Idaho
Idaho governor signs bill to force teachers, doctors to out transgender minors to their parents – East Idaho News
BOISE (Idaho Capital Sun) — Idaho Gov. Brad Little on Friday signed into law a bill to require teachers and doctors to out transgender minors to their parents, or face lawsuits.
House Bill 822 requires schools, health care providers and child care providers to notify parents within three days after the entities receive “any request by the minor student to participate in or facilitate the social transition of the minor student.”
That would include: Using a different name than their legal name, including a nickname; using pronouns or titles that don’t align with their sex assigned at birth; using restrooms, locker rooms, changing rooms, or overnight lodging that are meant to be used by another sex; and playing on a sports team of another sex.
Entities would be banned from assisting a minor’s social transition efforts without written consent from their parent. The attorney general could seek up to $100,000 in civil fines for entities that violate the bill.
The law takes effect July 1.
The bill passed the Republican supermajority-controlled Legislature widely, with support from all but three Republican lawmakers who were present for the votes. The bill was largely opposed by the Legislature’s 15 Democrats. Boise Democratic Rep. Brooke Green said she accidentally voted in favor of the bill last week.
Major medical groups say gender-affirming care is medically necessary and safe. The American Medical Association last month reiterated that gender-affirming care is “medically necessary.” Some European nations are tightening standards for gender affirming-care.
Nine protestors who opposed anti-trans bills were arrested on trespassing charges last week in the Idaho governor’s office at the Capitol in Boise after refusing to leave once the office closed.
The bill builds on a wave of anti-LGBTQ+ bills the Legislature and the governor have approved in recent years.
Last week, on Transgender Day of Visibility, Little signed into law two anti-LGBTQ+ bills. In the morning, the city of Boise removed an LGBTQ+ pride flag — because the governor signed an expanded flag ban law. In the afternoon, just as people rallied on the Capitol steps for Trans Day of Visibility, Little signed a bill that advocates describe as the most extreme transgender bathroom ban in the nation. The bill criminalizes transgender people using bathrooms that align with their gender identity, including in private businesses.
House Bill 822, focused on minors’ social transition, was brought by Rep. Bruce Skaug. The Nampa Republican lawmaker led efforts to criminalize gender-affirming care for all minors in Idaho and expand the ban to taxpayer funds, which prevented Medicaid from covering gender-affirming care and prompted an eastern Idaho clinic to halt offering gender-affirming care.
In 2020, Idaho became the first state to ban transgender girls and women from competing on sports teams that align with their gender identity.
Bill closes loophole in law that banned gender-affirming care for minors, lawmaker says
In the Senate’s debate, Coeur d’Alene Republican Sen. Ben Toews, who cosponsored the bill, said the bill closes a loophole for social transitions in the state’s law that outlaws gender affirming care for minors.
“A loophole was left in the law, and it did not mention social transitions, the process by which vulnerable children are led into the pipeline,” Toews said. “This bill is before us today to close that loophole. This legislation upholds parental rights through transparency.”
Sen. James Ruchti, a Pocatello Democrat, recounted a story — featured in his local newspaper, the Idaho State Journal — about a couple who was arrested after allegedly severely beating a 7-year-old girl.
“When we write these statutes, we’re writing them for all families,” Ruchti told senators. “And so when nurses, when doctors, when educators tell us ‘We need a little room to be able to handle these situations carefully … it means that we have to possibly go to a family like this and tell them something that that family may not be in a great place to hear.’”
Dr. Jessica Rolynn, a doctor who practices gender-affirming care in eastern Idaho, told the Idaho Capital Sun that the bill “removes the professional judgement that allows clinicians and educators to keep children safe.”
“Not every home is safe. Some youth face rejection, emotional harm, or even homelessness when sensitive information is revealed without careful planning,” Rolynn said. “This bill contains no mechanism for safety assessment and no allowance for clinical discretion.”
Idaho Capital Sun is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Idaho Capital Sun maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Christina Lords for questions: info@idahocapitalsun.com.
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Idaho business owners have less than a month to decide how to comply with a new state law criminally banning trans people from using restrooms that align with their gender identity.
The law is set to take effect July 1, which would make it a misdemeanor for the first offense and a felony for subsequent offenses within five years.
It’s currently being challenged in federal court by the ACLU of Idaho.
On Tuesday, a panel sponsored by Idaho Employment Lawyers encouraged companies to prepare now as if the law will remain in effect as litigation continues.
Cody Earl, a lawyer for St. Luke’s Health System who spoke on the panel in his personal capacity, said there are several paths businesses can take.
Converting all bathrooms into single-use, gender-neutral facilities is one option, though it could be costly for larger businesses. Earl said companies could take other steps to make the transition more affordable.
“Even if it is a gender-specific restroom, [adding signage] that indicates where the closest gender-neutral restroom is so you could at least show that you’re giving employees an option or a choice,” he said.
Simply adding locks and only allowing one person at a time to a multi-stall bathroom is another choice, though panelists said that could be problematic for businesses with large amounts of customers, like restaurants and bars.
Idaho Employment Lawyers owner Pam Howland said companies also need to consider how this will affect their staff.
“This could definitely create some culture issues,” said Howland. “Do you have the policies you need to ensure your expectations as an employer of respect and civility are being followed? Possibly code of conduct provisions related to that? How about privacy?”
Those policies could include limiting or outright banning recording at the workplace.
Another legal wrinkle to complying with the law, the panel said, is that precedent in both the U.S. Supreme Court and 9th Circuit Court of Appeals prohibit discrimination based on someone’s gender identity.
Gender dysphoria, a mental health designation that causes severe distress to someone when their sex doesn’t align with their gender identity, has been considered a protected condition under the Americans with Disabilities Act in certain cases.
Republican state lawmakers argued earlier this year that Idaho needs to take this first-in-the-nation step to protect women and girls when they use the restroom in private businesses.
A 2025 study out of UCLA hasn’t found any increased risk to safety by allowing transgender people to use restrooms aligning with their gender identity.
A federal court in Boise will hear arguments over whether to approve or reject a preliminary injunction on June 5.
Copyright 2026 Boise State Public Radio
Remember that 250 years ago, nobody had ever heard of Idaho, and the name was mostly made up by an entrepreneur who impressed the federal government with an exaggeration about his knowledge of indigenous culture. But a large number of people who live in the state can trace ancestry to the colonial era, and I believe most Americans still have a love of country, even if some polls give an indication they may not quite know how to express it.
I Was at the Heart of the Bicentennial
Looking back 50 years, I was in Washington, D.C. at the beginning of July. Washington also didn’t exist in 1776. My memory is that its reputation as a hot, sticky swamp was well earned. I traveled there with a history club from school. On a rattling old yellow bus. The city was packed, and many of the people on the streets were foreign tourists. It told me that despite the anti-Americanism common on streets elsewhere around the world, we were still fascinating others.
We’re Still One Nation
1976 was a unifying experience and followed a very turbulent previous 15 years. Some people fear the 250th jubilee won’t bring us together. Look, those rent-a-mobs you see on TV and online are actually a small fraction of America. Picnics in the park don’t make news. Riots and tear gas get the attention of newsrooms. There are still far more picnics.
The recent Memorial Day commemorations were reverential. Independence Day 2026 is going to be a party. The media focus will be on President Trump and a festival far away. Meanwhile, across Idaho, grills will be fired up, and we’ll be proud to be Americans.
Here Are Rappers Who Are Still Supporting Donald Trump
It’s one of the most legendary sights anywhere in the State of Idaho! The Perrine Bridge, in Twin Falls, Idaho!
If you have ever driven through Twin Falls, odds are that you have crossed it and maybe didn’t know its significance. The bridge is 1,500 feet long and it offers amazing views for drivers and pedestrians alike. That said, you can hike anywhere along the canyon and the bridge itself, from afar, is a sight!
Over the years, it has become a popular destination for base jumping! There’s nothing illegal about it, even Visit Idaho brags about its appeal for the adventure enthusiasts!
One base jumper that has made a real name for himself online for jumping the Perrine Bridge has taken his viral hobby to a new level–this time, but having a ‘colorful creature’ join him!
Take a look at these amazing shots captured as this Idahoan did the craziest leap imaginable!
Flying Unicorn? Only in Idaho!
Take a look at the journey this inflatable unicorn and one brave Idahoan took over the weekend
Gallery Credit: Credit: Mateo, 103.5 KISS FM
Do you think you could do something like this?
One can find dozens and dozens of videos of base jumping from the bridge online but this one might just be the most unique and the most Idaho of them all.
We suppose if base jumping is such a normal activity for this guy, there are only so many ways to ‘spice it up’. He certainly found one!
You can watch this brave bridge-jumper and his unicorn friend take a leap of faith, below! Video posted by Jonathan Cox and DZONE Skydiving!
Man Jumping Off Perrine Memorial Bridge
He has done it over 160 times.
Gainer Off The Perrine Bridge
Gallery Credit: Shannon Buccola
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