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Idaho Legislature: Ask legislators to VOTE YES on S1007 School boards, meetings (posted 01/28/25)
Bill: legislature.idaho.gov/s…
Contact Legislators: emailidaho.com
(Check the linked page or use My Bill Tracker for the bill’s current status.)
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Senate Bill 1007 would clarify that school boards may not restrict public comments to agenda items only. This bill amends Senate Bill 1361 (2024), which required school boards to allow relevant public testimony during their regular meetings. Unfortunately, S1361 required that "public comment shall be limited to items listed on the meeting agenda."
S007 amends Section 33-510, Idaho Code, to strike this requirement, returning the determination of what comments are relevant to the community rather than to the drafters of the board’s agenda.
Under current law, school boards can prevent parents and community members from addressing relevant issues simply by omitting those issues from the agenda. This limitation allows school boards to censor (sometimes in an authoritarian or embarrassing way) the speech of community members, including students and parents.
As frequent attendees to local school board meetings, we have personally witnessed a community member who signed up to speak but was forbidden to do so by the limitations of S1361. She asked to discuss an issue that wasn't on the agenda and (rather sternly) was told she was not allowed to speak on a non-agenda issue.
She then asked for her issue to be put on the upcoming agenda, but it did not appear the next month. To the board's credit, they did allow her to speak at the meeting and agreed to consult their legal counsel about her issue.
She and the audience found the entire process quite stressful and embarrassing. Had S1007 already been in place, she would have been able to say her piece (in 3 minutes) at the first meeting.
Note that we also have experienced the frustration of being unable to speak or ask relevant questions that could have allowed the board to make more informed decisions.
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