TITLE XV
EDUCATION

CHAPTER 189
SCHOOL BOARDS, SUPERINTENDENTS, TEACHERS, AND TRUANT OFFICERS; SCHOOL CENSUS

School Boards, Transportation and Instruction of Pupils

Section 189:13-c

    189:13-c Credentialing Applicant and Candidate Criminal History Records Check. –
I. Definitions:
(a) "Credentialing applicant" means a first-time applicant for a New Hampshire teaching credential.
(b) "Candidate" means a student at an institution of higher education in New Hampshire who has been selected to participate in a K-12 educator preparation program.

[Paragraph I(c) effective July 1, 2027.]


(c) "Educator" means an individual currently holding a New Hampshire state board of education issued credential including teachers, administrators, paraprofessionals, school nurses, instructional specialists, and educational specialists.
II. (a) The department shall complete a confidential criminal history records check on all first-time applicants for a teaching license, under RSA 21-N:9, II(s), as shall school administrative units, school districts, and chartered public schools pursuant to RSA 189:13-a.
(b) The department shall complete a confidential criminal history records check on all candidates as shall school administrative units, school districts, and chartered public schools pursuant to RSA 189:13-a. The department shall adopt rules pursuant to RSA 541-A relative to coordination with institutions of higher education in New Hampshire on procedures for conducting clearances for candidates for K-12 educator preparation programs.
(c) The criminal history records check on a candidate shall be valid for a period of 4 years.
III. (a) The credentialing applicant or candidate shall submit to the department a criminal history records release form, as provided by the division of state police, which authorizes the division of state police to conduct a criminal history records check through its state records and through the Federal Bureau of Investigation and to release a report of the credentialing applicant's or candidate's criminal history record information, including confidential criminal history record information, to the background check coordinator of the department, as described in RSA 21-N:8-a, I-a.
(b) The credentialing applicant or candidate shall submit with the release form a complete set of fingerprints taken by a qualified law enforcement agency or an authorized employee of the department of education. In the event that the first set of fingerprints is invalid due to insufficient pattern, a second set of fingerprints shall be taken in order to complete the criminal history records check. If, after 2 attempts, a set of fingerprints is invalid due to insufficient pattern, the department may, in lieu of the criminal history records check, accept police clearance from every city, town, or county where an applicant or candidate has lived during the past 5 years.

[Paragraph III(c) effective July 1, 2027.]


(c) All educators shall submit a criminal history release form to the department of education as a condition of renewing their credential every 3 years at least 60 days prior to their credential expiration date.
IV. (a) The department shall maintain the confidentiality of all criminal history records information received pursuant to this paragraph. The department shall destroy all criminal history record information within 60 days of receiving said information.
(b) The department may require the credentialing applicant or candidate to pay the actual costs of the criminal history records check.
V. Any person who has been charged pending disposition for or convicted of any violation or attempted violation of RSA 318-B:2 for possession of a controlled drug with the intent to sell, felony level, within the last 10 years, RSA 630:1; 630:1-a; 630:1-b; 630:2; 630:3; 631:1; 631:2; 631:2-b; 632-A:2; 632-A:3; 632-A:4; 633:1; 633:7; 636:1; 638:1; 638:15-a; 639:2; 639:3; 645:1, II or III; 645:2; 649-A:3; 649-A:3-a; 649-A:3-b; 649-B:3; or 649-B:4; or any violation or any attempted violation of RSA 650:2 where the act involves a child in material deemed obscene in this state, or under any statute prohibiting the same conduct in another state, territory, or possession of the United States, shall not be granted a teaching credential by the department nor shall candidates be granted clearance.
VI. The department shall adopt rules, pursuant to RSA 541-A, governing the rights of a credentialing applicant and candidate and their ability to appeal a denial of a teaching credential or clearance pursuant to a charge pending disposition for or a conviction of any of the offenses under paragraph V.
VII. If a credentialing applicant had submitted to a criminal history records check within the prior 6 months as a candidate, that check shall be deemed valid for purposes of this section.

Source. 2021, 206:2, Pt. VII, Sec. 4, eff. Jan. 1, 2022. 2022, 36:1, eff. July 2, 2022; 259:2, eff. Jan. 1, 2023. 2024, 67:1, eff. Aug. 13, 2024. 2026, 23:1, eff. April 3, 2026; 76:1, 2, eff. July 1, 2027.