Idaho House committee deadlocks on bill punishing student protests

Originally posted on IdahoEdNews.org on March 4, 2026

By Ryan Suppe and Kevin Richert, IdahoEdNews:

BOISE, Idaho — The House Education Committee deadlocked Wednesday on a bill punishing student walkouts, effectively killing it for this legislative session. 

House Bill 794 would have required that public schools count protest walkouts as unexcused absences. A motion to advance the bill failed on a 7-7 tie, amid concerns that the bill would infringe on free speech rights and parents’ right to excuse their children from school. 

“This is an assault on parental rights,” said Rep. Chris Mathias, D-Boise. “And unless we can articulate a significant state interest in this restriction … this is not going to withstand constitutional scrutiny.”

Sponsoring Rep. Steve Tanner gave the committee printouts of news articles on recent student protests. Students from Boise to McCall to Idaho Falls have staged school walkouts in recent weeks to protest federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 

“It’s a waste of taxpayer money for students to leave their classrooms to (protest),” said Tanner, R-Nampa. “Students are free to protest at any other time.”

Rep. Clint Hostetler, who supported the bill, said walkouts are disruptive and students are being used as a “political tool.”

“When we have large groups of children walking out to protest, many times, probably, for what they don’t understand or what they’ve been told without critical thinking itself, there’s some big issues there,” said Hostetler, R-Twin Falls. 

A Boise junior high student and his mother testified against the bill during Wednesday’s public hearing.

Cruz Beazer from South Junior High School said he helped organize a recent walkout. It occurred in the last 20 minutes of the school day — during a class period designed for students to catch up on late work. “We made sure we were not in disruption of other classes,” Beazer said. 

Jenn Beazer said she excused her son from school to protest — and to testify Wednesday. “I have lots of opportunities to be proud of my son,” Jenn Beazer said, through tears. “I was very proud that day, and I’m very proud this day, too.”

Rep. Dan Garner, who opposed the bill, recalled a walkout during his school days. Garner, R-Clifton, said he protested a school policy that forbade girls from wearing Levi’s jeans. “We learned more about government and how it should work in the democracy of the United States in that afternoon than I did the whole year in government class,” he said.