Push to create educator ‘responsibility to parents' draws backlash from teachers

Yahoo

16-04-2025

House Bill 235 would update the state's educator code of conduct to require that teachers pledge a responsibility to parents — not just students. (Getty Images)
To Nancy Biederman, proper teaching is about staying on the right side of the line. On one side are the topics and behavior appropriate for students; on the other, subject material that is overly personal, political, social, or religious.
Teachers should remain on the first side, Biederman believes. The second should be the sole domain of a student's parents. And lawmakers should establish legislative safeguards to make sure the line is respected.
'Teachers are just stepping over the line and trying to become the parents of the children,' said Biederman, a New Boston resident and former elementary and middle school teacher, in an interview. 'And that's not their job.'
That sentiment has driven a raft of school-related Republican legislation, such as the parental bill of rights, which passed the House, 212-161, in March. It's also inspired a less prominent bill.
House Bill 235 would update the state's educator code of conduct to require that teachers pledge a responsibility to parents — not just students. Teachers found by the State Board of Education to have failed that responsibility could face disciplinary sanctions.
Some, like Biederman, a strong advocate for the parental bill of rights, have cheered HB 235. 'I think it would definitely make teachers stop and think for a second before they discuss certain topics,' said Biederman. 'And I think it would put that line in the sand that seems to have disappeared, of where they are allowed to discuss and give opinions … on certain topics.'
But the move has drawn fierce criticism from teachers, who say they already do maintain productive relationships with parents but that legislating those relationships would constrain their ability to do their job.
'I just think you could be abused,' said Mary Ann Cadwallader, a Hanover resident and former teacher, in an interview Tuesday.
Under current law, the educator code of conduct requires that teachers and other educators maintain four responsibilities: to the education profession and educational professionals; to students; to the school community; and to the 'responsible and ethical use of technology as it relates to students, schools, and other educational professionals.'
HB 235 would simply add the phrase 'and parents' to educators' responsibility to students. Rep. Rick Ladd, a Haverhill Republican and the chairman of the House Education Funding Committee, said it would solidify what should already be part of a teacher's job.
'Parents are involved in your schools,' Ladd, a former school administrator, said. '… It's important that we recognize, and I think by recognize in this code of ethics that parents or guardians need to be there.'
The legislation comes as increasing parental involvement in schools has been a top priority for conservatives, amid accusations that teachers are usurping the role of families. House Bill 10, the parental bill of rights, would enumerate a number of rights of parents with respect to their school districts, including the right to direct their child's education or care, make health care decisions for their child, review school records, consent to any medical tests, and consent to any video recordings of their child. It would also obligate teachers and administrators to communicate and review curriculum with parents,
HB 235 is a much simpler bill. But teachers' unions have warned it could still have a broad and negative impact in the classroom.
'There's a lot put on educators when it comes to all sorts of rules, regulations that you need to follow,' said Brian Hawkins, director of government relations for the National Education Association of New Hampshire, at a hearing on the bill in the House Education Policy and Administration Committee. 'And they just want to go in there and teach and educate.'
Hawkins added there is 'no doubt' that partnerships between parents and teachers are important. But he said that complex issues and demands from parents are often better handled by school administrators, not individual teachers.
If passed by the Senate and signed by Gov. Kelly Ayotte, it is not yet clear how HB 235 would be implemented. The bill itself is short; the exact requirements put into the educator code of conduct would be fleshed out by the State Board of Education and the Joint Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules after the bill's passage. Hawkins warned lawmakers that because the term 'responsibility' is not defined, the bill could give broad leeway to JLCAR to add expansive requirements for teachers.
In written testimony to the House committees, other teachers expressed opposition to the idea of having a formal statutory responsibility to teachers.
Some said it would be too high a time burden. Others said the bill would eliminate the potential for schools to act as a safe space for children who are struggling internally.
'I am a professional who treats all of my students with respect,' said Heather Fabbri, of Hampton Falls, who identified herself as a 29-year teacher. 'I fear this bill will open doors to parents who have an agenda about who does and does not deserve to feel safe within my classroom.'
Cadwallader hasn't been teaching since 2001. But she says when she was a teacher, any issues with parents were dealt with head on, without the need for legislative mandates.
'Public education is very important for everyone and parents certainly have a role in that,' she said. 'There's teacher conferences for parents to talk. A parent who's really upset with what's happening can go and talk to the principal in the school.'
To Cadwallader, the current climate can feel oppressive for teachers.
'I don't think the general motivation to be a teacher is to stay out of the reach of the law for Pete's sake. It's to attend to a child. It's to be the best teacher you can be, which means you have to get your coursework across to the student.'
But Biederman says teachers can avoid that scrutiny as long as they stay in their professional lane, as she says she and her colleagues did before she retired from the profession 10 years ago.
'A teacher needs to respect a parent's right to bring their child up the way they want to bring their child up,' she said. 'And how dare you step over that line. As long as the child has their basic needs met, there is no reason for a teacher' to get involved.