Summary — H 236 (2025) — Education: Denial of School Attendance and Transfer Enrollment
Status and timing
- Governor signed: March 31, 2025 (Session Law Chapter 220).
- Effective date: July 1, 2025.
- Introduced: February 14, 2025.
- Fiscal note: no state or local fiscal impact reported.
Purpose
H 236 revises Idaho law on when school districts may deny enrollment, deny transfers, suspend, or expel students — with particular emphasis on students with severe behavioral histories or criminal convictions. It also clarifies procedural protections and makes technical corrections.
Key provisions and changes
- Expands grounds for denying enrollment or expelling a pupil (amendment to Idaho Code §33-205):
- Authorizes denial of enrollment or expulsion for pupils who have been disenrolled in lieu of discipline, or expelled/denied enrollment by another district or state because their behavior was detrimental to health and safety.
- Requires a parent or legal guardian to disclose to any district where a pupil is enrolled or seeking enrollment any conviction or adjudication for offenses listed in Idaho Code §20-525A(5) or in chapters 9, 61, or 66 of title 18 (serious criminal offenses). Failure to disclose is expressly made adequate grounds to deny enrollment or attendance.
- Reiterates existing mandatory one-year expulsion (subject to case‑by‑case modification) for possession of a firearm on school property and requires reporting firearm incidents to law enforcement.
- Procedural protections:
- School boards must provide written notice to parent/guardian stating grounds and hearing details and must allow the parent/guardian to appear and contest the action.
- Notice must describe rights to counsel, to present witnesses and evidence, and to cross-examine adult witnesses.
- Decisions may be made in executive session; a record must be placed in the student’s educational file and board records.
- For pupils of compulsory-attendance age who are expelled or denied enrollment, the pupil comes under the juvenile corrections act and the prosecuting attorney must be notified within five days.
- Suspension rules retained/clarified:
- Principals may temporarily suspend up to 5 school days; superintendents may extend by 10 school days; boards may extend an additional 5 days following an executive-session finding.
- Special education compliance:
- Discipline of students with disabilities must comply with IDEA Part B and Section 504 requirements (explicitly added/clarified).
Enrollment options (Idaho Code §33-1402)
- The bill updates transfer-enrollment provisions and district policies governing enrollment options:
- Requires districts to adopt and post non‑discriminatory transfer/enrollment policies (including in‑district transfers) and to use a state or district form for transfer applications.
- Provides districts authority to deny transfer applications for the same conduct‑and‑conviction‑based reasons described above (technical and procedural details in statute).
Who is affected
- Students seeking enrollment or transfer (in- or out-of-district), especially those with prior disciplinary removals, expulsions, or listed criminal convictions/adjudications.
- Parents/legal guardians, who must disclose specified convictions/adjudications when enrolling or applying for enrollment.
- School boards, district superintendents, principals, and school administrators (authority and procedural obligations).
- Students with disabilities (protections maintained under federal law).
Legislative process highlights
- Passed House and Senate with bipartisan support; enrolled and transmitted to Governor in late March 2025. Emergency clause included; effective July 1, 2025.
