Sean Dolan
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (IdahoEdNews) — Teachers in Bonneville School District will soon be required to sign a form certifying that they are either a biological male or female.
District leaders say the new requirement will ensure compliance with state law governing public school bathroom usage. Multi-occupancy school restrooms must be designated for either males or females and only members of those biological sexes are allowed to enter, as required under Senate Bill 1100, passed in 2023.
“As a public school district, we have a responsibility to comply with Idaho law, regardless of our individual perspectives about it,” Superintendent Scott Woolstenhulme wrote in a letter to employees on Thursday.
Woolstenhulme asked the school board to establish a “consistent process for employee verification.”
Trustees on Wednesday night approved a resolution(opens in new tab) directing the superintendent to create a form that district employees must sign certifying their biological sex, as defined in Idaho code:
“Male” means an individual who has, had, will have, or but for developmental or genetic anomaly or historical accident, would have the reproductive system that at some point produces, transports, and utilizes sperm for fertilization.
“Female” means an individual who has, had, or will have, or but for developmental or genetic anomaly or historical accident, would have the reproductive system that at some point produces, transports, and utilizes eggs for fertilization.
Idaho law — as established through 2024’s House Bill 421 — also declares that in human beings there are only two sexes, male and female. It was sponsored by Rep. Julianne Young, R-Blackfoot, and Rep. Bruce Skaug, R-Nampa.
“An individual’s sex can be observed or clinically verified at or before birth; Rare disorders of sexual development are not exceptions to the binary nature of sex; In no case is an individual’s sex determined by stipulation or self identification,” Idaho law states.
Scott Woolstenhulme, superintendent of the Bonneville School District
In Woolstenhulme’s letter, he said employees provided information during the hiring process “without necessarily being asked to verify that it aligns with these specific statutory definitions.”
“That creates a practical challenge for the district,” he wrote. “We are responsible for following state law, but we cannot make assumptions about an employee’s biological sex based on names, appearance, or other personal characteristics.”
The most “appropriate and respectful” approach, he wrote, is to ask employees to verify their own information using the definitions in Idaho law.
The draft form attached to the resolution indicates that the forms will be individualized for each employee and include the “biological sex” currently recorded by the district. The employee would then have to indicate if that sex is accurate. If not, they would check a box for male or female.
“Human Resources will contact employees who report an inaccurate designation to clarify the information and discuss next steps,” the draft form states. “These communications will be handled confidentially in accordance with applicable law.”
The form then includes a box to indicate if an employee would like HR to contact them.
By signing the form, the employees have to acknowledge that they understand they can only use restrooms and changing facilities that correspond with their biological sex.
“Employees who have questions about their individual circumstances or need to discuss possible accommodations can contact our Human Resources confidentially,” Board Clerk Samantha Williams told EdNews.
District could review medical documentation
According to the resolution, the district will keep certifications, discrepancies and accommodation requests as confidential personnel records. That includes medical records.
“Medical documentation, when obtained, shall be maintained separately from ordinary personnel records to the extent required by law. Access shall be limited to personnel with a legitimate administrative need to know,” the resolution states.
Law has brought legal challenges
The Boise School District recently settled a lawsuit over Senate Bill 1100.
As EdNews reported last month, the district’s insurer paid $34,000 to a former student who encountered a transgender classmate in the girls’ bathroom at Boise High School. She argued that the district violated SB 1100.
In May, Attorney General Raúl Labrador announced that plaintiffs had dropped a lawsuit against SB 1100.
A Boise High student club called the Sexuality and Gender Alliance challenged the law, arguing that it would “categorically exclude every transgender student across Idaho from every school restroom and other sex-separated facility matching their gender identity.”
In his press release announcing the end of the legal challenge, Labrador stated that he defended Idaho’s right to “protect students’ privacy in bathrooms and locker rooms.”
Labrador’s announcement left out the fact that one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, 16-year-old May Pollard, died by suicide in January. Her parents spoke to NBC News in July.
“There is a huge amount of animosity, every single day, thrown at trans kids,” Joseph Pollard told NBC.
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