Subcommittee debates HB510: statewide due-process minimums for students, student groups and faculty

The House education funding subcommittee held extensive debate over HB510, a bill that would set statutory minimum procedural and due-process protections for students, student organizations and faculty at state colleges and universities.

Sponsor and supporters said the measure sets basic, consistent protections across public postsecondary institutions. “The intent of this bill is to ensure that certain rights are protected for all our students, which I want to remind you they are legal adults,” a sponsor said during the hearing. Representative Sam Brown, who reviewed campus handbooks, said the bill “fleshes out some of the specifics” and urged adding an independent ombudsman to provide an advocacy resource for students without union representation.

Opponents, including some legislators with campus experience, argued campuses already have detailed procedures. Representative Burton, who identified his experience as an assistant dean at the University of New Hampshire, said he reviewed campus…