Idaho House advances school-notification, wildfire-fee and human-trafficking measures; drone bill returned to committee

The Idaho House of Representatives met Feb. 4, 2026, and took action on multiple bills and memorials affecting school safety, wildfire protection funding, law-enforcement authority and technology near correctional facilities.

Representative (speaker 7) opened a string of memorials by asking the chamber to honor firefighters killed in a June brush fire in the Coeur d'Alene area. "Battalion chiefs Frank Harwood and John Morrison of the Kootenai County Fire and Rescue and the Coeur d'Alene Fire Department were killed," the member said; the House approved House Concurrent Resolution 24 by roll-call vote, recorded in the transcript as 68 ayes and 2 absent.

The chamber then debated and considered several bills. The sponsor of House Bill 515 described the education measure as a multi-year effort to require schools to have procedures that provide prompt notice to families involved in "serious" bullying incidents (the sponsor defined those as incidents resulting in suspension). "I've been working on this bill for 3 years," the sponsor said, arguing the change focuses on timely family notification — not a return to statewide spreadsheet reporting. Members asked whether private schools would be covered; the sponsor…