Text of ID H 179 (2025)

LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO Sixty-eighth Legislature First Regular Session - 2025 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HOUSE BILL NO. 179 BY EDUCATION COMMITTEE AN ACT 1 RELATING TO EDUCATION; AMENDING SECTION 33-1609, IDAHO CODE, TO DEFINE A 2 TERM; AMENDING SECTION 33-1611, IDAHO CODE, TO REQUIRE PARENTAL PER- 3 MISSION FOR INSTRUCTION ADDRESSING HUMAN SEXUALITY, TO PROVIDE FOR A 4 CAUSE OF ACTION, AND TO MAKE TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS; AND DECLARING AN 5 EMERGENCY AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. 6 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho: 7 SECTION 1. That Section 33-1609, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 8 amended to read as follows: 9 33-1609. DEFINITIONS. For the purposes of this chapter: 10 (1) "Abstinence" means the absence of any sexual activity prior to mar- 11 riage, which activity includes physical contact between individuals involv- 12 ing intimate or private areas of the body that can potentially: 13 (a) Result in pregnancy; 14 (b) Transmit sexually transmitted diseases and infections; or 15 (c) Present emotional risks. 16 (2) "Human sexuality" means sexual conduct, sexual pleasure, sexual 17 intimacy, sexual abuse, sexual violence, eroticism, pornography, deviant 18 sexual behavior, sexual attraction, sexual orientation, or any form of sex- 19 ual identity, gender identity, gender ideology, or gender conversion. 20 (2) (3) "Sex education" means the study of the anatomy and the physiol- 21 ogy of human reproduction. 22 SECTION 2. That Section 33-1611, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 23 amended to read as follows: 24 33-1611. EXCUSING CHILDREN FROM INSTRUCTION IN SEX EDUCATION -- RE- 25 QUIRING PERMISSION FOR INSTRUCTION IN HUMAN SEXUALITY. (1) Any parent or le- 26 gal guardian of a child who wishes to have his such child excused from any 27 planned instruction in sex education may do so upon by filing a written re- 28 quest to the school district board of trustees and the. The board of trustees 29 shall make available the appropriate forms for such request. Alternative 30 educational endeavors shall be provided for those children who have been ex- 31 cused from such instruction. 32 (2) Prior to any child attending instruction that addresses human 33 sexuality as specifically and narrowly defined in section 33-1609, Idaho 34 Code, regardless of whether such instruction is offered by regular or guest 35 instructors, the school district offering such instruction shall notify 36 parents and legal guardians of children who are eligible to attend such in- 37 struction no less than two (2) weeks before the date that such instruction 38 will begin. The school district shall provide the parent or legal guardian 39 with a brief description of the content of the instruction in human sexuality 40 2 and such parent or legal guardian shall have the opportunity to review any 1 materials that will be used in the instruction. The school district shall 2 not permit any child to attend such instruction unless the parent or legal 3 guardian of such child submits a signed and written permission form, within 4 one (1) week of the commencement of the instruction, to the board of trustees 5 granting the school district permission to allow the child to attend the in- 6 struction. For any child whose parents do not provide the written permission 7 form provided for in this section, alternative educational instruction that 8 furthers the completion of any grade level or graduation requirements and 9 does not address human sexuality as defined in section 33-1609, Idaho Code, 10 shall be provided to such child. 11 (3) A parent or legal guardian of a child who was provided any instruc- 12 tion regarding human sexuality as defined in section 33-1609, Idaho Code, 13 without the required signed and written permission form shall provide writ- 14 ten notice to the board of trustees or its designee that the instruction oc- 15 curred. In such notice, a parent or legal guardian may: 16 (a) Provide retroactive permission for the child to receive such in- 17 struction; or 18 (b) Ask the board of trustees for rectification. 19 (4) Upon receipt of the notice pursuant to subsection (3) of this sec- 20 tion, a board of trustees shall file any retroactive permission granted or 21 provide rectification to a parent or legal guardian within thirty (30) days 22 of receipt of such notice. If the board fails to provide adequate rectifica- 23 tion, the parent or legal guardian who provided the notice pursuant to sub- 24 section (3) of this section shall have a cause of action against the board of 25 trustees. 26 (5) Any parent or legal guardian of a child who prevails in an action 27 brought under this section may recover two hundred fifty dollars ($250) in 28 statutory damages as well as actual damages and any other relief available 29 by law, including but not limited to injunctive relief sufficient to prevent 30 the defendant school district board of trustees from violating the require- 31 ments of this section. 32 SECTION 3. An emergency existing therefor, which emergency is hereby 33 declared to exist, this act shall be in full force and effect on and after 34 July 1, 2025. 35