Due to a new Idaho law, schools will need permission from parents to give students any medical care, all the way down to over-the-counter pain meds for headaches and Band-Aids for scraped knees.
Senate Bill 1329, also known as The Parents’ Rights in Medical Decision-Making Act, went into effect on July 1 and reads, “an individual shall not furnish a health care service or solicit to furnish a health care service to a minor child without obtaining the prior consent of the minor child’s parent.”
The Idaho law extend even to minor, non-life-threatening injuries like the ones kids get at school all the time and can be “cured” with a band-aid from the nurse’s office.
The bill’s Statement of Purpose sheds more light on what Idaho lawmakers are apparently trying to accomplish with this legislation.
It says that the law “ensures that children, who often lack maturity and make choices without considering either immediate or long-term consequences, are protected by the informed decision-making of their parents, who possess the most knowledge and are in the best position to ensure that their children receive adequate medical attention.”
This language implies that teachers might provide gender-affirming care to kids who the legislature feels may not know the consequences of said care, therefore the state needed a law to prevent that scenario from happening—despite how small the chances are of that even happening.
What makes this new law questionable is the fact that Idaho already passed legislation that actually criminalizes gender-affirming care for minors across the state. In 2023, the state’s legislature banned any and all gender-affirming care for anyone under the age of 18 in Idaho, whether they have parental consent or not. But the ACLU and two parents of trans youth have filed a lawsuit alleging the law is unconstitutional. As a response to that lawsuit, Idaho’s lawmakers are now making sure schools may not be a place where all kids feel supported.
As the new school year starts up, Idaho districts are preparing to comply with the new law, but said the law likely won’t have an effect on schools, as teachers and school employees don’t actually administer hormones to kids, and most of them already had policies in place to do their best to get parental consent before giving kids any kind of medicine anyway.
The Boise School District, located in the state’s capitol, sent this message to parents: “While the Boise School District is not a health care provider in general, and does not diagnose medical conditions, we do provide services that are covered by the new law.”
Local news outlet KTVB reported that the Boise School district instructed staff to mostly operate the same as they have in the past.
“If a child requires non-life threatening medical care, or mental health treatment, and no parent is available to provide consent promptly, please use your best judgment and provide the care as needed.”
Another district located in the Boise suburb of Meridian said in a statement, “West Ada has been using the same consent to treat protocol for over 15 years. While we maintain our established practices, we are now operating with an increased level of awareness in light of recent legislation.”
