(New Title) requiring the department of education to conduct a confidential criminal history record check on all prospective educational personnel.
Summary
HB 1827 requires the New Hampshire Department of Education to conduct confidential criminal history record checks on all prospective educational personnel who are not already in positions requiring educator credentials. The bill defines this group broadly to include employees of school administrative units, school districts, public schools, public charter schools, public academies, and non-public approved special education schools. It also creates a new “clearance” document showing that the check was completed and that no disqualifying offenses were found, with the clearance valid for five years.
Under the bill, affected personnel must submit a release form and fingerprints so the Department of State Police can run state and FBI checks and provide results to the Department of Education’s background check coordinator. The Department must keep the information confidential and destroy it within 60 days. The bill also allows the department to require applicants to pay the actual cost of the check and directs the department to adopt rules for appeals of denials. The act is set to take effect July 1, 2027.
Impact
The bill would add a new section to RSA 189, creating a statewide background-check requirement for non-credentialed school employees and related personnel. It expands the Department of Education’s screening role beyond existing categories such as educator licensure applicants, school bus drivers, and PEPP students, and it establishes statutory disqualification criteria for certain serious offenses, including specified violent, sexual, drug-trafficking, child-exploitation, and other felony convictions or pending charges. It also prohibits schools from employing individuals whose educator licenses have been revoked in New Hampshire or another state. The fiscal note anticipates new fee revenue for both the Department of Education and the Department of Safety, with the Department of Education incurring new administrative and staffing costs that are expected to be covered by fees rather than general fund appropriations.
Sentiment
The available record suggests generally favorable or at least noncontroversial treatment of the bill, with no recorded votes or committee transcript showing organized opposition. The bill was adopted by both bodies, and its purpose is framed as a school safety and screening measure. The fiscal note indicates the agencies involved expected the new process to be manageable within existing systems, which may have supported a practical, implementation-focused view of the proposal.
Contention
The main policy tension in the bill is between school safety and administrative burden. Supporters would likely emphasize preventing individuals with serious criminal histories from working in schools and standardizing background checks across a broad range of school personnel. Potential concerns center on the breadth of the covered workforce, the use of fingerprints and FBI/state checks, confidentiality and data retention, the five-year clearance period, and the possibility that applicants or school employers will bear added costs. The bill also creates an appeals process for denials, reflecting concern about fairness for individuals who may be disqualified based on pending charges or older convictions.
Requiring certain non-public schools or education service providers that accept public funds to perform background checks on all employees and volunteers.
Relative to the regulation of recreational therapists and respiratory care practitioners and relative to delaying the effective dates of various new procedures for criminal history records checks.
Relative to adding restitution payment for violations of the confidentiality of the library use records and adding library cards and membership status to the list of confidential matters.