HB 667-FN - AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE
13Mar2025... 0615h
2025 SESSION
25-0407
02/05
HOUSE BILL 667-FN
SPONSORS: Rep. Sellers, Graf. 18; Rep. Panek, Hills. 1; Rep. Seidel, Hills. 29; Rep. Aures, Merr. 13; Rep. Ulery, Hills. 13; Rep. Perez, Rock. 16
COMMITTEE: Education Policy and Administration
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AMENDED ANALYSIS
This bill specifies required instruction under the public school health curriculum and requires public school students to watch a simulated or ultrasound video demonstrating gestational development.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
13Mar2025... 0615h 25-0407
02/05
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Five
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Paragraph; Studies; Health Curriculum. Amend RSA 189:10 by inserting after paragraph II the following new paragraph:
II-a. The health curriculum shall include age appropriate and medically accurate sexuality education including instruction relative to abstinence, adoption, healthy relationships, and human growth and development which shall include presentation of a high quality computer generated animation or ultrasound video that shows the development of the heart, brain, and other vital organs in early fetal development.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect September 1, 2025.
25-0407
1/12/25
HB 667-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS INTRODUCED
FISCAL IMPACT: This bill does not provide funding, nor does it authorize new positions.
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Estimated State Impact | ||||||
| FY 2025 | FY 2026 | FY 2027 | FY 2028 | ||
Revenue | $0 | Indeterminable | ||||
Revenue Fund(s) | CCSNH Revenue | |||||
Expenditures* | $0 | Department of Justice - Indeterminable
Department of Education - $102K in FY26, $104K in FY27, and $107K in FY28
CCSNH - $10K to $100K Per Year
USNH - $135K Per Year
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Funding Source(s) | General Fund, CCSNH Operating Expenses, USNH Operating Expenses | |||||
Appropriations* | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | ||
Funding Source(s) | None | |||||
*Expenditure = Cost of bill *Appropriation = Authorized funding to cover cost of bill | ||||||
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Estimated Political Subdivision Impact | ||||||
| FY 2025 | FY 2026 | FY 2027 | FY 2028 | ||
Local Revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | ||
Local Expenditures | $0 | Indeterminable | ||||
METHODOLOGY:
This bill, assumed effective for the 2025-2026 school year, requires public school students and college or university students to watch a simulated video demonstrating gestational development. This bill also provides the Attorney General authority to sue to enforce this requirement on behalf of NH citizens. Any impact to the Department of Justice is indeterminable as it is unknown how many, if any, of such instances may occur.
School District and Public Charter School Impact
This bill requires the Department of Education (NHED) to conduct an annual audit of each school district and public charter school at the start of each school year to ensure compliance with this law and shall publish its findings online within 120 days from the start of each school year. To meet this requirement, NHED states it would need to either hire several part-time or seasonal positions to conduct the audits, or one (1) full-time position to work with the schools throughout the prior year to conduct the audit in preparation for a report within 120 days to the start of the school year, at an estimated salary and benefit cost of $102,000 in FY 2026, $104,000 in FY 2027, and $107,000 in FY 2028. This bill provides neither authority nor appropriation for new personnel.
Any cost to school districts to comply with this bill is indeterminable and would vary from district to district.
Community College System of New Hampshire (CCSNH)
Under this bill, CCSNH would be required to establish a procedure to administer, certify and record proof that students viewed the video. Such proof would need to be interfaced with college registrar student records to ensure compliance, and CCSNH would be required to withhold degrees and certificates otherwise earned by any student who has not viewed such video. CCSNH estimates increased operational costs of between $10,000 and $100,000 per year, based on the following:
- Costs would be incurred in acquiring or producing the video and building it as a component in the colleges’ learning management systems to be accessible to students and interfaced with the colleges’ registrar’s offices to record video viewing as completed prior to students’ graduation.
- To establish a mechanism for incoming students to show, and the college to record, proof that they viewed the material prior to enrolling in a CCSNH institution.
- Communicating with students approaching their graduation date (which includes multiple points across the academic year) who have not met this requirement.
- Addressing any issues related to withholding degrees or certificates from non-completers.
- If CCSNH were subject to a lawsuit to enforce any provision of this statute, it would incur legal costs and be subject to unspecified damages.
In addition, CCSNH states it could experience a decrease in revenue if students choose not to attend/to attend a college without this requirement. While this is impossible to predict, for the present purpose CCSNH estimates potential decrease in revenue to be between $10,000 and $100,000 per year.
University System of New Hampshire (USNH)
Under this bill, USNH institutions would be required to enforce, as a graduation requirement, that all baccalaureate students who are US citizens view a high-definition ultrasound video of at least three (3) minutes in duration showing the development of the brain, heart, sex organs, and other vital organs in early fetal development. USNH institutions would be required to administer, certify, and record proof of student compliance. USNH estimates that this bill would increase its operating expense by $135,000 annually. The additional expense would support three (3) non-benefitted, half-time administrative positions with annual compensation of $45,000 to ensure compliance (one position at each of the three institutions). Given the requirement that USNH institutions administer, certify and record proof that every graduating baccalaureate student has satisfied the requirement stipulated by law, and given the provision for legal action against an institution that violates the law, and given that approximately 4,200 students graduate with a bachelor’s degree from the University System annually, and given that graduation may occur at various points throughout the academic year, a half-time position at each institution is expected to be a reasonable allocation of resources to enforce requisite student participation and thus to ensure institutional compliance.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Department of Education, Community College System of New Hampshire, and University System of New Hampshire