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Hello {{CFirstName}},

We've wrapped up Week 3 of the 2024 Legislative Session. While it was a slow week for bill introductions, a significant portion of our attention this week was directed towards House Bill 415, commonly referred to as the "Guns in Schools" bill. This controversial piece of legislation has sparked considerable debate and discussion among lawmakers, educators, and the public, given its potential impact on school safety and gun control policies.

We also saw a bill on Teacher Savings Accounts introduced by Senator Scott Herndon and the Charter School Bill, HB422, was heard and moved to the House floor.

HB415, allows 'school employees' – including teachers, coaches, janitors, volunteers, contractors with the district/school, and other staff – to carry concealed weapons on school campuses. This broad definition raises significant public safety concerns, challenges local control in education, and lacks transparency and accountability. Notably, employees carrying concealed weapons are not required to inform the school board, only the principal or superintendent, who then notifies local police. Furthermore, these individuals would be immune to civil damages under this law. This bill, seen as unnecessary and hazardous, undermines local authority, as schools already have policies permitting certain staff to conceal carry. It's crucial to urge House Representatives to vote against HB415 to maintain safety and control in our schools.

Contact your legislators today and ask them to vote NO on HB415.

Click below to view our new platform that allows you to easily send messages to your legislators about HB415.

Contact Your Representatives Today!

ISBA's opposition to this bill comes from the guiding principles our Executive Board adopted for our advocacy work in 2024, specific to this topic is point two (2) which focuses on local control. You can find those guiding principles here.

Frequent Questions We Get Asked

Should I use my school email or personal email when contacting legislators?

It depends on the topic of the message. If you are working with a legislator to educate them on a subject or responding to a public records request from a legislator, using your school address is fine. However, we recommend that if you are reaching out to legislators urging them to take specific action on certain bills or policies or advocating your position for or against any matter before the legislature for consideration, you use your personal emails. This helps to distinguish your individual viewpoints from the official stance or operational role of your school district or charter as well as avoids any argument as to the use of public resources for advocacy purposes.

How does ISBA decide what stance it takes on a bill or policy?

Every year, the ISBA calls upon our membership to submit legislative priorities that are important to them and/or public education in Idaho. These priorities are introduced to the entire membership at our Annual Convention every November, where they are asked to vote on the legislative priorities of the organization. We, as an organization, then take these priorities and focus on them during the next legislative session.
Additionally, each Friday during the session, our Government Affairs Committee (GAC) meets. The GAC is comprised of equal parts small and large district regional membership representation. These meetings are crucial as the GAC guides our legislative team on the priorities for the week and the entire session using the guiding principles on the table of contents of ISBA Resolutions. Following this direction, our team collaborates with legislators to advocate for or against bills aligning with our members' chosen legislative priorities, ensuring that the voice of our membership is heard and represented effectively in the legislative process. We understand that individual board member opinions may differ, however we send alerts based on the membership or GAC as a whole.

ISBA Bill Tracker

ISBA is currently tracking 8 bills impacting Idaho public education. The complete bill tracker includes detailed information and ISBA staff analysis regarding the bills. Bill topics include:

Public Charter Schools
Libraries
Teacher Savings Accounts
School Board Trustee Quorums
The Blaine Amendment Repeal
Guns in Schools

Voices Inside the Legislature

Do you subscribe to your lawmaker’s newsletters? We encourage you to do so. In addition, we thought it might be beneficial for members to see what each political party has been sharing in op-eds, weekly updates, or podcasts about issues important to them, including policy discussions on K-12. Here is a snippet of what members of the Majority and Minority Parties have been saying the past few weeks:

Protecting Idaho's Future

Mainstreet Idaho hosted Senator Kevin Cook and Representative Stephanie Mickelsen on their podcast this week. Senator Cook and Representative Mickelsen discussed the work they are doing in the areas of education policy and funding.

Click here to watch the two-part podcast series on school vouchers and tools for parents to protect their children online.

A Message from the Chair: We got it right the first time, School Vouchers are wrong for Idaho

The Idaho Democratic Party Chair, Lauren Necochea, shared an article in December about school vouchers and how they threaten public education funding. Read it here.

In the News

"Why does the school board matter?" - Rep. Hill District 14
- This week, the House State Affairs Committee heard HB415, the guns in schools bill. Read an Idaho Education News article that covers the hearing but also paints a vivid picture of how educators, school district staff, and representatives across the state perceive the bill and local school board's authority on gun related matters.

The Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy has created a four-part series on the dangers of school voucher programs in Idaho. Click here to read about the following topics: