prohibiting school district attorneys and non-school personnel from questioning students without their parent or guardian present.

HB 1267 - FINAL VERSION

2026 SESSION
26-2504
09/07

HOUSE BILL
1267

AN ACT
prohibiting school district attorneys and non-school personnel from questioning students without their parent or guardian present.

SPONSORS: Rep. Sheehan, Hills. 43; Rep. Corcoran, Hills. 28; Rep. DeRoy, Straf. 3; Rep. DeVito, Rock. 8; Rep. Litchfield, Rock. 32; Rep. McGrath, Rock. 40; Rep. Pauer, Hills. 36; Rep. Reinfurt, Hills. 29; Rep. Tenczar, Hills. 1

COMMITTEE: Education Policy and Administration

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ANALYSIS

This bill requires school boards to develop and adopt a policy to prevent the questioning of minor students by non-school employees and certain school employees without prior written permission of the parents or guardians, and such policy shall require that an adult student be asked if they want their parents or guardians notified before any such questioning.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in
bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [
in brackets and struckthrough.
]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
26-2504
09/07

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty-Six

AN ACT
prohibiting school district attorneys and non-school personnel from questioning students without their parent or guardian present.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 New Paragraph; Duty to Provide Education; Questioning of Students. Amend RSA 189:1-a by inserting after paragraph V the following new paragraph:
VI. School boards and the board of trustees of chartered public schools shall develop and adopt a policy governing the questioning of a student who is minor by any person who is not an employee of the school district or school administrative unit, and certain employees of the school district described herein. The policy shall prohibit the questioning of a minor student without expressed prior written parental or guardian permission, by non-employee persons including but not limited to persons who are attorneys, paralegals, and law enforcement personnel, as well as such persons in these professions who are employees of the school district or school administrative unit. Such persons shall not be present during questioning of a minor student by school employees without prior written parental or guardian permission. The policy shall also require that an adult student be asked if they want their parents or guardians notified, with the opportunity for the parents or guardians to be present during any such questioning. Parents and guardians of their minor student, and of their adult student if the adult student consents, shall have a right to be present during any questioning, and shall have the right to have their own attorney present. Parents and guardians of minor students and adult students aggrieved by a violation of this chapter may petition the superior court for declaratory and equitable relief, in the same manner as taxpayers pursuant to RSA 189:77. Nothing in this paragraph shall prevent personnel from the division of children, youth and family services or law enforcement from questioning a minor student without parental notice if the question is part of a legitimate child welfare inquiry under RSA 169-C.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2027.

VETOED May 28, 2026