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Idaho HJR 1, Right to Educate Children without Government Regulation Outside Public Schools Amendment (2026)

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Idaho HJR 1
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Election date
November 3, 2026
Topic
Charter schools and vouchers and Constitutional rights
Status
Not on the ballot
Type
Constitutional amendment		Origin
State legislature

Idaho HJR 1, the Right to Educate Children without Government Regulation Outside Public Schools Amendment, is not on the ballot in Idaho as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 3, 2026.

The ballot measure would have amended Article IX, Section 9 of Idaho Constitution to:[1]

  • remove the legislature's power to require that children ages six to eighteen attend public school unless educated through other means as provided in statute,
  • provide a state constitutional right for people to "educate their children without government regulation outside of the public schools," and provide that this right shall not be infringed.

Text of measure

Ballot title

The proposed ballot title was as follows:[1]

“

Shall Section 9, Article IX of the Constitution of the State of Idaho be amended to:

(1) Remove language providing that the Legislature may require every child to attend the public schools of the state between the ages of six and eighteen years, unless educated by other means; and

(2) Add language providing that the right of the people to educate their children without government regulation outside of the public schools of the state shall not be infringed?[2]

”

Constitutional changes

See also: Article IX, Idaho Constitution

The ballot measure would have amended Section 9 of Article IX of the Idaho Constitution. The following underlined text would have been added and struck-through text would have been deleted:[1]

Compulsory Attendance at Schools. The legislature may require by law that every child shall attend the public schools of the state, throughout the period between the ages of six and eighteen years, unless educated by other means, as provided by law.

Education by Other Means. The right of the people to educate their children without government regulation outside of the public schools of the state shall not be infringed.[2]

Support

Supporters

Officials

Former Officials


Arguments

  • State Rep. Dale Hawkins (R-2B): "I think the state has the opportunity and the right and the responsibility to provide for the education system that exists. What I don’t think the state has is the right to step into your home or my home and tell me what to do or you to do with your children as it refers to education."
  • Idaho Freedom Foundation: "A basic premise of traditional Western values is that the family forms the fundamental unit of society. As observed by the Roman statesman and philosopher Cicero, 'the first bond of society is marriage, the next, our children.' The natural bond between a parent and their child imposes an obligation on the parent 'to educate (their children) according to the suggestions of a judicious and zealous regard for their usefulness, their respectability, and their happiness' (James Wilson, Lectures on Law). Because the authority of parents over their child derives from nature, parents reserve the natural and inalienable right to direct the upbringing and education of their children as they deem fit. HJR 1 would curtail the authority of government to infringe upon this fundamental liberty..."
  • Former State Sen. Scott Herndon (R-1): "[Rep. Dale Hawkins] is sponsoring the ultimate school choice measure that recognizes Idaho’s strength and will make it a beacon to other states for the freedom of parents to choose the best education they see fit for their own families. Representative Hawkins has filed a constitutional amendment. HJR1 will strike from Idaho’s constitution the antiquated concept that the state’s legislature would ever force all children to attend the government’s schools."


Opposition

Opponents

Officials


Arguments

  • House Minority Leader Todd Achilles (D-16B): "When we make this change to the [Idaho Constitution], we’re opening the door for parents, irresponsible parents, to not educate their kids and that impacts every single one of us."


Background

Article IX, Section 9 of Idaho Constitution

See also: Article IX, Section 9 of Idaho Constitution

The original Idaho Constitution, ratified on November 5, 1889, included Article IX, Section 9, which provided that the Idaho State Legislature can require children to attend public school for the equivalent of three years between the ages of six and eighteen, with exceptions for children without sufficient mental and physical ability and children who receive equivalent education through other means.

In 1972, voters approved SJR 124, the first voter-approved ballot measure to amend Article IX, Section 9. SJR 124 provided that the state legislature can require children ages six to eighteen to attend public school, with exceptions for those educated through other means as defined in law. The vote was 50.57% to 49.43%.

Path to the ballot

Amending the Idaho Constitution

See also: Amending the Idaho Constitution

A two-thirds (66.67%) vote is required during one legislative session for the Idaho State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 47 votes in the Idaho House of Representatives and 24 votes in the Idaho State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.

House Joint Resolution 1 (2025)

The following is the timeline of the constitutional amendment in the state legislature:[1]

  • February 13, 2025: The House State Affairs Committee approved HJR 1, advancing the amendment to the full House of Representatives.
  • February 19, 2025: The Idaho House of Representatives voted 46-23, with one member absent, to reject HJR 1. As the constitutional amendment needed a two-thirds vote, 47 votes were required. HJR 1 had the support of 46 Republicans, while eight Democrats and 15 Republicans voted against the amendment.

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Idaho State Legislature, "House Joint Resolution 1," accessed February 17, 2025
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content
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