July 1 marks the beginning of the state's new fiscal year, which coincides with the effective date of many laws adopted by the Idaho Legislature during its annual session.
The Legislature introduced 718 bills (92 education-related) during its 94-day session from January through April. Lawmakers passed 330 of them, and Gov. Brad Little signed them.
While many of the bills were mundane, such as agency budgets and minor changes to existing laws, some made significant changes to education policy. A controversial new law that seeks to limit children’s access to library materials sparked protests across the state this week.
Other changes may have slipped under the radar, including new financial penalties for districts that don’t disclose their capacity for open-enrollment transfers.
Here are the new school policies that took effect Monday:
Limiting 'harmful' library materials
House Bill 710 Requires public and school libraries (public and private) to implement procedures for users to object to content they believe is inappropriate for minors.
These procedures include a material reconsideration form, which must reference the definition of “harmful to minors” in Idaho law and be accessible on the library’s website. The library must also create a committee to review requests to reconsider the placement of a book in the library’s collection.
The committee will have 60 days to review the request for reconsideration, after which the library could face a $250 fine along with potential civil damages. If the committee determines that the material is “harmful to minors,” it must be removed from the library or placed in an area restricted to minors, such as an “adults only” area or behind a desk.
But the Idaho School Boards Association warned that removing or restricting materials could raise First Amendment concerns, and that libraries “must be particularly careful not to restrict constitutionally protected material.”
Rep. Jaron Crane (R-S.C.) sponsored HB 710 along with Senate President Pro Tem Chuck Winder (R-Boise) and House Speaker Mike Moyle (R-S.C.).
Protecting teachers who refuse to use pronouns
School districts can no longer have policies requiring teachers, staff, and administrators to use students' preferred pronouns.
House Bill 538 Broad protections have been enacted for public employees, including teachers, who do not want to use someone’s preferred name or pronouns. Under the new law, school districts can be sued for disciplining such employees.
Additionally, the new law prohibits teachers from referring to students using pronouns that do not match the student's birth gender (without parental consent).
Republican Eagle Rep. Ted Hill sponsored HB 538.
School funding tied to open enrollment transparency
In 2023, Congress passed the Open Enrollment Act, requiring school districts to accept students who live outside their boundaries, provided there is space. The law also required districts to post their transfer quotas online.
This year, lawmakers have added some weight to the transparency requirement: If a district fails to post its open enrollment capacity, the state will withhold the district’s November payment, one of the few tranches of state funding a district receives each year.
Rep. Wendy Horman, a Republican from Idaho Falls, proposed the penalty as part of her bill this year. Public School Budget.
“There are a lot of reasons why kids might seek out different environments,” Homan recently told Idaho Education News. “We just want to make sure that parents have the ability to look at different options within the public school system.”
Open enrollment laws apply only to traditional public schools. Charter schools will continue to use lottery enrollment procedures.
Parental consent is required for child health care.
Senate Bill 1329 While new restrictions on health care providers treating children have been added, they are unlikely to significantly change existing school policies on student health.
The bill, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Kelly Anson (R-Burley), would require parental consent for nearly all medical treatment of children. It would also require health care providers to disclose the child’s health records to parents.
The bill applies to schools and other health care services that provide health screenings for students and provide medications and emergency care. However, existing state law (prior to SB 1329) already requires schools to notify parents of the health services they provide before each school year. Existing law also requires parental consent for these services and gives parents the right to access their child’s health records.
“We didn’t believe SB 1329 would make much of a difference to the recommended practices for school districts and charters,” said Quinn Perry, executive director of the School Boards Association, “because they already require parental permission for most, if not all, health care services, medications, etc.”
Supporters have raised concerns that the new law will limit young people's access to health care. Idaho Press reported such concerns Earlier this year.
Statements about diversity are prohibited
Senate Bill 1274 Its use in colleges and universities is explicitly prohibited. statement on diversity As a condition of hiring employees and admitting students, the state Board of Education said colleges no longer require diversity statements from job applicants or students.
Advanced Opportunity Expansion
High school students can spend more money through the Advanced Opportunities program.
House Bill 454 For public school students, the scholarships were increased by $500, and for nonpublic school students, by $1,750. The bill also allowed students to spend between $500 and $1,000 on career-technical courses.
Public school students will now receive $4,625, while nonpublic school students will receive $2,500.
Charter School Regulations Revision
House Bill 422 Extensive changes were made to the regulations governing charter schools.
The bill became law when Little signed it in February, but in recent months, the public charter school board has been crafting policies consistent with the bill.
last week, The committee adopted the changes Performance certificates and frameworks to strengthen charter autonomy and narrow evaluation criteria.
You can refuse vaccination
House Bill 597 Allow students 18 years of age or older to opt out Vaccination Required by schools, colleges, universities, or vocational-technical programs.