House Bill 163 addresses parental rights in the public school environment and would require districts to adopt policies requiring schools to take or abstain from taking certain actions with respect to parental involvement.

Senate Bill 1015 would limit “extended learning opportunities,” which include things like career readiness skills or apprenticeships, to full-time public school students. It would also limit the ability to attain self-directed learner designations to full-time public school students.

Senate Bill 1038 would establish Freedom in Education Savings Accounts, education scholarships that would be available to every K-12 student in Idaho. Each participating student would receive $5,950 to use for educational services, as determined by the student or the student’s family.

Senate Bill 1042 would expand the cap on a program that enables charter schools to obtain lower interest rates on bonds for facility construction or improvements. It would also remove a provision that requires proof of above-average proficiency on the Idaho Standards Achievement Test (ISAT), which reportedly prevented some schools serving 100% at-risk students from participating.

Senate Bill 1043 would create a revolving loan fund to help new public charter schools obtain loans to construct buildings and make facility improvements at lower interest rates.

Senate Bill 1071 would prohibit school employees or third parties from teaching kindergarten through fourth grade students about human sexuality, sexual orientation, or gender identity. It would also clarify that no provisions within the bill should “be implied to grant authority or require the teaching of these subjects for grade 5 and above.”

Senate Bill 1100 would require public schools to separate bathrooms, locker rooms, showers, dressing areas, and overnight accommodations based on students’ biological sex.

Adds to existing law to establish provisions regarding teacher spending accounts.

Senate Bill 1161 would expand the Empowering Parents grant program to add a tuition grant component.