Why New Hampshire Should Repeal MTSS-B
House Bill 1754-FN would repeal the statewide law for the Multi-Tiered System of Supports for Behavioral Health (MTSS-B) in New Hampshire public schools. This proposal is not an attack on student mental health. Rather, it is a necessary step to restore academic focus, protect student privacy, and respect parental rights.
MTSS-B was introduced as a framework to help schools address behavioral challenges. In practice, it has evolved into something far broader—turning schools into de facto mental health clinics. Social and Emotional Learning (SEL), the foundation of MTSS-B, now permeates academic instruction, often without parental knowledge or consent. This shift has come at a cost: the sharing of sensitive mental health data to education vendors, increased spending, and little evidence that MTSS-B improves educational outcomes.
Despite years of implementation, there is no clear, independent scientific proof that MTSS-B or SEL programs raised academic achievement in New Hampshire. Meanwhile, students continue to struggle with literacy and math. Schools should be focusing on teaching core subjects, not administering psychological frameworks better suited for families and licensed clinicians.
Even more concerning is the collection and sharing of sensitive mental health data. SEL programs and online learning platforms often gather behavioral and emotional information about children, which may be stored or shared by third-party vendors. Parents are rarely told what data is collected or where it goes. Children should not have permanent digital mental health profiles created without explicit parental consent.
Many online Social Emotional Learning (SEL) vendors lack privacy policies that adequately protect students’ mental health records. Existing loopholes in FERPA—the federal student privacy law—allow highly sensitive emotional and behavioral data to be shared with third parties without meaningful parental consent. As a result, parents are often unaware of who has access to their child’s mental health information, how long it is retained, or how it may be used in the future.
MTSS-B is also closely aligned with national SEL organizations that promote a specific set of values, sometimes at odds with those held by families. “Transformative SEL” explicitly shifts classroom focus toward race and gender ideology, beginning as early as preschool. These frameworks establish behavioral and social “competencies” students must meet to advance, effectively forcing ideological compliance rather than fostering independent thought.
New Hampshire has long valued local control and parental involvement in education. A statewide education program that standardizes behavioral norms and values undermines both. HB1754-FN restores decision-making to families and communities, where it belongs.
Supporting this bill does not mean ignoring children’s mental health. It means recognizing that schools cannot replace parents, and education should prioritize academics, privacy, and parental rights. Turning classrooms into mental health clinics is not the solution. Repealing MTSS-B is a step toward refocusing our schools on what truly helps children succeed.
It wasn’t that long ago the PowerSchool was sued by parents for selling behavior data. That lawsuit is still pending in court. Who knows who has access to that sensitive mental health data now?
On page 32 of this document, you can see that the goal is to make pre-school students socially aware. Socially aware of what? Under Social Awareness for Pre-K children, toddlers will be required to “recognize and respect similarities and differences in people gender expression, family, race, culture, language.” Gone are the days of learning to line up for recess, now they will learn about gender confusion and race relations. North County Partnership for SEL Practices will now decide what kind of values to instill in your children.
On page 66 students in 6-8th grade learn how to become globalists. “Have students examine global needs and participate in a discussion around what they would do to help if they were president.” This is grooming for behavior modification through psychological manipulation.
These SEL programs are riddled with replacing family values with CASEL values. CASEL is the organization that seeks to make SEL available to all children in our schools. It’s also the organization who openly says that academics are no longer important.
CASEL has already admitted that academic content is not longer important to teach in the classroom. Watch this short video:
Do you need SEL vendors to raise your children? This is an education plan used to instill specific values, beliefs, and obedience to authority in children by shaping them to support the viewpoint or ideology of CASEL and their team.
HB1754 is an important Bill to watch this session. If you can attend the hearing in Concord to support it when it is scheduled, please attend. If you cannot attend, it is important that you let our elected officials know that turning schools into mental health clinics is not good for children.
PLEASE SEND AN EMAIL (Talking Points Below) TO:
FIND your State Representative here.
FIND your State Senator here.
COPY The HOUSE EDUCATION COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Kristin.Noble@gc.nh.gov, Katy.Peternel@gc.nh.gov, Margaret.Drye@gc.nh.gov, Paul.Terry@gc.nh.gov, Mike.Belcher@gc.nh.gov, Lisa.Freeman@gc.nh.gov, Melissa.Litchfield@gc.nh.gov, Valerie.McDonnell@gc.nh.gov, Jeffrey.Tenczar@gc.nh.gov, Brian.Nadeau@gc.nh.gov, patricia.cornell@gc.nh.gov, Megan.Murray@gc.nh.gov, stevewoodcock.rep@gmail.com, Muriel.Hall@gc.nh.gov, Peggy.Balboni@gc.nh.gov, Loren.Selig@gc.nh.gov, LeeAnn.Kluger@gc.nh.gov, Jim.Snodgrass@gc.nh.gov
COPY the SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Ruth.Ward@gc.nh.gov, Victoria.Sullivan@gc.nh.gov, Daryl.Abbas@gc.nh.gov, Suzanne.Prentiss@gc.nh.gov, Debra.Altschiller@gc.nh.gov
TALKING POINTS:
1) Mission Creep: Schools Becoming Mental-Health Systems
MTSS-B began as a framework for early identification of behavioral challenges, but critics argue it has evolved into:
- A poorly crafted de facto mental-health delivery system
- With schools performing roles traditionally handled by families, clinicians, and community providers
RESULTS: Expanding this role diverts schools from their core mission: academic instruction
2) Lack of Clear, Independent Evidence of Academic Benefit
- MTSS-B has not demonstrated measurable improvements in academic outcomes statewide
- Claims of success rely on correlational data or vendor-funded studies, not rigorous, independent evaluations
- Resources devoted to SEL and behavioral frameworks may displace:
- Literacy instruction
- Math remediation
- Special education services
You should be asking: If academics are stagnating or declining, why are schools expanding non-academic frameworks without proof of benefit?
Public schools are not equipped, licensed, or accountable to provide psychological screening and intervention at scale.
3) Student Data Privacy and Mental-Health Surveillance
A major concern is data collection and sharing:
- SEL and MTSS-B often rely on:
- Behavioral screeners
- Attitude surveys
- Emotional self-assessments
- Data may be:
- Stored by third-party vendors
- Used for profiling or algorithmic decision-making
- Shared beyond parental awareness or consent
There needs to be an effort to: reassert compliance with FERPA and parental rights. halt non-consensual mental-health data extraction, and [rotect children from long-term digital behavioral records.
5) Parental Rights and Family Values
Another core argument is that MTSS-B and SEL:
- Embed normative value systems into school programming
- Define “competencies” that students must demonstrate to progress
- Reduce parents’ ability to:
- Opt out
- Know what values are being taught
- Control sensitive discussions involving identity, beliefs, or family structure
We should be looking for ways to restore the principle that families—not schools or vendors—shape children’s moral and emotional development.
6) Ideological Content Embedded in SEL Frameworks
Objections:
- The alignment of MTSS-B with national SEL organizations
- “Transformative SEL” models that explicitly address:
- Race
- Gender identity
- Power structures
- Instructional expectations beginning in early childhood
This leaves families with little recourse if they disagree, and it goes beyond behavior support.
Introduces contested social theories into compulsory education
6) Cost and Sustainability
MTSS-B implementation can involve:
- Additional staffing (counselors, coordinators, consultants)
- Ongoing vendor contracts
- Professional development and compliance reporting
Those concerned with fiscal responsibility question:
- Whether these costs produce outcomes proportional to their expense
- Whether local districts should retain discretion rather than follow another education fad
7) Local Control
Local Communities can still choose MTSS-B for their district. The legislation does not ban MTSS-B from Schools.
- This still supports New Hampshire’s tradition of local control
- Concern that a state-wide initiative for MTSS-B:
- Standardizes behavioral and emotional norms statewide
- Limits district flexibility
- Encourages one-size-fits-all approaches to children with very different needs
