House Votes In Favor Of Legislation To Change Youth Risk Survey From Opt-Out To Opt-In

By Annmarie Timmins, New Hampshire Bulletin

Despite pleas from law enforcement and public health leaders, the House voted to change participation in a biannual student survey that guides policies and secures funding to address youth sexual violence, substance abuse, and suicide from opt-out to opt-in.

And in a pair of votes, the House limited school leaders’ ability to adopt the type of safety protocols they implemented during COVID-19.

During a public hearing on House Bill 1639 proposing that the Youth Risk Behavior Survey become opt-in, Franklin Police Chief Dave Goldstein and health leaders warned doing so will reduce participation and, in turn, jeopardize funding and public policy efforts. The bill passed, 183-164, but not before a caution from House Speaker Sherman Packard, a Londonderry Republican, about decorum.

Rep. Ralph Boehm, a Litchfield Republican and HB 1639’s prime sponsor, told the House the survey is unreliable because students treat it as a joke and don’t answer truthfully. Rep. Patricia Cornell, a Manchester Democrat, pushed back, urging the House not to be persuaded by “misinformation.”

Packard, a Londonderry Republican, objected to the use of the word.

“We’ve had it before. We had it yesterday,” Packard said. “And it’s already started today. And I’m asking all the members to refrain from making any type of an accusatory remark about another member.”

Rep. Lucy Weber, a Walpole Democrat, responded, telling Packard the reference to misinformation was only a question about facts. Packard disagreed. “The member, in my opinion, suggested that the member lied,” he said.

Opponents of COVID-19 school mask mandates and remote learning succeeded in efforts to limit the use of both in the future.

Under House Bill 1131, which passed 166-157, schools will be prohibited from requiring students, teachers, and people visiting schools to wear masks. And the Department of Education and State Board of Education will continue to have the authority to limit how school districts can use remote learning. House Bill 1113, which would have allowed schools to use remote learning for up to five days a year for weather and other emergencies, including those that impact health and safety, failed by a similar margin, 166-154.

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