Parental Rights

These are the parental rights as outlined in NH RSA 189-B:3. 

I.  All parental rights are reserved to the parents of minor children in this state without obstruction or interference from any school or school personnel.  The rights of a parent regarding his or her child or children include, but are not limited to, the following:

(a)  The right to direct the upbringing and the moral or religious training of a parent’s minor child.

(b)  The right to direct the education of a parent’s minor child.  This right includes the right to choose to enroll the child in an assigned resident public school, a public charter school, an approved nonpublic school, a home education program, or an education freedom account program, as set forth in RSA 193:1 and RSA 194-F:1, et seq.

(c)  The right to request that a child be enrolled in a public school other than the public school assigned to them by their residence to avoid a manifest educational hardship, as set forth in RSA 193:3.

(d)  The right to enroll a child in a private school, including a religious school, a home education program, or other available options, as authorized by law, as an alternative to public education, as set forth in RSA 193:1 and RSA 194:F-1, et seq.

(e)  The right to obtain access for a child to public curricular courses and co-curricular programs offered by the local school district where the student resides while choosing to enroll their child in a non-public public chartered, home education or EFA program, as set forth in RSA 193:1-c and RSA 194-F:2, II(d).

(f)  The right to inspect any instructional material used as part of the educational curriculum for a child within a reasonable period following a request, as set forth in 20 U.S.C. section 1232h(c)(1)(C).

(g)  The right to exempt a minor child from immunizations if, in the opinion of a physician, the immunization is detrimental to the child or because of religious beliefs, as set forth RSA 141-C:20-a and RSA 141-C:20-c.

(h)  The right to exempt a public-school student from participating in required statewide assessments in English, language arts, mathematics, and/or science, as set forth in RSA 193-C:6.

(i)  The right to receive information regarding the level of achievement and academic growth of a child in the state academic assessments in English, language arts, mathematics, and/or science, as set forth in the Every Student Succeeds Act, 20 U.S.C. section 1112 (e)(1)(B)(i).

(j)  The right to opt out of health or sex education and any other objectionable material, as set forth in RSA 186:11, IX-b and IX-c.

(k)  The right to access and review all education records relating to a minor child within 14 days after the day the school receives a request for access as set forth in RSA 189:66, IV, and 34 C.F.R. 99.5.  

(l)  The right to be promptly notified if a criminal offense has been committed against a minor child, as set forth in RSA 193-D:4.

(m)  The right to be notified whenever seclusion or restraint has been used on the child as set forth in RSA 126-U:7.

(n)  The right to be informed of the school district’s policy regarding discipline policies and procedures, as set forth in RSA 193:13.

(o)  The right to be advised of any non-academic survey or questionnaire to be administered to a child and the requirement that the parent consent to a child completing such a survey or questionnaire, as well as the right to opt the child out of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as set forth in RSA 186:11, IX-d.

(p)  The right to access and review all medical records of a child maintained by a school or school personnel, except:

(1)  As restricted by RSA 132:32-132:36, RSA 141-C:18, RSA 141-F:7, RSA 135-C:19-a, or other state or federal law, or court order; or

(2)  If the parent has been convicted of any crime of violence against the minor child; or

(3)  If the parent is the subject of an investigation of a crime committed against the minor child and a law enforcement agency has requested of the applicable court that the information not be released to the parent in order to protect the integrity of an ongoing investigation.

(q)  The right to consent in writing before a biometric scan of a child is made, shared, or stored, as set forth in RSA 189:65 and RSA 189:68.

(r)  The right to consent in writing before any record of a child’s blood or deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is created, stored, or shared, except as required by general law or authorized pursuant to a court order.

(s)  The right to be informed of, and provide consent to, any medical procedure or treatment to be performed on a child, except pursuant to RSA 132:34, RSA 141-C:18, or for the provision of emergency medical treatment, including mental health treatment.

(t)  The right to receive truthful and accurate information about the child in response to a written request that is not otherwise protected from disclosure by this chapter.

II.  Federal law provides for additional parent and family involvement for schools that are receiving Title I, Part A; Title I, Part C (migrant); Title III, Part A (EL) funds, including:

(a)  The right to receive information, including student reports, in an understandable and uniform format and to the extent practicable, in a language that parents can understand, as set forth in 20 U.S.C. sections 1112(e)(4); 1114(b)(4); 1116(e)(5); and 1116(f).

(b)  Upon request of the parent, the right to receive information regarding state qualifications of the student’s classroom teachers and paraprofessionals providing services to the child, as set forth in 20 U.S.C. section 1112(e)(1)(A)(i-ii).

(c)  The right to receive an annual local educational agency report card that includes information on such agency as a whole and each school served by the agency, as set forth in 20 U.S.C. section 1111(h)(2)(A-B)(i-iii).

III.  Nothing in this chapter shall:

(a)  Authorize a parent of a minor child in this state to engage in conduct that is unlawful or to abuse or neglect his or her minor child in violation of general law.

(b)  Prohibit a court of competent jurisdiction, law enforcement officer, or employees of a government agency that is responsible for child welfare from acting in their official capacity.

(c)  Require disclosure of information provided to any counselor, school psychologist, school nurse, or other certified healthcare provider where the information provided was reasonably expected to be confidential.

(d)  Override any student's right to confidentiality that otherwise exists in court rules.

(e)  Prohibit required disclosures as a mandated reporter or otherwise required by law.