New Hampshire - Regulations

New Hampshire has minimal state law on the subject. New Hampshire’s criminal statutes provide that teachers will not be held criminally liable for using necessary force toward a student in certain situations. RSA 627:6. New Hampshire state regulations provide, however, that misconduct or unprofessional conduct that would potentially place a student in physical or emotional jeopardy is grounds for the suspension or revocation of an educator’s certification. Ed 511.02. All students are entitled to a safe and healthy educational environment.

School employees who have supervisory responsibility over students have a legal obligation to supervise students with due care and to take reasonable steps to protect them from injury.

Marquay v. Eno, 139 NH 708 (1995); State v. Drake, 139 NH 662 (1995). New Hampshire’s state special education regulations prohibit public and private schools from using aversive or deprivational measures that subject a child to humiliation, unsupervised confinement, abuse or neglect, or a denial of basic necessities. Ed 1119.02, (e); Ed 1133.07, (c).