New Hampshire Governor Kelly Ayotte has signed legislation requiring public school employees to disclose information about transgender students to their parents or legal guardians.
The law reverses the effect of a 2024 New Hampshire Supreme Court ruling that upheld students’ privacy rights in certain circumstances.
Ayotte’s office announced on 2 July that SB 430 had been signed into law. Under the legislation, educators must respond to written requests from parents for “material information” about their child, even if a student has asked that information be kept confidential or fears negative consequences at home.
Supporters of the law, including Republican state Senator Tim Lang, argue the measure strengthens parental rights and enables families to better support children who may be struggling.
“If you don’t tell the parent, the parent can’t watch for the signs of self-harm,” Lang told New Hampshire Public Radio.
Educators warn law risks outing students
Educators and LGBTQ+ advocates, however, say the law places teachers in an impossible position by forcing them to choose between complying with the law and protecting vulnerable students.
Megan Tuttle, president of NEA-New Hampshire, the state’s largest teachers’ union, said the legislation is “vaguely written and risks putting educators in a position of outing a student”.
“Education is so much more than a job, it’s a calling,” Tuttle said.
“As educators, we strive to connect with each student to discover their passions and potential. As educators, we also strive to communicate and collaborate with caregivers and families to support students. However, SB 430 is vaguely written and risks putting educators in a position of outing a student.”
Tuttle added that schools should be places where every student feels “safe, seen, and free to be themselves”.
Aimee Terravechia, executive director of LGBTQ+ advocacy group 603 Equality, also warned the law could erode trust between students and educators.
“Schools should be a place of learning… and a place of critical self-examination,” she told New Hampshire Public Radio. “Placing educators into a role of monitoring and reporting removes the trust necessary for a thriving academic environment.”
Law follows 2024 student privacy ruling
The legislation effectively overturns a 2024 New Hampshire Supreme Court decision involving the Manchester School District.
In that case, the court upheld a district policy that allowed transgender and gender-nonconforming students to keep their gender identity private at school in some circumstances.
The court ruled that the policy did not violate a parent’s constitutional rights, finding that the plaintiff had “failed to demonstrate” that it infringed a fundamental parenting right.
The ruling was seen by LGBTQ+ advocates as an important protection for transgender students who may not be safe or ready to come out at home.
SB 430 now shifts the balance back towards parental disclosure, even where students have asked school staff not to share information.
For trans students and their advocates, the concern is simple: outing a young person before they are ready can expose them to rejection, punishment, abuse or homelessness.
For supporters of the law, the issue is parental involvement and the belief that families should not be kept in the dark about a child’s life at school.
The result is another flashpoint in the broader US battle over transgender students’ rights, privacy and safety — with teachers now placed directly in the middle.
