Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Parental Notification topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Parents urge Nashua board to adopt parental‑notification policy after materials on gender identity were distributed at school event
Summary
During public comment the board heard calls to adopt a parental‑notification/opt‑out policy for curriculum covering gender identity and sexual orientation, with speakers citing RSA 186:11 and asking the district to ensure compliance with the statute requiring advance notice and opt‑out processes.
Speakers at the Sept. 8 public‑comment period told the Nashua School District Board that the district lacks a parental‑notification policy required under recent statutory updates. Steven Scaer and Beth Scaer said materials presented by a community group at Fairgrounds Middle School in June included content on gender identity and sexual orientation without notifying parents or offering an opt‑out.
Steven Scaer described the materials (a "genderbread person" resource) and argued the district had not provided definitions or sufficient context. Beth Scaer referenced a change to RSA 186:11 (cited in the meeting) and urged the board to adopt a policy that provides parents and legal guardians at least two weeks’ notice of curriculum or program content covering human sexuality, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression so that families can exercise exceptions available under state law.
Board members acknowledged the comments and discussed next steps. Miss Lamphere and other board members said administration would check legal and statutory requirements. The board did not take formal action to adopt a new parental‑notification policy during the Sept. 8 meeting; Miss Raymond said the policy committee will have future legal review and the administration will follow up.
What comes next: Administration and legal counsel will review RSA 186:11 compliance questions and report back to policy committee; the board invited commenters to submit further documentation to help staff evaluate whether existing district procedures meet statutory notice and opt‑out requirements.
