Senate Education panel sends HB 236 to 14th order after debate on disclosing juvenile adjudications

The Idaho Senate Education Committee on a voice vote sent House Bill 236 to the 14th order for amendment after a multi-part hearing that included the bill sponsor, parents and disability advocates, and classroom teachers.

Representative Sean Dygert, the bill sponsor, told the committee the measure would add specific, listed offenses to existing code about denial of school attendance and require disclosure of convictions or juvenile adjudications “at the time they are registering for school.” He said the proposal preserves local control by leaving enrollment decisions to school boards and retains the due-process steps that already exist in current law.

The bill’s language, as explained by the sponsor, lists categories such as students who are “habitually truant” or whose “presence is detrimental to the health and safety of other pupils,” and adds a provision requiring disclosure of certain adjudications or convictions during enrollment or transfer. Rep. Dygert said the proposal uses the term “adjudication” to match juvenile proceedings and that the intent is not to target minor misconduct: “We’re not after just mild troublemakers here,” he said when reading a statutory list of…