New Hampshire 2025 Regular Session

New Hampshire House Bill HB653 Compare Versions

The same version is selected twice. Please select two different versions to compare.

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	HB 653-FN - AS INTRODUCED
2	2
3	3
4	4
5	5
6	6
7	7	2025 SESSION
8	8
9	9	25-0429
10	10
11	11	05/11
12	12
13	13
14	14
15	15	HOUSE BILL653-FN
16	16
17	17
18	18
19	19	AN ACTestablishing a pilot program within the department of education to implement alternatives to restraint and seclusion of students.
20	20
21	21
22	22
23	23	SPONSORS:Rep. Petrigno, Hills. 43; Rep. DeSimone, Rock. 18; Rep. Gregg, Hills. 7; Rep. Grossman, Rock. 11; Rep. Levesque, Straf. 4; Rep. Nelson, Rock. 13; Rep. M. Pearson, Rock. 34; Sen. Altschiller, Dist 24; Sen. Long, Dist 20; Sen. McGough, Dist 11
24	24
25	25
26	26
27	27	COMMITTEE:Education Policy and Administration
28	28
29	29
30	30
31	31
32	32
33	33
34	34
35	35	ANALYSIS
36	36
37	37
38	38
39	39	This bill establishes a pilot program within the department of education to implement alternatives to restraint and seclusion of students.
40	40
41	41
42	42
43	43	- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
44	44
45	45
46	46
47	47	Explanation:Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
48	48
49	49	Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
50	50
51	51	Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
52	52
53	53	25-0429
54	54
55	55	05/11
56	56
57	57
58	58
59	59	STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
60	60
61	61
62	62
63	63	In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Five
64	64
65	65
66	66
67	67	AN ACTestablishing a pilot program within the department of education to implement alternatives to restraint and seclusion of students.
68	68
69	69
70	70
71	71	Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
72	72
73	73
74	74
75	75	1 Safe Schools Pilot Project Established.
76	76
77	77	I. There shall be established the safe schools pilot project within the department of education to develop an evidence-based practice model for alternatives to restraint and seclusion of students.
78	78
79	79	(a) The pilot project shall provide technical assistance, professional development, and training for school staff in evidence-based alternatives to restraint and seclusion that focuses on problem-solving and skill development.
80	80
81	81	(b) For purposes of the pilot project:
82	82
83	83	(1) Programs shall have a designation of "evidence-based" provided by a national clearinghouse, such as the California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare used by the New Hampshire Children's Behavioral Health Resource Center.
84	84
85	85	(2) “Evidence-based alternatives to restraint and seclusion” programs shall be problem-solving focused; skill-development focused; collaborative as between educators and students; trauma-informed; proactive; and non-punitive.
86	86
87	87	(3) “Evidence-based alternatives to restraint and seclusion” shall not include programs that use restraint or seclusion; crisis prevention training; de-escalation training; or behavior management training.
88	88
89	89	II. The department of education shall administer the pilot project.
90	90
91	91	(a) The department shall disseminate information about the pilot project to all school districts in the state and shall solicit applications for inclusion in the pilot project. Applications shall be accepted on a rolling basis.
92	92
93	93	(b) The department shall identify and give priority to applications from the following types of school districts. If possible, the pilot project shall include at least:
94	94
95	95	(1) Two schools with the highest per capita incidents of restraints and seclusion;
96	96
97	97	(2) Schools in high density population areas and/or with the highest per capita diversity;
98	98
99	99	(3) Two schools in suburban areas;
100	100
101	101	(4) Two schools in rural areas; and
102	102
103	103	(5) One accredited residential school.
104	104
105	105	(c) Among the participating school districts, at least one shall be an elementary school; at least 2 shall have a high density of special education students, such as a public alternative school; at least 2 shall be middle schools; and at least 2 shall be high schools.
106	106
107	107	(d) The pilot project at each school shall last from 3 to 12 months, beginning in January 2026.
108	108
109	109	III. The pilot project shall include the following reporting requirements:
110	110
111	111	(a) School districts shall report implementation data and findings to the department every 3 months while participating in the pilot project.
112	112
113	113	(b) The department shall collaborate with the identified vendor to collect the data from school district participants and analyze outcomes from the pilot project.
114	114
115	115	(c) Beginning 6 months after the effective date of this section, and every 6 months thereafter for the duration of the project, the department shall provide a report regarding the safe schools pilot project to:
116	116
117	117	(1) The governor’s office;
118	118
119	119	(2) The senate president and chair of the senate education committee;
120	120
121	121	(3) The speaker of the house and chair of the house education committee;
122	122
123	123	(4) The office of the child advocate;
124	124
125	125	(5) The commissioner of the department of education;
126	126
127	127	(6) The director of the office of social and emotional wellness in the department of education;
128	128
129	129	(7) The office of the advocate for special education; and
130	130
131	131	(8) The oversight commission on children’s services established in RSA 21-V:10.
132	132
133	133	(e) The report shall address the following:
134	134
135	135	(1) Demographics of schools participating in the pilot project.
136	136
137	137	(2) Historical data on restraints and seclusion in each participating school to include 5 years of restraint and seclusion data.
138	138
139	139	(3) Historical data on trainings provided at each participating school in the prior 5 years, relating to restraint or seclusion, crisis prevention, de-escalation training, and behavior management training.
140	140
141	141	(4) A description of the technical assistance and professional development implemented relating to the evidence-based practice model for alternatives to restraint and seclusion of students in each pilot project school.
142	142
143	143	(5) Outcomes of the pilot project, including but not limited to: teacher engagement; data collected on the use of restraint and seclusion in each school during the pilot project; data collected relating to the use of the evidence-base3 line 7d practice model for alternatives to restraint and seclusion of students; and pre- and post-survey data from teachers regarding the pilot project.
144	144
145	145	(6) Costs and funding options for continued use of the evidence-based practice model for alternatives to restraint and seclusion of students and possible expansion to other schools across the state.
146	146
147	147	2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
148	148
149	149
150	150
151	151	LBA
152	152
153	153	25-0429
154	154
155	155	Revised 1/24/25
156	156
157	157
158	158
159	159	HB 653-FN- FISCAL NOTE
160	160
161	161	AS INTRODUCED
162	162
163	163
164	164
165	165	AN ACTestablishing a pilot program within the department of education to implement alternatives to restraint and seclusion of students.
166	166
167	167
168	168
169	169	FISCAL IMPACT: This bill does not provide funding, nor does it authorize new positions.
170	170
171	171
172	172	Estimated State Impact
173	173	FY 2025 FY 2026 FY 2027 FY 2028
174	174	Revenue $0 $0 $0 $0
175	175	Revenue Fund(s) None
176	176	Expenditures* $0 Indeterminable Increase($100,000 - $500,000 Per Year)
177	177	Funding Source(s) General Fund
178	178	Appropriations* $0 $0 $0 $0
179	179	Funding Source(s) None
180	180	Expenditure = Cost of bill Appropriation = Authorized funding to cover cost of bill
181	181
182	182
183	183
184	184
185	185
186	186	Estimated State Impact
187	187
188	188
189	189
190	190	FY 2025
191	191
192	192	FY 2026
193	193
194	194	FY 2027
195	195
196	196	FY 2028
197	197
198	198	Revenue
199	199
200	200	$0
201	201
202	202	$0
203	203
204	204	$0
205	205
206	206	$0
207	207
208	208	Revenue Fund(s)
209	209
210	210	None
211	211
212	212	Expenditures*
213	213
214	214	$0
215	215
216	216	Indeterminable Increase
217	217
218	218	($100,000 - $500,000 Per Year)
219	219
220	220	Funding Source(s)
221	221
222	222	General Fund
223	223
224	224	Appropriations*
225	225
226	226	$0
227	227
228	228	$0
229	229
230	230	$0
231	231
232	232	$0
233	233
234	234	Funding Source(s)
235	235
236	236	None
237	237
238	238	Expenditure = Cost of bill Appropriation = Authorized funding to cover cost of bill
239	239
240	240
241	241
242	242	METHODOLOGY:
243	243
244	244	This bill would establish a pilot program within the Department of Education to develop an evidence-based practice model for alternatives to restraint and seclusion of students. The Department states that while the exact cost of the implementation of this pilot program is indeterminable, it is estimated to be between $100,000 to $500,000 per year. The Department adds that the implementation of a new program would require a new staff member to administer; however is unable to provide specific position information at this time. It should be noted that this bill provides neither authorization nor appropriation for new personnel.
245	245
246	246
247	247
248	248	AGENCIES CONTACTED:
249	249
250	250	Department of Education