Log onto VALNet, the local Idaho interlibrary loan program. This is a great place to start. There are over 48 Idaho libraries, both school and public, connected on this book site. You can log onto any participating SCHOOL website and access VALNet. Type “Gender Queer, by Maia Kobabe” into the search bar. Look up “This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson.” Look up “Identical by Ellen Hopkins” (or any of her other 20 books from that series). Look up “Let’s Talk About It: A Teen’s Guide to Sex, Relationships and Being a Human by Erika Moen/Matthew Nolan.” THESE ARE DETRIMENTAL BOOKS FOR CHILDREN! Who is insisting this be in the hands of our kids?? These books are real. It’s hard to believe even when you see it with your own eyes. Then go look and see how many “awards” these pornographic “teen” books have received! Then you will know why it is VITAL that we remove the “blow job” book (Looking For Alaska¹ is one of the four challenged books at SRSD).

Further, kids have access to adult books, including adult pornography with explicit pictures, in just a couple of easy clicks through the Internet Archive resource². They may “borrow” books for an hour or more (essentially browse porn with no trace without actually checking out the book) for free. The site indicates that an email is needed to sign up which is already pretty simplistic but searches and books were viewed without registering as well. From the JSD #243 District Libraries page, scroll down to Quick Links and select “Internet Archives”. Scroll down and Click on the Teal Circle “Books to Borrow”. Books to Borrow : Free Texts : Free Download, Borrow and Streaming : Internet Archive. From there, you can search for “porn” or “Gender Queer” or some other general topic and you will be astounded at what you find. Search specifically for “Porn Art” by Chloe Des Lysses and you can easily access nude pictures depicting pornographic acts and more. The title “Gay Shame” has an explicit picture on the cover, as do many others. The possibilities are endless.

Not all these books are in the SRS physical library yet, but there are plenty to be concerned about. JSD #243 keeps insisting that there are “just a handful” of books, although the challenges are just getting started (only 4 so far) and the process is designed to deter challenges. Once some of the worst are through in this sham process – many will figure why continue to challenge others? There are many inappropriate books in this actual library that have not yet been challenged. As indicated by this this incomprehensive but informative list³ (see endnotes for a long list) of books that are IN Riggins Schools with some reviews / links to view pages, there is quite a bit more than a “handful”! Also, more books that could slip through here⁴. https://www.parentsliberty.com/just-a-few-of-many-books-in-idaho-schools-libraries/. Please use caution when viewing, especially with minors present.

So far, the books we’ve found in SRS are at an introductory level of pornographic and smut (hetero and homosexual intercourse, oral sex (female and male), pornographic films being watched and described.) In another School District nearby there are 12 of Ellen Hopkins books. They are available on the VALNEt system for checkout. They describe incest, pedophilia, explicit sex, etc. Below are some quick access links to selected smut pages. Again, please use caution.

http://booklooks.org/data/files/Book%20Looks%20Reports/C/crank.pdf

http://booklooks.org/data/files/Book%20Looks%20Reports/I/Identical.pdf

http://booklooks.org/data/files/Book%20Looks%20Reports/G/Glass.pdf

http://booklooks.org/data/files/Book%20Looks%20Reports/T/Triangles.pdf

http://booklooks.org/data/files/Book%20Looks%20Reports/T/Tilt.pdf

http://booklooks.org/data/files/Book%20Looks%20Reports/C/Collateral.pdf

http://booklooks.org/data/files/Book%20Looks%20Reports/S/Smoke.pdf

Another book in an Idaho County that is available, potentially through VALNet “Let’s Talk About It” by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan http://booklooks.org/data/files/Book%20Looks%20Reports/L/Lets%20Talk%20About%20It.pdf. We must keep these books out of our schools. It starts with introductory, then explicit incest/pedophilia, then straight to how to books like the link above!

If we start accepting this explicit material, we will have all the rest at our door. These books are possible to keep out, but as you will see when you dig into the Library Reconsideration Committee policies, the instructions to Committee members does not follow the law and books are very difficult to remove once they are in. Around 50 schools have adopted such policies – see which libraries are involved⁵ at www.idahofamily.org. Riggins is one of the first to adopt this controversial policy, despite community push-back. This is why there are still yellow signs around town. If you want to WATCH for yourself, instead of perusing the many links to read materials, below is a video where some of the worst materials are read into the record at the Post Falls Board meeting. Again, please use caution as many sexually explicit and obscene materials were read into the record.⁶

https://www.idahotribune.org/news/shocking-idaho-parents-confront-library-board-by-reading-pornographic-books-available-to-12-year-olds-this-is-disgusting

Originally over a year ago the feedback from some of the Board members was that the book found (at that time) – “Drama” by Raina Telgemeier in the elementary school was inappropriate but they felt they could not remove the books due to “1^st Amendment” considerations⁷“. The Board has now changed their story dramatically and indicated in a recent statement at the Feb. 21, 2023, Board meeting that they have found “no obscenity in these books” and “there is no obscenity in our schools.” In the Superintendent’s “Challenged Books Q & A⁸” she states that there is no pornographic books in the school library “though there are books with content that may be disturbing, “pornographic” or obscene in the opinion of some. However, any mention of sex or cursing/obscene language does not mean it is pornography.” She conveniently leaves out that the material may be considered obscene according to Idaho law! Further, she states: “That does not mean the books are available to every child.” Yet the school library has no rating system to ensure they aren’t, and no express informed consent is obtained, despite a sham permission slip policy which is described throughout this page.

We chose not to post excerpts from some of the books due to their obscene nature and the risk of possible child exposure, but some books are clearly pornographic – and that is not an exaggeration (SEE for yourself at www.booklooks.com.) Some concerning books have an 18 advisory on them, and cannot be purchased by youths, but could potentially slip through the cracks of this incomprehensive policy. Not all the books are found in Riggins schools YET but could easily come through. JSD #243 keeps insisting that there are “just a handful” of books, although the challenges are just getting started (only 4 so far) and the process is designed to deter challenges. Once some of the worst are through in this sham process – many will figure why continue to challenge others? There are many inappropriate books in this actual library that have not yet been challenged. As indicated by this this incomprehensive but informative list⁹ of books that are IN Riggins Schools with some reviews / links to view pages, there is quite a bit more than a “handful”!

Also, more books that could slip through here.¹⁰ https://www.parentsliberty.com/just-a-few-of-many-books-in-idaho-schools-libraries/.

Some of the titles containing the worst violations are included in the following informative link.¹¹ https://www.parentsliberty.com/just-a-few-of-many-books-in-idaho-schools-libraries/

Also, watch the Post Falls Board Meeting which was very informative. https://www.idahotribune.org/news/shocking-idaho-parents-confront-library-board-by-reading-pornographic-books-available-to-12-year-olds-this-is-disgusting

Please use caution, especially with minors present, with all of these resources, as many sexually explicit and obscene materials are shown or read into the record.

There are many scientific, and psychological studies to support the fact that this material is harmful and detrimental to youth, which is why it is illegal. For instance, children under the age of puberty lack certain chemicals and neurotransmitters in the brain to be able to properly react to trauma. It can inhibit their fear / safety signals – for example, the ability to differentiate threatening and safe cues, making them more vulnerable. It can also contribute to PTSD. They can become frozen in their limbic system, and it can cause long-lasting neurobiological impact.¹² Their cognitive state at that age also limits their ability to fully understand sexualized information to the degree described in many of these books. Many scientific studies exist on the impact of pornography on children. You will find many informative links and resources about the detriments of obscene materials on youths on this page.¹³ Please utilize them!

The Board, along with a handful of other schools in the nation, under duress from partisan politics and fear of lawsuits, have taken to adopting the American Library Association’s suggested “guidelines” with respect to these book policies to further the “diversity” agenda. Many schools are still contemplating the best action, but this school chose to dive right in with rarely any modifications, despite community push-back. We all have the right to free speech. We have the right to say or pen anything we want! But as a private citizen it is a crime for me to write sexual obscenities and show them to anyone under 18. Why then are we defending authors that feel compelled to write about incest, pedophilia, oral, anal, hetero, homo, trans, kink, erotica, masturbation, sex work, etc. and put these books in the Young Adult, Teen, or Adolescent section?!? If you want to read pornography, then you go right ahead. But why does your freedom supersede mine? On the JSD243 website it says, “no individual has the right to restrict materials for students other than his/her own children.” WHY THEN, does an individual have the right to un-restrict and make materials available for students other than his/her own children? How is this freedom?

Points to note: First, the ALA is not a recognized authority, but rather a “trusted inter-agency” resource of School Boards. Their guidelines are not a mandate or a law, and in fact, directly violate¹⁴ Idaho law and fail to adhere to¹⁵ “the Miller Test” standard. The worst thing is that there is no reason these suggested guidelines cannot be custom modified to suit the community WHILE supporting the first amendment, celebrating diversity AND adhering to Idaho law. Some things are / will be hammered out in Idaho legislation (see HB 314¹⁶), but the Board is essentially participating in arbitrary and amateur lawmaking by furthering this agenda, while utilizing a shaky exemption “from criminal prosecution” only for individuals in education / school libraries. This does not necessarily fully protect teachers or other staff and does not eliminate the risk of being sued at all. In fact, HB 314 seeks to increase civil penalties, and the law about obscenity is clear on this matter (see Endnote #16 for full legal references). I.C. §18-1513 and I.C. §18-1514 – clearly state and define that dissemination of “material harmful to minors¹⁷” is restrained because “it is found that such materials and performances are a contributing factor to crime, to juvenile crime, and also a basic factor in impairing the ethical and moral development of our youth.” I.C. §18-1517¹⁸ is to protect librarians from inadvertent oversights, and it is foolhardy to abandon the protections of the Idaho Attorney General by going against Idaho law.

The SRSB website states that “The Board has a constitutional obligation to not remove materials simply because it disagrees with subject matter.” With this statement it is overlooking what Idaho law states about obscenity being set out as subject matter inappropriate for children, and therefore not protected by the first amendment. Many times, throughout their statement, purportedly with multiple supreme court case cites, SRSB essentially states that school boards cannot remove books simply because they do not approve of their content, when their own case law cites indicate that board decisions were actually not upheld because “the school board removed the book because they did not approve of its content, and not because it was vulgar or educationally unsuitable.” Cleary, if a book is found to be vulgar or educationally unsuitable it would be a valid reason for removal.

Kids school laptops, and even the FCC have safeguards in place to protect kids from obscenity. For that matter, public libraries have a rating system, and are discerning so as not to offer ALL materials available to them – such as Playboy magazine! Discernment, and being astute with selection of materials received or purchased with TAXPAYER money in no way amounts to censorship. Safeguards are not a violation of any right.

While it may be true that porn is “everywhere” nowadays, many families have worked hard to successfully keep their children from being indoctrinated with this filth and regularly monitor what they are consuming as well as actively speak with them about it. There is a huge difference between a kid stumbling onto pornography on his own! He gets a bad feeling. He knows it’s wrong and knows he shouldn’t have it. But if it’s handed to him at school with a smile and stamp of approval, “This is a great book! It changed my life. It’s an award winner,” then what else is he supposed to think besides, “It’s okay. It’s good for me.”

Just because it is everywhere doesn’t mean it should be offered in school! Alcohol is legal but we don’t offer it in school. Drugs are available everywhere, but we would not be okay with a teacher giving them to our kids. It’s illegal! Porn, like alcohol, is legal for ADULTS, yet is not made available even in public libraries! It has no place in schools, especially as it is prohibited by Idaho law. If a parent were to disseminate obscene materials to children, they could be arrested, so why should a school official be allowed to?

It is a violation of these parents’ rights to undo all their hard work and allow an unsafe environment for their kids. Telling them to “Just leave if you don’t like it” (as happened to one parent who now homeschools their child) does not encompass the rights of all, and severely impact our tax-payer base that supports the school, and consequently our economy. It is foolhardy to let personal judgments of others and injured pride be the reason for all this unrest and potential legal ramifications for the school, and vis a vis the community. Parents can protect their kids while they are under their own care. We need to be able to trust that while they are in school, they are safe.

The policy enacted by SRSD has many deficiencies that would allow an obscene book to fall through the cracks. Especially based on the Board’s own words that it has an obligation to “not remove materials,”¹⁹ The commonly referred to “policy” is the Library Reconsideration Committee²⁰ policy which advocates a lack of transparency, a conflict of interest in the selection of the Library Reconsideration Committee members, fails to properly instruct the committee on proper deliberations under the law, and, among other things, is over-burdensome on parents, and even school staff. The first protection is at registration. In a packet of about 30 sheets to sign, you are handed a sheet that gives complete library access to your kid, or restricted access. How is it restricted? Another protection in place is for the parents to give a list of “no read” books to the administration. So….what books are you going to put on the list? How would you even know about “Looking for Alaska” if someone hadn’t found it on a banned list and looked it up on our school website? How do you know what books are in our library with pornographic content? The next protection in place is to challenge a book that you find “offensive.” So far, only 4 books have been challenged. These books have been blasted all over Facebook, but in case you didn’t see it, they describe oral sex, pornographic movies, teen suicide, homosexual intercourse, teen pregnancy, drug use, and CRT. These books have been retained on our school shelves.

The 4 challenged books (challenged in July and Aug 2022) and challenge review docs from JSD243 website:

1. Looking for Alaska, John Green https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uQxUrAT82XEkaHv-P-argXBnctdTQdH6Orn5glCa1PE/edit

2. This One Summer, Mariko Tomaki https://docs.google.com/document/d/1d8N7JH5pTaygKLhnnZFYHtpNl9HveVsCGX1v4BNrL_M/edit

3.We are Okay, Nina Lacour https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CGB6is9afQuTpnkS-T9lA5R9DS50VbPCJzsh5Tzh_3Y/edit

4. Dear Martin, Nic Stone https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hNe6PhhUsr7TC6Pv4P-HMUYFpNgNT98H5oW5t9D1g9o/edit

A committee of 7 voted on these books, which included the librarian responsible for purchasing such materials and the Superintendent. The vote was 1 against 6 – a vote to retain them. Basically, four school staff – and two community members voted to keep the books with restrictions. The numbers were slanted to start with. Oh. AND no such restrictions exist in the current library remember? How is this a protection? The guideline for our library policy was taken almost word for word from American Library Association website, which is not a recognized legal authority. They also have a guide on that same website instructing librarians never to remove any books. The Committee is also instructed that the First Amendment is the primary consideration. Not Idaho Law.

The Board claims it addresses any concerns with its permission form that they ask parents to fill out at the beginning of the school year. With this permission form²¹ – parents are not given examples of the obscene materials that can be found in libraries, but rather a disclaimer about “unwanted subject matter” – being told that they may give the teacher a list of books they do not want their child to check out. How many parents have such a comprehensive list?!? Did you know there are as many as 10,000²² books in this library (not to mention any interagency borrowing system) that each parent would need to review? That is overly burdensome on parents when a simple removal or restriction of explicit books could fix the problem. Parents are not even warned that such objectional material is even a risk for their kids! Without EXPRESS consent to the actual explicit and harmful materials – rather than a general disclaimer, legal consent is not achieved! This ALSO puts the board at risk of lawsuit.

Having a book challenge review system is simply placating and unenforceable with the current slanted policies, when parents KNOW the school will not remove any books. Some of the worst have already made it through the review committee and were retained. Not to mention, even public libraries have rating systems. Most parents are unaware of this fleecing!

To this date, the school library STILL has not implemented a proper rating system of any kind, despite recommendations from the committee that such books should be restricted on some levels.

Multiple letters have been sent to the Superintendent of SRSD so they should now be aware (assuming they weren’t before) that this is not just a small group. The nastiness at Board meetings and bullying behavior in the community have long since deterred many from participating in meetings or speaking out publicly but we are here! There is a growing community of millions nationwide fighting against this issue. This is not simply a “local” problem or an issue with this particular School Board, although we need to hold Boards accountable for not standing with Idaho Law and protecting children. See recent news release “Exposing the Book Ban Hoax²³” from Governor DeSantis in Florida. https://fb.watch/jn_lWh3jqH/?mibextid=NnVzG8. These battles are being fought nationwide!

The Superintendent of SRSD wrote in a “Letter to Stakeholders²⁴” to on Jan. 9, 2023, that those in opposition were just a small group that solicited help from “an extremist group” organization called MassResistance, calling on Stakeholders to gather at the next meeting. At the Jan 23 Board meeting, after this the invitation, the meeting was packed with chanting “stakeholders” intent on shutting down and silencing any opposition. Many in opposition did not attend as they felt they would be sitting ducks. The Board looked upon this as a victory of shutting down the opposition, as evident by their “time to move on” article in the Idaho Free Press the following week²⁵. “We had a large crowd, and most everyone was very supportive of this district and teachers and staff and what we do for the kids,” she said. “It was good to see so many people coming together.” It truth, it was an appalling display by community supporters who booed the few in opposition who did show up, further shutting down communication and chanting “Savage Pride”. Anyone who wanted to speak that day was either heckled into silence or lost their nerve in the face of the bullying to stand up and speak. This is why it has come to be necessary to try through other means, like the signs and this webpage. It’s not done and it’s not just a small group. We aren’t going away.

First, concerned citizens have not formed a chapter of this organization, nor were they “gathering their masses” for any kind of hate related action. One concerned taxpayer reached out for help when concerned parents were at their wits end facing manipulative run-around, untruths and attempts to shut down communications and avoid responding to emails and records requests. They learned a lot and help was obtained getting the records they had been attempting to get. The “Stakeholder” call to arms letter was not only slanderous to MassResistance, but also to the disenfranchised people that have been trying to work with the Board for over a year (with little results).

Second, Idaho Mass Resistance is a national pro-family activist organization – not an extremist group, as Wikipedia tries to narrate²⁶. They have been working with many communities in Idaho and other states on multiple school issues. They have been praised for their family advocacy on Fox news in past, and recent attempts to discredit them have been retracted. https://www.massresistance.org/docs/gen4/23a/Fox-News-removes-its-attack-on-MR/index.html For about a dozen years starting in the late 1990s, MassResistance’s Brian Camenker and others appeared on various Fox news shows to discuss the LGBT agenda in the schools, including: Hannity and Colmes, Fox and Friends, The O’Reilly Factor, America’s Newsroom with Megyn Kelly, and others. MassResistance was, in fact, the first pro-family organization to expose the looming transgender assault on children starting in 2007 on their radio show.

The fact is, this is not a small group or radicals as many would want you to believe – it is in fact hundreds of citizens, made up of your family, friends, neighbors, business owners, legal professionals, and blue-collar workers that make up your community and pay the bills with their taxes also! The signs were not made by “everyone” but the unrest will continue until obscenity is out of our schools. These citizens have tried to work with the School policies – which is why so few books have yet been challenged. Parents were waiting for the policy and procedures to play out and see if any resolution could be had. It was not. They have not followed anyone else’s agenda. They are just a group of people that are fed up with sexual material being made available to minors in schools!

This prevailing rumor is yet another attempt to silence the opposition by casting them in the light as a small group of radicals intent on taking down the school – or being against public school in general. While there may be quite a few who are fed up with the school board, that is not the intent of this opposition to the book policy. It is about protecting children. Incidentally, the more nastiness people encounter from the Board, the more the call for new board members. If you value your Board members and your superintendent, stand with us to protect them from the potential fall-out of this mess by calling for professionalism and decorum at meetings, such as asking them to reign in nastiness so that it no longer dominates at public meetings, crippling any attempts – whether advised by their attorney or not, to silence the opposition with unfair or subversive practices or policy changes and twisting of policy, as well as demanding that they fully comply with Idaho law and fashion a policy that is fair to the entire community.

This vicious gossip is just one of many malicious attempts to discredit those in opposition. Some have accused certain fellow citizens of being perverts, child molesters, bad parents, uninvolved parents, book burners, school or community haters, or religious “nutjobs” for making a stand. Many of these same citizens have been accosted on the street, or when obtaining professional and public service from “school supporters”. They have been bullied in person and on social media, family members have been harassed, people have been chanted down or run out of school board meetings, chastised in church, some have had their jobs threatened, and some businesses have been boycotted based on rumors. This mudslinging at its finest and woke mob behavior and completely unfounded. Ask for proof yourself instead of buying into this nastiness that is bringing our great community down. Better yet, dig into this and see that is a nation-wide issue brought forth by many and varied people. Attacking people’s character and engaging in such behavior is divisive, slanderous, unfair and unproductive. Be better. I see a lot of “Be the Love” rhetoric on Facebook, as well as the “I love Riggins” signs. Let’s actually embody that love and practice the golden rule. Besides, none of these rumor attempts changes the facts one iota about the materials in the school. It is just an attempt to get you – the citizens – off the trail of the truth and tangled up in drama to discredit the opposition and wear you out on the issue. Don’t play along!

First, while the Bible may occasionally reference historical “sinful” behavior that may be uncomfortable to hear, it does not go into explicit detail or glorify behavior detrimental to youth and community, but rather offers solutions, teaches moral values for the good of all, and offers parables of wisdom. Further, the bible would pass the Miller test as it has serious historical, artistic, and literary value, at a minimum.

This agenda isn’t freedom!” Here’s an example of what this would look like if the shoe was on the other foot. If every single time you watched a commercial, logged on to buy books, scrolled through movies to rent, or picked up a magazine, if every single time you watched news, a Puritan man was on there saying, “Sex is bad!” a book was titled “You are a sinner!” the movie was called “Fear the Lord!” the newscaster was saying “Gay people are going to hell!” a magazine featured a story called, “Satan is inside of every sinner”. If you saw this every single time you were engaging in media of any sort, that would not be freedom! That would be a tyrannical takeover of religious freedom, i.e. fascism. We are experiencing this right now, but on the other extreme! Please notice that our 90’s “inclusion” society has moved into an “accept it or you’re wrong” society. This is a tyrannical takeover of relativism, on a major scale! This is why we fight for the very nature of our children to be who they were created to be, without the world constantly drowning them with confusing messages that they might be someone else inside. We do not have to believe this, just as we would not have to believe a red-faced Puritan spouting that sex is wrong! These are EXTREME religious indoctrinating views. These are small minorities that demand our approval and demand that we teach these things to our kids. That is not freedom.

Removing books about how to perform oral sex from the library is not forcing your child in any direction at all. You can buy books to support your child in the way you want him to grow. But to put these books in our library is FORCING parents to allow indoctrination of their kids and forcing a young person that reads them to feel and think a different way about sexuality, which is not only inappropriate, and illegal, but should not be the goal of a school library to indoctrinate in any manner. Reading these materials does change people. That is why the State has made it illegal to disseminate to youths. Pedophiles that seek to groom children know this, so why are out schools ignoring this and pressing forward with this agenda? Schools should not participate in making children more susceptible to pedophiles.

So it’s ok to violate the rights of parents and risk exposure to kids because you think / hope they won’t even read it? Say that back to yourself and see if it still sounds like a valid argument.

While some sexually explicit materials may have a trans-gender theme, that is not the primary concern of most. Parents do not want their children exposed to ANY sexualized material that is considered obscenity under the law. It is not a political agenda or a special interest alliance – it is about protecting children. Politics – of either variety – and opinions have no place in public policy!

Currently, under Idaho law, anyone who disseminates obscene material to minors is criminally liable (See I.C. §18-1513). There is a quasi-exemption for librarians (I.C. §18-1517), but it is not meant to VOID the protections for minors or lift the restraints under the law. The law states that “such materials and performances are a contributing factor to crime, to juvenile crime, and also a basic factor in impairing the ethical and moral development of our youth”. No librarian or other educator should be able to utilize a defense from criminal prosecution, meant to protect against inadvertent references contained in library materials to disseminate materials that seek to expose children incrementally and gradually to sexuality. This is what pedophile groomers do, to make children more susceptible to predators. We are not seeking to defund libraries, just asking educators and librarians to exercise discernment, and be astute with taxpayer funds. IT’S NOT CENSORSHIP TO BE DISCERNING.

With modification of current policy there is no reason why you cannot have a diverse selection of materials without violating the rights of others. Even public libraries do not offer ALL books available for purchase, and certainly not pornographic materials, such as Playboy. Further, if the appropriateness of any materials are questionable, public libraries offer a rating system to protects kids and the rights of parents. Salmon River School library does not offer a rating system the same way a public library does and can be accessed by junior high kids as young as 11 or 12, in some instances – even younger – if a child rides the hot lunch bus up and frequents the library on their lunch break. Ask yourself – “Why would anyone be opposed or feel threatened by protective modifications or ratings?”

Any good attorney will tell you that there is no way to mitigate all risks, especially in such new and unchartered territory as is our current political climate. School Boards can and must rely on State Law as their guidance. If federal law were to contradict state law, THAT would be an important consideration, but it currently does not. In fact, it upholds and supports Idaho law. So why are school boards electing to adopt a “diversity agenda” in the name of free speech? If they were concerned about legitimate litigation, wouldn’t the safer route be to follow the clear guidelines of the state and rely on the protection of the State Attorney General? It normally would, unless they were primarily concerned with extreme leftist special interest groups creating frivolous lawsuits that will drag on for years at the federal level…. Boards may fear such actions as they can be expensive and burdensome – especially to small schools. So, is caving in to this pressure the answer?!?

Boards are supposed to uphold Idaho law, make protective decisions about kids’ health and safety, as well as engage in prudent taxpayer spending. Something to consider – Many insurance policies will not cover claims if the Board policies do not adhere to state and federal laws. It may be an even bigger risk NOT to follow state law – where Idaho law clearly delineates what is considered “harmful to minors”. One cannot unequivocally claim that they were “in the clear” from liability simply because of an affirmative defense to CRIMINAL PROSECUTION – especially where legislation to strengthen and add penalties for such behavior is being contemplated. Why not rely on the current law, instead of relying on the one shaky exemption? Could it be that they fear and have more pressure from leftist mobs than the right? Should Boards be engaging in amateur lawmaking and making such arbitrary decisions about our children? In objecting to these materials, parent / citizens are also advocating for Board protection. Boards need to institute a foundational authority based on Idaho law that will bring them the protection of the State Attorney General. This makes for a healthier school environment, both physically and financially, a better community and a healthier economy with a strong public school system – not one where the population and funding support is dwindling, which will negatively impact our small community. Boards that claim to be “leaving it to be hammered out in the law” as if the law is ambiguous, is a cop-out. The law is already clear. House Bills and Senate Bills only seek to tighten the restrictions for this exact kind of misuse of the exemption.

THIS IS WHY IT IS SO IMPORTANT TO FOLLOW IDAHO LAW!