuits if a school or educator doesn’t uphold the rights mentioned in the legislation.  

Sen. Tim Lang, R-Sanbornton, said in a series of tweets Monday that parents need information about their kids to help them. 

“Do you support schools hiding, obfuscating known information or outright lying to parents about their child when asked a direct question? I'd think not,” he tweeted.

However, Rep. Dan Hynes, R-Bedford, filed an amendment to the bill on Tuesday specifying that the measure wouldn’t require disclosure of information provided to any counselor, school psychologist or school nurse.

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On Monday, 63 clergy and faith leaders sent an open letter to state legislators urging them to defeat SB 272, which they said is one of several pieces of legislation this year targeting the LGBTQ+ community, particularly transgender youth.

“We are deeply concerned that this legislation targets our transgender youth for increased monitoring and surveillance at school,” the letter says. “This legislation, while perhaps well intended, puts an already vulnerable group of youth at extraordinary risk of further harm.”

Among those who signed the letter were two from Keene, Rev. Elsa H. Worth of St. James Episcopal Church and Rabbi Daniel Aronson of Congregation Ahavas Achim.  

Worth has testified against bills restricting gender-affirming care for transgender youth, sharing the story of her daughter Emelia's death by suicide in 2017 at age 18 after announcing she was transgender.

The NH House voted 193-192 to table, or remove from consideration, its own parental rights measure on March 22. Two other bills affecting transgender youth failed to advance in the Statehouse this year.

House Bill 619 would have prohibited gender-affirming care for people under 18 and prohibited teaching about gender identity in public schools. HB 417 would have added gender-affirming care via surgery or drug treatments to the definition of child abuse in the state’s child protection act.

The American Civil Liberties Union says on its website it is tracking 474 “anti-LGBTQ bills” in state legislatures across the nation.  

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These articles are being shared by partners in The Granite State News Collaborative. For more information visit collaborativenh.org