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Idaho state law makes school boards responsible for governing and managing public school districts in the state. This article details the powers and duties Idaho law grants to school boards for governing school districts and the constraints on that authority with regard to certain topics.
State law includes a parents' bill of rights, which holds that parents have the right to make decisions about the upbringing and control of their child, among other provisions.
Types of legal and contractual constraints on school board authority
This page presents the results from Ballotpedia research on school board authority and constraints on that authority in all 50 states as of 2024. School board authority comes from state constitutions and state statutes and can be interpreted or specified by state regulations or court decisions. In addition to authority over district budgets, the selection of a superintendent, and administrative responsibilities, school boards have varying levels of authority over district policy on other topics depending on the state and district.
There are several sources of legal and contractual constraints on school board policy-making authority which also vary by state or by district.
State laws commonly restrict or mandate school board policies on certain topics.
Parents' Bills of Rights, which at least 26 states have in statute to some degree, limit the policies school boards are allowed to pass.
State rules, guidance, and funding incentives can constrain, mandate, or influence school board policies. These include regulation from state education commissions and superintendents, executive orders from governors, or grant conditions.
Federal and state court rulings can dictate whether or not school district policies are compatible with state law or federal law.
The federal government, largely through its Department of Education, can promulgate regulations or guidance that influence district policy or make funding contingent on certain policies.
Collective bargaining agreements between school districts and teacher unions can create contractual constraints on the policies school boards can pass.
State school board associations can influence school board policy or, in some cases. enter into contracts with school boards that can limit school board policy.
Constraints on Idaho school boards' authority. This section provides an overview of constraints on the school boards' authority in Idaho. It contains information on the constraints by the following topics:
Idaho Statutes § 33-501, creates school boards and gives them authority to operate according to state law:[1]
“
(1) Each school district shall be governed by a board of trustees. The board of trustees of each elementary school district shall consist of three (3) members, and the board of trustees of each other school district shall consist of five (5) members. Provided, however, that the board of trustees of any district that has had a change in its district boundaries subsequent to June 30, 1973, may consist of no fewer than five (5) nor more than nine (9) members if such provisions are included as part of an approved proposal to redefine and change trustee zones as provided in section 33-313, Idaho Code. The board of trustees of any district that has had a change in its district boundaries because of district consolidation on and after January 1, 2008, shall consist of five (5) members if two (2) districts consolidated or seven (7) members if three (3) or more districts consolidated. Commencing in 2018, a school district trustee shall be elected for a term of four (4) years beginning at noon on January 1 next succeeding his election.
[2]
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Idaho school boards' powers and duties
Idaho public school boards of directors are given 17 specific duties or powers to administer the public schools in the state. In addition to budget-related and fiscal duties, school property and facilities management, and administrative responsibilities, the specific powers and duties include
determining instructional hours;
student discipline policies; and
maintaining school libraries.
The list of powers and duties school district boards are charged with appears in Idaho Statutes § 33-512 and are as follows:[3]
“
The board of trustees of each school district shall have the following powers and duties:
(1) To fix the days of the year and the hours of the day when schools shall be in session. However:
(a) Each school district shall annually adopt and implement a school calendar that provides its students at each grade level with the following minimum number of instructional hours:
Grades - Hours
9-12 - 990
4-8 - 900
1-3 - 810
K - 450
Alternative schools
(any grades) - 900
(b) School assemblies, testing and other instructionally related activities involving students directly may be included in the required instructional hours.
(c) When approved by a local school board, annual instructional hour requirements stated in paragraph (a) of this subsection may be reduced as follows:
(i) Up to a total of twenty-two (22) hours to accommodate staff development activities conducted on such days as the local school board deems appropriate.
(ii) Up to a total of eleven (11) hours of emergency school closures due to adverse weather conditions and facility failures.
However, transportation to and from school, passing times between classes, recess and lunch periods shall not be included.
(d) Student and staff activities related to the opening and closing of the school year, grade reporting, program planning, staff meetings, and other classroom and building management activities shall not be counted as instructional time or in the reductions provided in paragraph (c)(i) of this subsection.
(e) For multiple shift programs, this rule applies to each shift (i.e., each student must have access to the minimum annual required hours of instruction).
(f) The instructional time requirement for grade 12 students may be reduced by action of a local school board for an amount of time not to exceed eleven (11) hours of instructional time.
(g) The state superintendent of public instruction may grant an exemption from the provisions of this section for an individual building within a district, when the closure of that building, for unforeseen circumstances, does not affect the attendance of other buildings within the district.
(h) The state board of education may grant a waiver of the minimum number of instructional hours for a school district when districtwide school closures are necessary as a result of natural occurrences creating unsafe conditions for students. A county or state disaster declaration must have been issued for one (1) or more of the counties in which the school district is located. A waiver request to the state board of education must describe the efforts by the school district to make up lost instructional hours, the range of grades impacted, and the number of hours the school district is requesting be waived.
(i) The reduction of instructional hours allowed in paragraphs (f) through (h) of this subsection may not be combined in a single school year.
(2) To adopt and carry on and to provide for the financing of a total educational program for the district. Such programs in other than elementary school districts may include education programs for out-of-school youth and adults, and such districts may provide classes in kindergarten;
(3) To provide, or require pupils to be provided with, suitable textbooks and supplies and, for advice on textbook selections, may appoint a curricular materials adoption committee as provided in section 33-512A, Idaho Code;
(4) To protect the morals and health of the pupils;
(5) To exclude from school children not of school age;
(6) To prescribe rules for the disciplining of unruly or insubordinate pupils, including rules on student harassment, intimidation and bullying, such rules to be included in a district discipline code adopted by the board of trustees and a summarized version thereof to be provided in writing at the beginning of each school year to the teachers and students in the district in a manner consistent with the student’s age, grade and level of academic achievement;
(7) To exclude from school pupils with contagious or infectious diseases who are diagnosed or suspected as having a contagious or infectious disease or those who are not immune and have been exposed to a contagious or infectious disease; and to close school if the board determines that conditions warrant such closure, based on consultation with the district health department of the public health district in which the school district is located;
(8) To equip and maintain a suitable library or libraries in the school or schools and to exclude therefrom, and from the schools, all books, tracts, papers, and catechisms of sectarian nature;
(9) To determine school holidays. Any listing of school holidays shall include not less than the following: New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. Other days listed in section 73-108, Idaho Code, if the same shall fall on a school day, shall be observed with appropriate ceremonies; and any days the state board of education may designate, following the proclamation by the governor, shall be school holidays;
(10) To erect and maintain on each schoolhouse or school grounds a suitable flagstaff or flagpole and display thereon the flag of the United States of America on all days, except during inclement weather, when the school is in session; and for each Veterans Day, each school in session shall conduct and observe an appropriate program of at least one (1) class period remembering and honoring American veterans;
(11) To prohibit entrance to each schoolhouse or school grounds, to prohibit loitering in schoolhouses or on school grounds and to provide for the removal from each schoolhouse or school grounds of any individual or individuals who disrupt the educational processes or whose presence is detrimental to the morals, health, safety, academic learning or discipline of the pupils. A person who disrupts the educational process or whose presence is detrimental to the morals, health, safety, academic learning or discipline of the pupils, or who loiters in schoolhouses or on school grounds, is guilty of a misdemeanor;
(12) To supervise and regulate, including by contract with established entities, those extracurricular activities that are by definition outside of or in addition to the regular academic courses or curriculum of a public school, and which extracurricular activities shall not be considered to be a property, liberty or contract right of any student, and such extracurricular activities shall not be deemed a necessary element of a public school education but shall be considered to be a privilege. For the purposes of extracurricular activities, any secondary school located in this state that is accredited by an organization approved through a process defined by the state department of education shall be able to fully participate in all extracurricular activities described in and governed by the provisions of this subsection;
(13) To govern the school district in compliance with state law and rules of the state board of education;
(14) To submit to the superintendent of public instruction not later than July 1 of each year documentation that meets the reporting requirements of the federal gun-free schools act of 1994 as contained within the federal improving America’s schools act of 1994;
(15) To require that all certificated and noncertificated employees hired on or after July 1, 2008, and other individuals who are required by the provisions of section 33-130, Idaho Code, to undergo a criminal history check shall submit a completed ten (10) finger fingerprint card or scan to the department of education no later than five (5) days following the first day of employment or unsupervised contact with students in a K-12 setting, whichever is sooner. Such employees and other individuals shall pay the cost of the criminal history check. If the criminal history check shows that the employee has been convicted of a felony crime enumerated in section 33-1208, Idaho Code, it shall be grounds for immediate termination, dismissal or other personnel action of the district, except that it shall be the right of the school district to evaluate whether an individual convicted of one of these crimes and having been incarcerated for that crime shall be hired. Provided however, that any individual convicted of any felony offense listed in section 33-1208(2), Idaho Code, shall not be hired. For the purposes of criminal history checks, a substitute teacher is any individual who temporarily replaces a certificated classroom educator and is paid a substitute teacher wage for one (1) day or more during a school year. A substitute teacher who has undergone a criminal history check at the request of one (1) district in which he has been employed as a substitute shall not be required to undergo an additional criminal history check at the request of any other district in which he is employed as a substitute if the teacher has obtained a criminal history check within the previous five (5) years. If the district next employing the substitute still elects to require another criminal history check within the five (5) year period, that district shall pay the cost of the criminal history check or reimburse the substitute teacher for such cost. To remain on the statewide substitute teacher list maintained by the state department of education, the substitute teacher shall undergo a criminal history check every five (5) years;
(16) To maintain a safe environment for students by developing a system that cross-checks all contractors or other persons who have irregular contact with students against the statewide sex offender registry by developing a school safety plan for each school and by meeting annually with emergency first responders to update the plans and discuss emergency exercises and operations;
(17) To provide support for teachers in their first two (2) years in the profession in the areas of: administrative and supervisory support, mentoring, peer assistance and professional development.
[2]
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Constraints on Idaho school boards' authority
This section tracks constraints on school boards specific to Idaho as of September 2024. It features constraints on school boards' authority from state law, collective bargaining agreements, and Parents' Bills of Rights.
Constraint on Idaho school boards' authority by topic
This section features constraints on school boards authority on policies related to the following topics:
Idaho law prohibits instruction of religious doctrines or instruction based on religious or denominational books or sources. This includes the following topics listed in Idaho law:[8]
“
No sectarian or denominational doctrine shall be taught in the public schools, nor shall any books, tracts, papers or documents of sectarian or denominational character be used therein.
[2]
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Federal law and guidance
Federal executive orders:
President Donald Trump (R) issued an executive order (E.O.) on January 29, 2025, entitled Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling, prohibiting federal funding that directly or indirectly facilitates K-12 instruction regarding what the bill calls gender or equity ideology. It directs federal executive agencies, including the U.S. Department of Education, to create a plan to relinquish federal funds from school or teacher certification programs that include what the E.O. called gender ideology or discriminatory equity ideology. The order defined discriminatory equity ideology as ideology that treats individuals as members of preferred or disfavored groups rather than as individuals and minimizes agency, merit, and capability in favor of immoral generalizations.[9]
Book bans, removals, and restrictions
Idaho school boards have the authority to remove books from school libraries. Additionally, state law prohibits the following materials from being made available in school libraries:[10][11]
“
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a school or public library, or an agent thereof, shall not promote, give, or make available to a minor:
(a) Any picture, photograph, drawing, sculpture, motion picture film, or similar visual representation or image of a person or portion of the human body that depicts nudity, sexual conduct, or sado-masochistic abuse and that is harmful to minors;
(b) Any book, pamphlet, magazine, printed matter however reproduced, or sound recording that contains any matter pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subsection or explicit and detailed verbal descriptions or narrative accounts of sexual excitement, sexual conduct, or sado-masochis46 tic abuse and that, taken as a whole, is harmful to minors; or
Case law:
The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed local school boards' authority to remove school books in Island Trees Sch. Dist. v. Pico by Pico in 1982 but held that school library books are distinct from curricular books, which school boards have more authority to regulate. The ruling held that school boards are charged with inculcating community values and may make curricular decisions accordingly. In Zykan v. Warsaw Community School Corp. in 1980, the Supreme Court held that school boards had discretionary power over curriculum, textbooks, and other educational matters but could not impose religious creeds or "permanently the student’s ability to investigate matters that arise in the natural course of intellectual inquiry,” according to the opinion.[12][13][14]
Federal guidance
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights rescinded all guidance against the removal of books and no longer employed a coordinator to investigate local district book removals as of January 24, 2025. The Department said they believed removing books from school libraries was a question of parental and community judgment, not civil rights, and that the office had no role as it related to book removal.[15]
Parental notification
Idaho requires parental notification on the following topics:[16]
Health services offered through the school
Idaho requires parental notification in the following circumstances:[16]
If there are changes to their child's mental, emotional or physical well-being or health
If their child has been or will be questioned by a school resource officer or law enforcement officer
If their child requests to be addressed "by a name other than the student's legal name or a derivative thereof"[17]
Case law: The United States Supreme Court ruled in Mahmoud v. Taylor on June 27, 2025, that Montgomery County Board of Education's introduction of LGBTQ+ related storybooks, along with its decision to withhold opt outs, placed an unconstitutional burden on the parents’ rights to the free exercise of their religion.[18]
Idaho is one of 47 states that gives school boards authority over district disciplinary policy.
The text of Idaho Statutes § 33-512 is as follows:[10]
“
(6) To prescribe rules for the disciplining of unruly or insubordinate pupils, including rules on student harassment, intimidation and bullying, such rules to be included in a district discipline code adopted by the board of trustees and a summarized version thereof to be provided in writing at the beginning of each school year to the teachers and students in the district in a manner consistent with the student’s age, grade and level of academic achievement;
[2]
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Federal guidance
President Donald Trump (R) issued an Executive Order (E.O.) titled Reinstating Common Sense School Discipline Policies on April 23, 2025, that required the Secretary of Education, in consultation with the Attorney General, to issue guidance local educational agencies (LEAs) and State educational agencies (SEAs) regarding "school discipline and their obligations not to engage in racial discrimination under Title VI in all contexts, including school discipline," according to the order. The first Trump administration rescinded guidance issued in 2014 under the Obama administration that suggested that higher rates of discipline for racial minorities could be evidence of discrimination and could cause schools to lose federal funding. Trump's 2025 E.O. argued that the guidance "effectively required schools to discriminate on the basis of race by imposing discipline based on racial characteristics, rather than on objective behavior alone." Though the guidance was rescinded in 2018, the U.S. Department of Education continued to collect data regarding the racial breakdown of disciplinary actions taken across the country. Trump's 2025 E.O. prohibits schools from engaging in what it called racial discrimination in the application of school discipline.[19]
Idaho is one of 42 states in which school boards do not have authority over the timing of school board elections because state or municipal laws determine school board election dates.
Click here to read about the laws governing school board elections in Idaho.
Idaho had a state-wide public school choice program, as of October 2024, and school boards are required to adopt policies to govern enrollment options for intradistrict and interdistrict transfers, according to Idaho Statutes § 33-1402:[20]
“
(1) Each school district shall implement an enrollment options program as provided in this section. School districts shall adopt policies to govern the process for enrollment options pursuant to this chapter, including in-district transfers. The policies shall prohibit discrimination against any pupil on the basis of his residential address, ability, disability, race, ethnicity, sex, or socioeconomic status. Such policies shall be posted to the school district’s website. Schools of choice within a district that have lottery enrollment policies are not subject to the provisions of this chapter.
(2) Whenever the parent or guardian of any Idaho pupil determines that it is in the best interest of the pupil to attend a school within another district, or to attend another school within the home district, such pupil, or pupils, may be transferred to and attend the selected school, subject to the provisions of this section and section 33-1404, Idaho Code.
(3) The pupil’s parent or guardian must apply for admission to a school within another district, or to another school within the home district, on a form provided by the state department of education or a district-provided form that is substantially similar. The application, must be submitted to the receiving school district by February 1 for enrollment during the following school year and notice of such application given to the home district. At the time of application, the parent or guardian must request that the home district or school forward the pupil’s student record. The home district or school shall respond by forwarding a certified copy of the transferred student’s record within ten (10) days, unless the provisions of section 18-4511, Idaho Code, apply. The receiving school district, or the receiving school within the home district, shall notify the applicant within sixty (60) days and, if denied, must include written explanation of the denial.
(4) There may be times during the school year when a parent or guardian believes it is in the best interest of the pupil to transfer schools. Open enrollment applications shall be accepted at any time throughout the year. However, those applications received after the February 1 deadline will be considered based on capacity stated in policy at the receiving district.
(5) Priority for enrollment under this section shall be given to pupils applying to attend another school within the home district.
(6) A district may deny a transfer application for the following reasons:
(a) The pupil was expelled by the pupil’s previous district;
(b) The pupil has a documented history of significant disciplinary issues;
(c) The pupil has a documented history of chronic absenteeism; or
(d) The receiving district does not have space available pursuant to section 33-1409, Idaho Code. Where applicable, a denial may include information about other schools that are below maximum enrollment.
Federal law requires all school districts to allow open enrollment for students zoned for what states deem as unsafe schools or students who have been victims of violent crimes at school. The policy is titled the Unsafe School Choice Option (USCO); it was enacted in 1965 in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), amended by the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001, and continued under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in 2015. Under the USCO, states must establish a USCO policy, identify persistently dangerous schools and offenses considered to be violent crime, and ensure that school districts provide a safe public school option for all students.[21]
Idaho is one of 36 states that grant school boards at least some authority over whether charter schools are issued in their district.
Local school boards are one of three types of entities in the state with the power to authorize charter schools. The other two are non-sectarian institutions of higher learning and the Idaho Public Charter School Commission (IPCSC). According to the Idaho Department of Education's description of the authorization process as of 2024, charter school applications are first submitted to local school districts. If the district denies the application, the applicant can appeal the decision or apply to another authorizer, such as the IPCSC. The IPCSC was responsible for authorizing 78% of charter schools in the state as of 2023.[22][23][24]
(1) No whole school district may be converted to a charter district or any configuration that includes all schools as public charter schools.
(2)(a) The authorizer must receive an application no later than September 1 for a new public charter school to be eligible to begin instruction the first complete school year following receipt of the application, unless the authorizer agrees to a later date; and
(b) To begin operations, a newly chartered public school must be authorized by no later than January 1 of the previous school year, unless the authorizer agrees to a later date.
(3) Any authorizer may approve a public charter school formed by creating a new public charter school or by replicating an existing public charter school. Converting an existing traditional public school to a public charter school may only be approved by the board of trustees of the school district in which the existing public school is located.
(4) No charter shall be approved under this chapter:
(a) That provides for the conversion of any existing private or parochial school to a public charter school;
(b) For a for-profit entity; provided, however, nothing in this section shall prevent the board of directors of a public charter school from legally contracting with an educational service provider that provides comprehensive educational administrative and management services or with for-profit entities for the provision of products or services that aid in the operation of the school; or
(c) By the board of trustees of a school district if the public charter school’s physical location is outside the boundaries of the authorizing school district.
(5) A charter holder may not operate enterprises unrelated to the educational purposes for which the public charter school has been authorized. In cases of related enterprises, including but not limited to daycare and after school programs, no state education funding authorized pursuant to this chapter may be used to subsidize such related enterprises.
(6)(a) Each authorized public charter school is hereby designated as a local education agency (LEA) as such term is defined in 34 CFR 300.28, unless the charter holder and authorizer agree that:
(i) Public charter schools authorized by the board of trustees of a school district may be included in that district’s LEA; or
(ii) Entities with multiple charters may operate as a single LEA.
(b) Notice of an agreement pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subsection must be provided to the state department of education by no later than February 1 of the proceeding school year.
[2]
Idaho is one of five states with laws or policies encouraging school boards to pass policies limiting cellphone use for their districts.
Although Idaho does not have a statewide law, Governor Brad Little (R) issued an executive order on October 31, 2024, encouraging school districts to develop policies to restrict cellphones in schools by the end of the 2024-2025 school year.[26]
Collective bargaining agreements
Teacher union collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) can constrain school board authority. Teacher CBAs are agreements between a school district and a teachers’ union to establish rights and other contract details for public school employees. CBAs do not have the force of law, but are contractually binding for a set period of time. Within the time set out in the agreement, the school board must comply with the stipulations that were agreed to in the contract. In this way, CBAs can constrain school board authority by giving teachers authority over curriculum, prohibiting school boards from banning books, and establishing certain student or parental rights. They can also determine rights and protections for educators, and conditions for students (such as required recess periods or the amount of standardized testing), among other provisions.
CBAs vary greatly within and across states in size, topics covered, and constraints they put on school boards. Not all states allow teachers to bargain collectively. As of January 2022, 35 states and the District of Columbia guaranteed K-12 teachers some right to bargain collectively, and six states prohibited public-sector employee collective bargaining by law, which includes public school teachers. The other nine states have no statewide bargaining framework, but local jurisdictions within these states can grant bargaining rights if they choose.[27][28]
Idaho school boards are authorized to engage in collective bargaining agreements with school employees, which can constrain their authority over certain district policies.
For example, though school boards in Idaho have statutory authority to establish instructional days for the school year, the collective bargaining agreement between the Boise School District and the Boise Education Association requires specific provisions be met when establishing the work year:[29]
“
The basic contract year for a professional employee herein covered shall one hundred eighty-nine (189) days consisting of one hundred seventy-six (176) instructional days, four (4) paid holidays (Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Day), the equivalent of two (2) CLC days, and five (5) professional development days. For the 2023-2024 school year individual employment contracts issued by the Board shall reflect this amount except that where a professional employee is to work for more than one hundred eighty-nine (189) days in a year, their contract shall reflect the greater number of days and the professional employee thus contracted shall be paid at the rate of the base salary as indicated by the attached salary schedules plus one/one hundred eighty-ninth (1/189) of their salary for each additional day contracted. This section shall not affect professional employees who take on additional duties such as summer music, summer recreation, curriculum writing, summer maintenance work, and others.
[2]
The statute holds that parents have the right to make decisions about the upbringing and control of their child, among other provisions. The text is as follows:[30]
“
(1) A student’s parent or guardian has the right to reasonable academic accommodation from the child’s public school. "Reasonable accommodation" means the school shall make its best effort to enable parents or guardians to exercise their rights without substantial impact to staff and resources, including employee working conditions, safety and supervision on school premises for school activities and the efficient allocation of expenditures, while balancing the parental rights of parents and guardians, the educational needs of other students, the academic and behavioral impacts to a classroom, a teacher’s workload and the assurance of the safe and efficient operations of the school.
(2) School districts and the boards of directors of public charter schools, in consultation with parents, teachers and administrators, shall develop and adopt a policy to promote the involvement of parents and guardians of children enrolled in the schools within the school district or the charter school, including:
(a) A plan for parent participation in the schools that is designed to improve parent and teacher cooperation in such areas as homework, attendance and discipline;
(b) A process by which parents may learn about the course of study for their children and review learning materials, including the source of any supplemental educational materials;
(c) A process by which parents who object to any learning material or activity on the basis that it harms the child or impairs the parents’ firmly held beliefs, values or principles may withdraw their child from the activity, class or program in which the material is used;
(d) The public school’s responsibility for notifying a student’s parent or legal guardian regarding known changes in the student’s mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being;
(e) The reinforcement of the fundamental rights and responsibilities of parents as primary stakeholders to make decisions regarding the upbringing and control of the parent’s child; and
(f) A process for staff to encourage students to discuss issues related to the student’s well-being with the student’s parent or legal guardian and, if necessary, to facilitate discussion of the issues with the parent or legal guardian.
(3) A policy shall not prohibit parents or legal guardians from accessing any of their children’s education and health records created, maintained, or used by the public school unless such documentation relates to physical abuse, abandonment, or neglect by the parent or legal guardian. Unless a timeline is otherwise delineated in a specific applicable state or federal law, records shall be provided to the parent or legal guardian within five (5) school days after a request to access such records is made.
(4) A public school shall not adopt procedures, policies, or student support forms that prohibit public school personnel from notifying a parent or legal guardian about a student’s mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being or a change in related services or monitoring or that encourage or have the effect of encouraging a student to withhold from a parent or legal guardian such information. This subsection does not prohibit a public school from adopting procedures that permit public school personnel to withhold information from a parent or legal guardian if ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction.
(5) At the start of the school year, each public school shall notify parents and legal guardians of health services offered or made available through the school or by private organizations, including preventative health and wellness services, screenings, medication administration, first aid and emergency care, and appropriate management of all health conditions with parental consent. Parental consent to any health or wellness service does not waive parents’ or legal guardians’ right to access their children’s educational or associated health records or to be notified about their children’s health status or monitoring as provided in this section.
(6) A public school shall notify a student’s parent or legal guardian if a student has been or may be questioned by a school resource officer or other law enforcement official, unless the child is a victim or suspected victim of physical child abuse. School districts and public charter schools shall develop and adopt policies to ensure compliance with this subsection.
(7) Before any public school employee administers any noncurricular-related student survey, well-being questionnaire, or health screening to any student, the employee must first obtain consent from the school’s superintendent or designee. If the content of any such survey, questionnaire, or screening regards an individual student’s sexuality, sex, religion, personal political beliefs, mental or psychological problems, personal family information, or individual or family financial information, the public school shall provide the survey, questionnaire, or screening form to the student’s parent or legal guardian in advance and obtain the permission of the parent or legal guardian.
(8) A parent or legal guardian of a child enrolled in an Idaho public school shall have reasonable access to observe all school activities during school hours in which the child is enrolled, except for those who are otherwise legally prohibited. Observations of individual classrooms during instructional time shall be permitted with the principal’s and teacher’s pre-approval. Visits shall not be permitted if their occurrence, duration, frequency, or conduct on campus interferes with the delivery of instruction or disrupts the normal school environment. Nothing in this section shall prevent a reasonable denial of entry due to emergency or safety drills, situations outlined in school safety plans, an emergency lockdown, periods of statewide testing, school officials’ enforcement of the provisions of section 33-512, Idaho Code, or other specific situations enumerated by the school.
(9) A parent or legal guardian whose rights, as provided by this section, are violated by a public school may file a complaint with the school. Public schools shall implement policies and procedures to accept, evaluate, and remedy complaints.
(10) If a complaint is not satisfactorily remedied by the public school, a parent shall have a private cause of action for injunctive relief, damages, and any other relief available under law against the school.
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How does Idaho compare to other states?
This section compares Idaho school board authority and constraints with those of other states on select topics. These topics include authority over discipline policy, school board election timing, charter schools, cellphone use policy, as well as constraints on school boards' authority from Parents' Bills of Rights.
Book bans, removals, and restrictions
Twenty-two (22) states have no laws regulating the curation of school library books. Twenty-eight (28) states, however, have passed laws restricting school board authority over school library book curation. These laws typically fall into one of the following categories:
Twelve states require school boards to develop a policy for the removal of books, including creating a way for the public to challenge school library books.
Ten states prohibit school boards from removing books on the grounds that they represent specific ideologies or perspectives.
Six states prohibit books if they contain specific material, including sexual content or anything deemed harmful to minors.
Five states require school boards to establish local boards to review challenges to library books.
Two states require school boards to allow parents to view a catalogue of books.
Some states have adopted multiple types of these policies.
Discipline
School boards in 47 states have authority over disciplinary policy in their district.
School boards in two states have authority over disciplinary policy for specific circumstances, such as suspension, expulsion, or bullying.
Individual schools in one state create their own disciplinary policy.
School board elections
School boards' authority over the timing of school board elections varies by state.
School boards in 42 states do not have authority over election timing;
School boards in five states can choose from limited options when to hold school board elections;
School boards in two states can choose from a date range when to hold school board elections;
The school board in Hawaii is not elected.
The map below shows the types of authority school boards in the states have to determine the timing of school board elections.
Some school boards in the U.S. are authorized to approve or deny applications for charter schools in their district, while state boards of education hold the authority in other states. In some states, school boards can authorize charter schools, but there are other entities besides school boards that can also authorize charter schools or to which a school board decision can be appealed.
10 states do not authorize school boards to make decisions on whether to approve new charter schools in their districts.
36 states do authorize school boards to approve new charter schools in their districts, deny approval to new charter schools, or both.
3 states do not have laws governing charter school authorization.
1 state allows school districts to apply to the state board of education to be a charter school district.
In most states, school boards or superintendents often set policies on cellphones in public schools. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), around 76% of schools said they banned the non-academic use of cellphones or smartphones during school hours during the 2021-22 school year, down from 91% in 2010.[31]
Beginning with Florida in 2023, some states enacted laws or policies to regulate student cellphone usage in public schools. Twenty-six (26) states had statewide laws or policies restricting cellphone use in K-12 classrooms or schools as of June 2025. Four states had requirements for all school district boards to adopt a policy on cellphones but without specific requirements for those policies. Five other states had policies encouraging school districts to establish restrictions on cellphone use in the classroom.
If state law explicitly provides certain rights to parents, it can constrain the policy-making authority of school boards. These sections of statute are often referred to within statute and are categorized here as Parents' Bills of Rights. In some states, they are education-specific, regarding the rights a parent has to be involved in their child's public education. Common examples include notification requirements, opt-out rights, and records access. Other Parents' Bills of Rights are more general, commonly affording parents a right to direct the upbringing of their child.
26 states have enacted a statewide Parents' Bill of Rights
24 states have not enacted a Parents' Bill of Rights.
Idaho governor issues executive order to ensure schools do not allow transgender girls to compete in women's sports (2024): Idaho Governor Brad Little (R) issued Executive Order (EO) No. 2024-08 Defending Women's Sports Act on August 28, 2024, to ensure that Idaho schools did not enforce the Biden administration's Title IX rules that included transgenderism in the definition of sex-based characteristics. The EO stated that Idaho had passed laws prohibiting biological males from competing in women's sports and that the state would work to ensure that public schools were following all of Idaho's rules related to what it defined as fairness in women's sports.[32]
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