A BILL for an Act to create and enact a new section to chapter 15.1-21 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to human trafficking awareness and prevention curriculum.
Summary
HB 1569 would require North Dakota school districts to offer instruction on human trafficking awareness and prevention to every student at least once before graduation, beginning no later than the 2027-28 school year. The instruction could begin as early as grade 7 and could be integrated into an existing course. The bill also directs the superintendent of public instruction to review and approve curriculum before it is used, or to provide approved curriculum to districts.
The required curriculum would need to cover medically and legally accurate definitions of human trafficking, information about the demographics of victims and perpetrators, reporting systems and community organizations, basic identification training for at-risk individuals, and warning signs of grooming or coercive relationships. Districts could accept funds or donations to help implement the requirement, so long as the curriculum meets state approval standards.
Impact
The bill would have amended chapter 15.1-21 of the North Dakota Century Code by creating a new statewide K-12 curriculum requirement focused on human trafficking awareness and prevention. It would have imposed a new instructional obligation on school districts, expanded the superintendent of public instruction's role in reviewing or supplying curriculum, and potentially affected course planning, teacher training, and student health/safety education statewide. Because the bill failed, those statutory changes were not enacted.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have been framed as a student safety and prevention measure, with bipartisan sponsorship suggesting broad initial support for the concept. However, it failed on House second reading by a wide margin, 25-65, indicating that the chamber did not support advancing the proposal in its introduced form. No committee transcript is available, so the recorded vote is the main indicator of sentiment, and it reflects substantial opposition or reluctance among House members.
Contention
The main points of contention likely centered on whether a statewide mandate was necessary, how much control the state should have over local curriculum decisions, and whether the required content was appropriately detailed for school instruction. The bill's requirements to address race, gender, and socioeconomic status of victims and perpetrators, along with stigmatization and grooming, may also have raised concerns about age-appropriateness, implementation burden, or curriculum sensitivity. Because there were no committee transcripts, the specific objections of supporters and opponents are not documented in the provided record.