Idaho Legislature: Ask Legislators to VOTE NO on H0239 - Human sexuality, permission (posted 02/18/25, updated 03/05/25)

• Bill: legislature.idaho.gov/s…

  (May replace H0179: tinyurl.com/k92nvmrz)

• Contact Legislators (linked below): emailidaho.com

(Check the linked page or use My Bill Tracker for the bill’s current status.)

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H0239 establishes strict parental consent requirements for any instruction related to human sexuality, including topics such as sexual conduct, orientation, identity, abuse, and gender ideology. While H0239 has good intentions, its implementation could be onerous for schools and parents and possibly lead to discrimination and bullying against students.

The best solution is for schools to stay out of the sex education business and leave this very personal job to parents (see H0352). The slope is slippery and every defined term could be shaded cleverly to bypass the bill’s intentions. Moreover, schools around the country have lied repeatedly about the content of their curriculum; this bill might not stop such practices. Finally, how do you address English literature, from Chaucer to D.H. Lawrence? Even the Bible contains sexual passages.

Specifics:

• Expands the definition of "human sexuality" to cover sexual and gender-related concepts including: sexual conduct, sexual pleasure, sexual intimacy, sexual abuse, sexual violence, eroticism, pornography, deviant sexual behavior, sexual attraction, sexual orientation, or any form of sexual identity, gender identity, gender ideology, or gender conversion.

• Requires school districts to provide parents with at least two weeks' notice before any human sexuality instruction, including a brief description of content and materials to be used.

• Parents must provide a signed written permission form for their child to attend within one week of instruction commencing.

• If parents do not provide permission, school must provide alternative instruction that does not touch on human sexuality.

• If human sexuality instruction is provided without proper parental consent, parents can retroactively grant permission or seek rectification. (Will kids tell their parents about this?)

• If school board does not adequately address concerns within 30 days, parents can file a legal action.

• Parents who prevail in a lawsuit can recover $250 in statutory damages, actual damages, and potentially obtain injunctive relief.

Related:

• H0352 - Education, parental rights: