When Benjamin Merrill, principal at Meridian Medical Arts Charter High School, heard about the bill that would require parental notification for instruction on human sexuality, he didn’t think it was a bad idea.

Parents should be informed about what their children learn, especially on controversial or sensitive topics, Merrill believes.

But then he read the bill’s broad definition of human sexuality and the required timelines for securing permission slips from parents. He knew the proposal would cause a massive increase in workload for him and his teachers.

Jump to six months after House Bill 239 became a law, and Meridian Medical Arts has sent out more than 750 permission slips using dozens of hours of staff time — all for zero parents to opt out of lessons.

Merrill admits they’re operating on the safe side, sending permission slips out for Romeo and Juliet and unique classes that deal with pharmacology.

Other traditional school districts have taken different approaches. The handful that EdNews reached out to said the new law hasn’t been a major change for their practices. In Coeur d’Alene, educators typically send permission slips only for content related to sexual conduct. Others, like Boise and Moscow, have left the management of permission slips to building leaders.

The law

House Bill 239, which became law in July, defines human sexuality as “sexual conduct, sexual pleasure, sexual intimacy, sexual abuse, sexual violence, eroticism, pornography, deviant sexual behavior, sexual attraction, sexual orientation, or any form of sexual identity, gender identity, gender ideology, or gender conversion.”

Teachers must notify parents of instruction on these topics two weeks before covering them and provide a summary of the content and materials for review. Parents must return an opt-in form allowing their students to attend the lesson within a week of instruction.

If a parent feels that they were not properly notified, they can alert the school’s board of trustees and seek up to $250 in statutory damages and other miscellaneous damages.

The Idaho Department of Education provided guidance to school districts on how to implement HB 249 and other related laws in August. The department noted that while Idaho does not require parental notification for sex education, it’s difficult to distinguish sex ed from human sexuality. Therefore, district should notify parents ahead of sex education classes.

Otherwise, the guidance does not indicate specific circumstances when districts should notify parents.

Timeline concerns

The unique nature of Meridian Medical Arts coursework is a huge part of why the law has been so time-consuming to implement, Merrill said.

By the time students graduate they receive two certifications in areas like EMT, medical assistant and pharmacy assistant. Between 65-70% of students graduate with an associates degree.

Students learn about the 200 most-prescribed medications, most of which have an impact on sexual health, he said.

The law’s timeline is the biggest issue for his staff, Merrill said, in part because it limits teachers’ flexibility. If a student asks a question about a medication that could tie into a patient’s sexual health, teachers can’t answer if there wasn’t a permission slip sent out, Merrill said.

The school board approved paying staff members extra for extra time creating and managing permission slips. In the fall semester, teachers spent a combined 46 hours preparing forms in 11 subjects.

Staff members then spent an additional 16 hours getting forms back.

In total, parents had 756 opportunities to opt out of instruction, but none did.

“We have almost created a situation where parents are numb,” Merrill said.

The school’s curriculum was already easily available to parents in multiple forms before the law passed, Merrill added. Parents can log on to Schoology Learning and see individual course materials by course section. They can also see week-by-week materials on Common Planner and all course syllabi posted online.

Merrill said he was surprised to hear from English and psychology teachers about how many permission slips they had to send out.

“I’m a rule follower,” Merrill said. “We err on the side of caution.”

Teachers send permission slips for instruction on Romeo and Juliet, for example, because the overarching theme is human sexuality. The district also sent out permission slips for To Kill a Mockingbird because the book deals with an accusation of rape.

“We’re trying to implement the law,” Merrill said. “We’re not one of the (districts or charters) that’s going to say, you know, we’re not going to do that.”

Merrill hopes legislators will consider adjusting the timeline requirement so schools can send one form per semester. Merrill plans to ask lawmakers about an adjustment this session. The change would give teachers flexibility in answering student questions or returning to areas students might struggle to grasp.

Traditional district approaches

Other school districts are not tracking their permission slips.

The Boise School District said permission slips are being handled at the building level.

The Coeur d’Alene School District said most families opted in to receiving reproductive health instruction.

• 97% of middle school families opted in (about 3% didn’t return a form).
• 90% of high school families opted in (about 10% didn’t return a form).
• Overall, the district had a 93% opt in rate.

Coeur d’Alene educators sent permission slips regarding puberty education but not for a discussion of anatomy and physiology and the reproductive system in family and consumer sciences classes.

The topic doesn’t require a permission slip because it is approached from the perspective of understanding the physiology and anatomy of the human body, not sexual conduct, Stefany Bales, executive director of communications, wrote in an email.

Shawn Tiegs, Moscow School District Superintendent, said leaders there also are not tracking the number of permission slips. After walking through the law with staff, teachers were instructed to consult with their principal if they had questions. If principals were unsure, they could bring it up to Tiegs, he said.

Opt-in permission was already being done for the Moscow district’s instruction on puberty, along with sex ed in the upper grades, Tiegs said.

There haven’t been any major issues or changes, he said.

“I’m a big believer in active consent on those topics,” Tiegs said. “I don’t think it has been as big of a change as what we maybe thought.”

Tell us what your district or charter is doing. Email Emma Epperly at emma@idahoednews.org