Under Republican proposals for a parental bill of rights headed to the desk of Gov. Kelly Ayotte, teachers and school personnel in New Hampshire would be mandated to answer any and all questions from parents.

Culminating a years-long effort, lawmakers passed two largely similar parental rights measures on Thursday – Senate Bill 72 and House Bill 10 – which Ayotte could sign into law, allow to pass without her signature or veto.

The bills would codify existing parental rights into one comprehensive law and give parents the option to exempt their children from sex education, some statewide learning assessments and, in some cases, vaccines. They also demand that local school districts formulate policies to promote parental involvement and mandate that school personnel respond “truthfully” and “accurately” to all inquiries from parents.

Conservatives argue that no information should be withheld from parents, who have a “fundamental right” to be informed and involved in their child’s upbringing and education.

“Governments do not raise children, parents do,” said Rep. Jim Kofalt, a Wilton Republican.

State Rep. Peter Petrigno, a Milford Democrat, agreed. But the proposal on the table, he said during debate on SB 72, lets situations of abuse slip through the cracks. He argued it would give cover to abusive parents and result in a chilling effect on youths who may turn to teachers for help.

“If troubled kids cannot talk with their parents for any reason and they know they now cannot talk to their trusted adults at school, then where will they turn?” Petrigno asked.

Support for more parental involvement and power in education has swept the country, with more and more states enacting parental bills of rights or laws to that effect. 

Some parents have grown to distrust the public school system, thinking teachers and administrators are indoctrinating students with liberal bias and withholding information from parents. In some local schools, parents have challenged the content of books and questioned policies relating to LGBTQ+ students. On the state level, New Hampshire has also created an avenue to report teachers to the state who are believed to be delivering biased lessons on history, race, gender and sexuality.

The parental bill of rights was a top priority for conservatives this session. House Speaker Sherman Packard sponsored the legislation himself after similar laws failed to pass in years prior.

Ayotte has also expressed support for parental rights, and if she signs one into law, New Hampshire would become the first New England state with an explicitly codified parental rights. A similar effort is underway in Maine.

Advocates for the LGBTQ+ community have historically opposed these bills. While the current proposals do not explicitly mention sexuality or gender, advocates decry the mandatory disclosure provision, saying it could force school personnel to out a student’s sexuality or gender identity to their parents against their wishes.

Schools may infringe on the outlined parental rights only if they believe there is “clear and convincing evidence” that the action is necessary to prevent abuse. Democrats argued that legal standard was too high because a child reporting abuse to their teacher wouldn’t meet that threshold.

Kofalt argued that school personnel would still be allowed to call the state’s Division of Children, Youth and Families to report suspected abuse.

“This does nothing to impinge our ability to report child abuse,” Kofalt said.

The bill passed, 214-167, but Democrats remained unconvinced.

“In what world does an adult’s right to know outweigh a child’s right to safety?” said Rochester Rep. Amy Malone. “If parents want a better relationship with their children, they can get involved and build that trust and not rely on legislation that compromises another child’s safety.”

Charlotte Matherly is the statehouse reporter for the Concord Monitor and Monadnock Ledger-Transcript in partnership with Report for America. Follow her on X at @charmatherly, subscribe to her Capital Beat newsletter and send her an email at cmatherly@cmonitor.com.