Idaho Gov. Little signed library-restriction law defining 'homosexuality' as harmful to minors

On April 10, 2024, Idaho Governor Brad Little signed H0710, the "Children's School and Library Protection Act," enacting Idaho Code section 18-1517B. The law gives minors, parents, and the state a civil cause of action against public and school libraries that fail to relocate materials deemed "harmful to minors" to a section designated for adults only within 60 days of a written complaint, with a minimum of $250 in statutory damages plus actual damages and injunctive relief.

The "harmful to minors" standard the new cause of action enforces draws on Idaho's pre-existing statutory definition of "sexual conduct," which lists "any act of ... homosexuality" alongside masturbation and intercourse. The bill left that definitional language textually untouched but newly operationalized it against library collections. The ACLU of Idaho and publishers, schools, and libraries challenging the statute have documented that it disproportionately targets LGBTQ-themed books, and some libraries responded with restrictive access measures such as barring patrons under 30 without identification. The law took effect July 1, 2024.

Updates

2026-01-29 — Ninth Circuit revived the injunction bid, calling the law likely overbroad [4, 5]

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed a district court's denial of a preliminary injunction, holding that the law's "context" clause is facially overbroad and threatens to regulate a substantial amount of protected expression. The panel found the lower court had abused its discretion and remanded the case brought by a coalition of private schools, libraries, and their patrons.

2026-04-10 — Governor signed a clarifying amendment to the same statute [6, 7]

Idaho Governor Brad Little signed SB1448 (Session Law Chapter 343), amending Idaho Code section 18-1517B to specify that materials with "serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors aged 13 to 17" are not restricted under the harmful-to-minors standard, even if sexually explicit. Sponsor Sen. Todd Lakey said the amendment was "meant to clarify language about what's harmful to minors, what's constitutionally protected, and what's not considered harmful," introduced in response to the ongoing federal challenges to the law, including the Ninth Circuit's overbreadth ruling above. It took effect July 1, 2026.