Senate Education committee sends enrollment-disclosure bill to amendment after debate over protections for students with disabilities

The Idaho Senate Education Committee on Thursday voted to send House Bill 236 to the fourteenth order for amendment after members debated language that would require school districts to obtain disclosure of certain convictions and adjudications when students seek enrollment.

Sponsor Rep. Sean Dygert said the bill preserves local control while clarifying existing law. "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," Dygert said, describing the measure as aimed at a small number of students whose histories include serious juvenile offenses.

The bill revises statutory language that lets school boards deny enrollment or attendance. Dygert told the committee the measure: (1) keeps habitual truancy and conduct-based exclusions, (2) removes the vague term "incorrigible," (3) restates the longstanding provision that a student's presence may be "detrimental to the health and safety of other pupils," (4) creates an explicit category for students "disenrolled in lieu of discipline," and (5) would require disclosure at enrollment of certain convictions or adjudications for a specified list of serious offenses. Dygert also noted the bill preserves existing due-process protections, saying school boards would still be required to notify families in writing and give parents and students the opportunity to request a hearing.

Testimony at the hearing highlighted sharp disagreement over how the bill could affect students with disabilities and traumatized youth. Britney Shipley, a child-and-family advocate and parent, said the bill would sweep some children into lists of excluded students even when acts stem from disabilities or crises. "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, describing cases she has handled in which children on Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) or with serious emotional disabilities faced criminal charges after behavioral crises.

Laura Wallace, who said she has worked on Idaho education laws before, urged a technical fix so federal special-education protections apply to all relevant subsections of the bill. She pointed to a sentence in the draft that references federal law and said that sentence, as written, only modifies a single subsection dealing with firearms. "Because this is put in only the subsection 3 ... it only modifies what is in 3," Wallace said, urging that the language be made a standalone subsection so IDEA and Section 504 protections clearly apply everywhere needed.

A person who gave their name for the record as Ida Sumia (goes by Sam) testified in opposition and argued the bill would push vulnerable children out of school and increase future justice involvement, recommending investments in restorative programs and alternative-school options.

Classroom teacher Lori Ballade described severe behavior challenges in classrooms and teacher burnout, saying some students require specialized settings rather than mainstream placement. Ballade urged investment in appropriate alternative settings and supports rather than simply leaving students in classrooms that cannot meet their needs.

Several committee members asked sponsors and testifiers questions about how the disclosure would operate in practice. Dygert said districts already collect enrollment information and that a simple checkbox could trigger a private follow-up review. He said Boise School District, for example, includes a conviction question on its open-enrollment form and that the bill would allow districts to request criminal records if a disclosure surfaced later.

During floor procedure on the bill, Senator Woodward moved to send House Bill 236 to the floor with a "do pass" recommendation, but Senator Ward Engelking offered a substitute motion to send the bill to the fourteenth order for amendment. The substitute motion to send the bill to the fourteenth order for amendment was moved and seconded and the motion carried; the committee recorded that House Bill 236 will go to the fourteenth order for amendment.

The committee hearing included multiple references to Idaho statute and federal special-education law. Dygert pointed committee members to an Idaho statute (quoted as "20-525A" in materials) that lists serious juvenile offenses that may not be expunged. Testifiers and members also referenced Section 504 accommodation plans ("504 plans") and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part B as governing federal protections for students with disabilities.

The committee did not adopt the bill as written; instead it directed the bill to a later order for amendment so drafters can address the drafting concerns and how federal special-education protections are applied across the bill's sections.