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Sponsor seeks to add 'parents' to educator code of ethics; committee asks where to place the term
Summary
Representative Rick Ladd proposed amending the educator code of ethics to explicitly include responsibility to parents and guardians; testimony and committee discussion focused on where to insert the language so it supports but does not expand rulemaking authority in unintended ways.
Representative Rick Ladd told the House Education Policy Committee he intends HB235 to add parents and guardians to the educator code of ethics and code of conduct so those obligations are explicit in statute.
Ladd explained that the code adopted in rule contains four topical areas—responsibility to the education profession; responsibility to students; responsibility to the school community; and ethical technology use—but that the word “parent” does not appear in the statute’s main headings. He proposed adding parents and guardians to the third category—responsibility to the school community—to avoid reopening the rulemaking structure under the other headings. “I realized, oh, maybe we put parent into the wrong principle. Maybe it belonged elsewhere,” Ladd said, describing an amendment that inserts parents and guardians into the school-community principle.
Committee members asked whether the change was intended to trigger new rulemaking or a wider review of the code and whether the amendment might lead to more disciplinary rules. Ladd said his narrow objective was to ensure parents are explicitly mentioned in the statute’s primary list of responsibilities; he also said there had been past work to clarify a confidential letter-of-concern as a nondisciplinary step in the code of conduct, but that HB235 is not advancing that change now.
NEA New Hampshire’s Brian Hawkins told the committee educators value their relationships with parents but that past drafting intentionally kept parents included under the school-community rubric. Hawkins said educators worry the change could broaden rulemaking or invite unintended policy changes; NEA asked for clarity of intent and careful drafting.
No formal action was taken; the sponsor and committee indicated they will work on the precise statutory placement and consider limited drafting adjustments to achieve the sponsor’s intent without unintended rulemaking consequences.
