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 boards, and it retains existing due-process rights including written notice and the right to request a hearing before the board.

Supporters including Dygert and several committee members said the change is narrowly targeted at a small number of juveniles with major crimes on their records and is meant to help districts place students in settings that protect other students and staff. Dygert said districts already have discipline and expulsion processes in place and that the bill is meant to provide clarity where the statutes use broad language.

Opponents, including parents, advocates and educators, told the committee the bill as written would disproportionately harm children with disabilities and students from rural areas who lack timely access to behavioral-health and special-education services. Britney Shipley, who identified herself as a social worker and a parent of children with complex disabilities, said, "These children don't deserve to be on those lists when they have behaviors that are out of their control due to their disability." She said some children charged while receiving treatment or while in crisis lacked access to special-education evaluations and would face long-term barriers to education under the bill's disclosure requirement.

Laura Wallace, testifying as a parent and former bill author, urged narrowing and clarifying language so federal protections apply across the section. "This bill disproportionately touches our kids with disabilities," Wallace said, noting that a sentence referencing federal law currently appears only in a subsection that addresses firearm possession and could be read as applying only to that subsection.

Advocates also warned the measure could increase school pushout and the risk of future justice involvement if students lose access to education. "This bill does the opposite of prevention," testified Adi Moore, who described personal experience with Idaho's juvenile system and urged investment in restorative practices, alternative placements and supports instead of enrollment denial.

Several classroom teachers described severe behavior that they said strains teachers and peers and urged more targeted services and alternative placements for students whose needs cannot be safely met in a general classroom.

Committee discussion focused on whether the bill as drafted adequately preserves the rights of students with disabilities under federal law (IDEA and Section 504) and whether that language should be pulled into a separate subsection that would clearly apply to all denial-or-expulsion decisions. Senator Ward Engelking offered a substitute motion to send the bill to the fourteenth order for amendment to address those drafting concerns; the motion passed by voice vote.

Committee action does not change the bill's substantive text; it directs staff and members to produce amendments and return the measure for further consideration. Representative Dygert told the committee he would work with Engelking on the amendments.

The committee record shows that the measure will be revised before the committee returns to it; no final Senate floor vote occurred at Thursday's meeting.

Votes at a glance: The committee adopted a substitute motion to send House Bill 236 to the fourteenth order for amendment (voice vote; motion carries).