Committee backs periodic FBI background checks for educator licenses in HB 1795

Steve Appleby, a Department of Education official, told the Senate Education Committee that HB 1795 would extend criminal-history record checks from initial educator licensure to the renewal process for all educator licenses. "This bill...bring[s] that check also to the renewal process for all educator licenses," Appleby said, adding that surrounding states perform periodic checks.

Appleby said the state currently conducts background checks only at initial licensure and that districts separately check at employment; he argued that educators who remain in the same district can avoid subsequent checks. "If they stay in Concord for 30 years, they don't get checked again," he said, describing the proposed renewal check as a way to get periodic updates on educators' records.

Committee members asked whether the bill requires an FBI-compliant check; Appleby confirmed it does. He also described existing intergovernmental arrangements: "We also have an MOU with the state of Massachusetts to check their list," Appleby said, and told the committee the renewal review would occur approximately every three years.

Committee discussion noted the measure is "a great protection for New Hampshire children," and the committee later moved a voice vote on the bill. The Department of Education emphasized that adding neglect findings from the DCYF foster-parent list is intended to better protect students; Appleby said other states include neglect in their reviews and that doing so would be "prudent."

The committee recorded an "ought to pass" motion and approved consent votes later in the session; officials said the checks would be FBI-based and periodic rather than a single point-in-time snapshot.

The committee concluded the public hearing on HB 1795 and moved the bill forward for committee action.