Fargo Human Rights Commission reviews state bills affecting schools, surveys and religious displays

Kristen Nelson, a commission member, gave the Human Rights Commission a legislative briefing Jan. 16, saying the North Dakota legislative session began Jan. 7 and that “almost thousand bills” have been filed so far.

Nelson summarized several bills she said the commission should watch. She described House Bill 11 45 as a proposal “about adding the 10 Commandments document to all school buildings, classrooms, higher education, universities in the state.” She said, “For Fargo public schools alone we have 8 25 classrooms that this would impact and there is no appropriation for adding this,” and noted no action had been taken on the bill yet.

Nelson also described what she called a “blue laws” proposal, referenced as House Bill 11 50, that would require certain businesses to close until noon on Sundays while creating exemptions for others. “There isn't necessarily anything in there that defines what somebody's Sabbath is or like what their day of religious observation is,” she said, and added that the bill’s sponsor had filed an amendment. Nelson identified Matt Heilman as the sponsor and reported his stated rationale: people should have Sunday morning free for worship or family. Nelson said opponents argue the idea is unnecessary because “there is already a law in century code that does protect that time.”

On student privacy and data, Nelson described Senate Bill 2105 as a measure that would prevent schools from administering third-party surveys to students in kindergarten through 12th grade unless a parent or guardian gives written permission. She specifically raised concern for the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, which she said gathers data on suicidality, gender, bullying and depression and that “districts and agencies across the state find that survey incredibly useful.” She said the bill, if enacted, would take away local districts’ ability to administer that survey unless the state Department of Public Instruction does so directly.

Nelson summarized a related measure, Senate Bill 2104, which she said would allow the superintendent of public instruction to oversee a school district’s compliance with state law — a provision she and others described as targeting district policies supporting queer and transgender youth.

She also described House Bill 11 44 as a proposal that would ban transgender students from (public school) restrooms consistent with their gender identity in public schools, and said the bill includes a civil penalty “that could be up to $2,000,” with the penalty assessed to a family for minors and to adults directly.

Commissioners and staff asked clarifying questions about scope, enforcement and cost. Nelson repeatedly raised the enforcement and funding question: who would pay for compliance or monitoring if districts were required to change materials or facilities and no appropriation was provided. She also flagged uncertainty about how DNA or other verification elements mentioned in some drafts would be implemented, quoting her own review: “nobody…could define or really tell us how that would happen.”

No formal commission action was taken on the bills during the Jan. 16 meeting. City staff said they are compiling bill-tracking materials for the Fargo City Commission and offered to share tracking spreadsheets with the Human Rights Commission as the session progresses.

Why it matters: Commissioners said the bills could affect school policy, district budgets and protections for students; they instructed staff and the commission’s legislative watchers to continue monitoring developments and share notices about committee hearings.

The commission did not vote on any of the bills at this meeting; Nelson closed by emphasizing the legislative calendar and that more bills and amendments were expected as the session continued.