Committee amends mandatory-disclosure bill to allow district procedures when disclosure could cause harm

The House Education Policy and Administration Committee on Thursday adopted amendment 2199h to Senate Bill 96, which addresses when school employees must respond to parental written inquiries about a student. The amendment replaces a provision that would have required referral to the Division for Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) when staff believed disclosure might result in harm; instead, it allows school districts to adopt procedures permitting staff to withhold information if "a reasonably prudent person" would believe disclosure could result in abuse, abandonment or neglect under RSA 169-C:3. Any withholding must be documented in the student's school record.

Representative Cordelli, the bill sponsor, told the committee the change narrows the earlier requirement and preserves discretion for staff. "This amendment replaces that section... a school district may adopt procedures that permit school personnel to withhold such information from a parent if a reasonably prudent person would believe the disclosure would result in abuse, abandonment, or neglect pursuant to RSA 169-C:3," Cordelli said.

Debate centered on the balance between parental rights and child safety. Some members raised procedural questions about what counts as a "student record" and how teachers should document their decision. Representative Woodcock asked whether notes in a teacher's desk file would persist; Cordelli clarified that the reference is to the student's official school record held in the school office, not informal teacher files.

Supporters described instances where parents asked about possible safety concerns and staff said they were prevented from answering. "This bill... allows parents to go to that teacher and say, I'm really concerned about my child. Is there something going on?" Representative Freeman said, recounting an example in which earlier absence of a disclosure contributed to a near-tragic outcome.

Opponents worried the bill could undermine parent-child trust and place educators in difficult positions with tight timelines. Representative Selig said he opposed the bill, urging support services and funding for counselors instead of statutory mandates that he said could be misused.

Committee members also noted the bill's timing: the measure requires responses to written parental inquiries within five school days, a timeframe some members said could be compressed by holidays and teacher schedules. Several members emphasized the bill applies specifically to written parental inquiries rather than to staff-initiated reports.

The committee adopted amendment 2199h by roll call (9 yays, 8 nays, 1 not voting) and then voted "ought to pass with amendment 2199h" by the same margin. The amendment incorporates language drawn from existing statute and requires documentation of withheld disclosures in the student's record.

What happens next: the bill, as amended, advances with instruction that districts may create procedures for withholding information when disclosure could cause harm. Committee members said the amendment is intended to give staff discretion while preserving recordkeeping and parental access rights under existing law.