Text of ID H 352 (2025)

LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO Sixty-eighth Legislature First Regular Session - 2025 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HOUSE BILL NO. 352 BY EDUCATION COMMITTEE AN ACT 1 RELATING TO EDUCATION; AMENDING SECTION 33-6001, IDAHO CODE, TO REVISE PRO- 2 VISIONS REGARDING PARENTAL RIGHTS IN EDUCATION AND TO MAKE TECHNICAL 3 CORRECTIONS; AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE 4 DATE. 5 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho: 6 SECTION 1. That Section 33-6001, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 7 amended to read as follows: 8 33-6001. PARENTAL RIGHTS. (1) A student's parent or legal guardian 9 has the right to reasonable academic accommodation from the child's public 10 school. "Reasonable academic accommodation" means the school shall make 11 its best effort to enable parents or and legal guardians to exercise their 12 rights without substantial impact to staff and resources, including em- 13 ployee working conditions, safety and supervision on school premises for 14 school activities, and the efficient allocation of expenditures, while bal- 15 ancing the parental rights of parents and legal guardians, the educational 16 needs of other students, the academic and behavioral impacts to a classroom, 17 a teacher's workload, and the assurance of the safe and efficient operations 18 of the school. 19 (2) School districts and the boards of directors of public charter 20 schools, in consultation with parents, teachers, and administrators, shall 21 develop and adopt a policy to promote the involvement of parents and legal 22 guardians of children enrolled in the schools within the school district or 23 the charter school, including: 24 (a) A plan for parent participation in the schools that is designed to 25 improve parent and teacher cooperation in such areas such as homework, 26 attendance, and discipline; 27 (b) A process by which parents may learn about the course of study for 28 their children and review learning materials, including the source of 29 any supplemental educational materials; 30 (c) A process by which parents who object to any learning material or 31 activity on the basis that it harms the child or impairs the parents' 32 firmly held beliefs, values, or principles may withdraw their child 33 from the activity, class, or program in which the material is used; 34 (d) The public school's responsibility for notifying a student's par- 35 ent or legal guardian regarding known changes in the student's mental, 36 emotional, or physical health or well-being; 37 (e) The reinforcement of the fundamental rights and responsibilities 38 of parents as primary stakeholders to make decisions regarding the up- 39 bringing and control of the parent's child; and 40 (f) A process for staff to encourage students to discuss issues related 41 to the student's well-being with the student's parent or legal guardian 42 2 and, if necessary, to facilitate discussion of the issues with the par- 1 ent or legal guardian. 2 (3) A policy shall not prohibit parents or legal guardians from ac- 3 cessing any of their children's education and health records created, 4 maintained, or used by the public school unless such documentation relates 5 to physical abuse, abandonment, or neglect by the parent or legal guardian. 6 Unless a timeline is otherwise delineated in a specific applicable state or 7 federal law, records shall be provided to the parent or legal guardian within 8 five (5) school days after a request to access such records is made. 9 (4) A public school shall not adopt procedures, policies, or student 10 support forms that prohibit public school personnel from notifying a parent 11 or legal guardian about a student's mental, emotional, or physical health or 12 well-being or a change in related services or monitoring or that encourage 13 or have the effect of encouraging a student to withhold from a parent or le- 14 gal guardian such information. This subsection does not prohibit a public 15 school from adopting procedures that permit public school personnel to with- 16 hold information from a parent or legal guardian if ordered by a court of com- 17 petent jurisdiction. 18 (5) A public school shall be required to adopt procedures and policies 19 that prohibit classroom instruction by public school personnel on sexual 20 orientation or gender identity from kindergarten through grade 12 or in a 21 manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for stu- 22 dents in accordance with state standards. 23 (5) (6) At the start of the school year, each public school shall no- 24 tify parents and legal guardians of health services offered or made avail- 25 able through the school or by private organizations, including preventative 26 health and wellness services, screenings, medication administration, first 27 aid and emergency care, and appropriate management of all health conditions 28 with parental consent. Parental consent to any health or wellness service 29 does not waive parents' or legal guardians' right to access their children's 30 educational or associated health records or to be notified about their chil- 31 dren's health status or monitoring as provided in this section. 32 (6) (7) A public school shall notify a student's parent or legal 33 guardian if a student has been or may be questioned by a school resource 34 officer or other law enforcement official, unless the child is a victim or 35 suspected victim of physical child abuse. School districts and public char- 36 ter schools shall develop and adopt policies to ensure compliance with this 37 subsection. 38 (7) (8) Before any public school employee administers any noncurricu- 39 lar-related student survey, well-being questionnaire, or health screening 40 to any student, the employee must first obtain consent from the school's su- 41 perintendent or designee. If the content of any such survey, questionnaire, 42 or screening regards an individual student's sexuality, sex, religion, 43 personal political beliefs, mental or psychological problems, personal fam- 44 ily information, or individual or family financial information, the public 45 school shall provide the survey, questionnaire, or screening form to the 46 student's parent or legal guardian in advance and obtain the permission of 47 the parent or legal guardian. 48 (8) (9) A parent or legal guardian of a child enrolled in an Idaho public 49 school shall have reasonable access to observe all school activities during 50 3 school hours in which the child is enrolled, except for those who are oth- 1 erwise legally prohibited. Observations of individual classrooms during 2 instructional time shall be permitted with the principal's and teacher's 3 pre-approval. Visits shall not be permitted if their occurrence, duration, 4 frequency, or conduct on campus interferes with the delivery of instruction 5 or disrupts the normal school environment. Nothing in this section shall 6 prevent a reasonable denial of entry due to emergency or safety drills, 7 situations outlined in school safety plans, an emergency lockdown, periods 8 of statewide testing, school officials' enforcement of the provisions of 9 section 33-512, Idaho Code, or other specific situations enumerated by the 10 school. 11 (9) (10) A parent or legal guardian whose rights, as provided by this 12 section, are violated by a public school may file a complaint with the 13 school. Public schools shall implement policies and procedures to accept, 14 evaluate, and remedy complaints. 15 (10) (11) If a complaint is not satisfactorily remedied by the public 16 school, a parent shall have a private cause of action for injunctive relief, 17 damages, and any other relief available under law against the school. 18 SECTION 2. An emergency existing therefor, which emergency is hereby 19 declared to exist, this act shall be in full force and effect on and after 20 July 1, 2025. 21