Senate Education panel sends House Bill 236 to 14th order after debate over disclosure, special‑education protections

Representative Sean Dygert, sponsor of House Bill 236, asked the Senate Education Committee to allow local school boards to learn whether a student seeking enrollment has a prior adjudication or conviction for a list of serious juvenile offenses, and the committee voted to send the bill to the 14th order for amendment.

The bill would add specific language to existing Idaho attendance code requiring that students who have been convicted or adjudicated of specified serious offenses disclose that information when seeking enrollment or while enrolled. Representative Dygert told the committee the change is limited to serious matters and is intended to help local boards judge whether a student's presence would be "detrimental to the health and safety of other pupils." He said the measure preserves local control and existing due process: "We're not dealing with any kind of rumor or gossip. We're dealing with things that have happened as a result of legal action," he said.

Why it matters: supporters say the measure gives school boards information they say is needed to protect students and staff; opponents say it risks excluding students who are disabled, traumatized, or otherwise in need of services and could push vulnerable youth further from education into the juvenile or criminal justice systems.

Representative Dygert reviewed provisions that would (1) clarify existing attendance-denial categories, (2) list actions rather than vague phrases such as "incorrigible," (3) create a category for students "disenrolled in lieu of discipline," and (4) require disclosure of convictions/adjudications for specified serious offenses. He cited a portion of state law and listed offenses that, in his words, "may not be expunged," including aggravated battery, armed robbery, arson and kidnapping.

Several witnesses and committee members pressed for protections for students covered by federal disability law. Britney Shipley, who identified herself as a child- and family-advocate and parent of children with complex disabilities, testified that some children who receive charges while in crisis or while on individualized education plans (IEPs) can be punished for behavior related to their disability. "These children don't deserve to be on those lists when they have behaviors that are out of their control due to their disability," Shipley said, adding that parents often lack the bandwidth to navigate complex systems and that some children receive charges while hospitalized for treatment.

Laura Wallace, who said she has worked on Idaho education bills, urged a drafting change. She told the committee that a sentence in the bill stating that "discipline of students with disabilities shall be in accordance with the requirements of federal law" appears only in a subsection addressing firearms and therefore would not clearly apply to the bill's other enrollment-denial provisions. "That whole section ... needs to be its own subsection," Wallace said, so that IDEA and Section 504 protections apply across the board.

Other public testimony emphasized both sides of the issue. Ida Sumia (who said she goes by Sam) opposed the bill and argued it would remove access to education for youth who need it most and increase later involvement with the justice system. "This bill does the opposite of prevention. It removes access to education for children who need it most," Sumia said. By contrast, Lori Ballade, a national board‑certified teacher, described teacher burnout and classroom incidents she has seen and called for appropriate alternative placements and services for students with severe needs.

Committee members asked for clarification about scope and procedures. Representative Dygert said the change would most commonly affect older juveniles and envisioned a practical enrollment workflow: an enrollment form checkbox or question the district would review privately, followed by local consultation and, if necessary, a board hearing. He emphasized that current due-process procedures in statute — notice in writing and the right to request a hearing before a local board — remain in the bill.

After discussion about the placement of the sentence referencing federal disability protections, Senator Ward Engelking moved a substitute motion to send House Bill 236 to the 14th order for amendment; the motion carried. Representative Dygert agreed to work with Senator Ward Engelking on the drafting changes. The committee also approved procedural business earlier in the meeting (minutes and a gubernatorial reappointment of Paul Amador to the Idaho Public Charter School Commission).

The bill will be revised in the 14th order; proponents and critics signaled they expect amendments addressing the placement of the federal‑law protections and implementation details such as how districts should collect disclosure information and how the State Board of Education might provide guidance.