Idaho committee advances bill requiring schools be told of certain juvenile convictions, sends measure for amendment

BOISE, Idaho — The Senate Education Committee on Thursday voted to send House Bill 236 to the fourteenth order for amendment after roughly an hour of testimony and debate about whether local school districts should be allowed to deny or limit enrollment when a student has a qualifying adjudication or conviction for a list of serious offenses.

Representative Sean Dygert, the bill sponsor, told the committee the measure is intended to give school boards clearer language to act on "students that have had convictions" for certain serious offenses and to allow districts to be informed when a student enrolling has an adjudication that could pose a risk to other pupils. "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.

The bill would add a requirement that students disclose at registration — or while enrolled — if they have been adjudicated or convicted of specific, serious crimes listed in statute. The measure preserved local control by leaving the decision about enrollment and placement to local school…