requiring schools to provide excused absences for certain religious instruction, defining released time courses, and permitting schools to adopt policies and provide credit for released time courses.

HB 1628 requires New Hampshire public schools to provide excused absences for students attending religious instruction courses (called "released time courses") for up to five hours weekly, contingent on parental written consent and specific conditions like attendance tracking by the sponsoring organization. Schools must adopt policies ensuring no school district funding is used for these courses, transportation and liability fall to the sponsor, and students assume responsibility for missed work. The bill also permits schools to award academic credit for completed courses based solely on secular criteria - such as course hours, syllabus content, and instructor qualifications - without considering religious content or denominational affiliation. This law aims to facilitate religious education access while maintaining neutral, non-discriminatory evaluation standards for credit.