Idaho Gov. Little signed HB 352 banning K-12 classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity

On March 31, 2025, Idaho Governor Brad Little signed House Bill 352 into law as Session Law Chapter 223, amending Idaho Code 33-6001. The measure adds a provision barring public-school classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity from kindergarten through grade 12, subject to an "age-appropriate/developmentally appropriate" carve-out tied to state standards. Alongside the instructional restriction, the law expands a set of parental-rights provisions, including access to student records, the ability to opt a child out, notification requirements, and a private cause of action allowing parents to sue over violations.

The bill cleared the Idaho House 58-11 on March 7, 2025, and the Senate 29-6 on March 25, 2025, before reaching the governor. Its classroom-instruction provision took effect July 1, 2025. The legislation was carried through committee and the floor by Idaho legislators and enacted by the 68th Idaho Legislature.

House Bill 352 is one of several measures affecting LGBTQ+ Idahoans considered in the state's 2025 legislative session. By singling out sexual orientation and gender identity for exclusion from public instruction — and attaching a right to sue over the restriction — the law uses state authority to disadvantage a specific group in the operation of public schools.

Updates

2025-10-16 — Report found most Idaho school districts had not complied with the law's policy deadline [4]

A report by the Idaho Family Policy Center found that 66 of Idaho's 108 school districts, about 61%, had not adopted the policies HB 352 required by its July 1, 2025 deadline. The bill's sponsor said noncompliant districts "need to be penalized financially," and the report's authors said they planned to introduce follow-up legislation addressing the noncompliance.