House Education committee hears bill to require annual human trafficking prevention instruction for grades 4–12

Senator Keith Boehm told the House Education Committee that Senate Bill 2330 would require annual, evidence-based instruction on recognizing and reporting human trafficking for students in grades 4 through 12 and includes an initial appropriation of $48,000 to launch the program.

"This bill is about prevention, protection, and empowerment," Boehm said in opening remarks, urging members to give the bill a due pass. He described traffickers' grooming tactics and said early education can help students recognize warning signs and report exploitation.

Multiple nonprofits and survivor advocates testified in support. Jacob Thompson of North Dakota Family Alliance said the bill would raise awareness earlier than college-level instruction he encountered. Lowell Hocalter, speaking for Lifeguard Group, described school assemblies and survivor-centered presentations that his group has presented in multiple states and recounted a survivor encounter to illustrate risks in rural communities. "If we do not engage this student generation in this fight against human trafficking, we are fighting a losing battle before we even begin," he said.

Stacy Schafer, founder and executive director of 31 a project, said her nonprofit provides education and services statewide and reported that 85% of the 62 survivors her group assisted in 2024 were trafficked within North Dakota. Tammy Brown Rodriguez, director of policy for Yaqui Williams Ministries and aunt of a survivor, said the bill is "not just legislation. This is a lifeline," and argued mandatory annual instruction is needed because predators rapidly change tactics.

Testimony described program design elements included in the bill: age-appropriate instruction tailored to grade level; training for school staff to identify and report signs of grooming; options for schools to collaborate with nonprofit providers; and resources for parents and guardians. Boehm and several witnesses said the program must be flexible for local implementation and that some schools already provide similar education.

Committee members asked implementation questions. Representative Schreiber Beck confirmed the instruction is annual; Boehm and witnesses said the intent is yearly instruction so students would receive age-appropriate material each school year. Boehm acknowledged the bill does not include enforcement penalties: "We did not insert any penalty or anything like that," he said, adding enforcement would be addressed later if needed.

Supporters urged funding and training models such as "train-the-trainer" programs so nonprofits and school staff can scale instruction across rural districts. Several witnesses said federal Title funds and other grants can sometimes be used to pay for programming when districts lack local dollars.

Opponents raised concerns about the bill's prescriptiveness and potential to create an unfunded mandate for schools. Andrew Alexis Farvel, a regional historian who testified in opposition, called the measure "too long, too prescriptive" and questioned whether $48,000 would be sufficient across 53 counties. A representative of the North Dakota Council of Educational Leaders said the organization opposes the bill as written and urged a community-based partnership approach that would allow flexibility and avoid adding responsibilities to teachers' plates.

The committee closed the hearing on SB 2330 after receiving several hours of testimony; no committee vote was recorded during the hearing.