House passes bill to allow chaplains in schools

BOISE — The House on Thursday passed a bill to allow public schools to use chaplains.

Bill sponsor Rep. Dale Hawkins, R-Fernwood, said the bill’s purpose is in part to try and help address growing mental health concerns among students and teachers.

Members voted 52-18 with one absent to approve House Bill 410, which allows school districts to employ or accept a volunteer chaplain.

“It’s not mandatory, it just makes it available,” Hawkins said.

Rep. Britt Raybould, R-Rexburg, noted that the Legislature recently passed a bill that provided parental access to their children’s information, including from school counselors or other providers. She asked if the chaplains would fall under these disclosure requirements.

Hawkins said chaplains would be mandatory reporters if abuse or another crime was suspected, but he didn’t have an answer for the other types of the information that might be shared by students.

“I’m not an attorney, so I don’t know that I can answer you correctly,” Hawkins said.

A spokesperson for the Idaho Department of Education told the Idaho Press previously he was unaware of any school districts using chaplains.

“A legal analysis would need to be performed in order to determine the legality of a district doing so under current law,” department spokesperson Scott Graf said in an email.

The bill now goes to the Senate.

Guido covers Idaho politics for the Lewiston Tribune, Moscow-Pullman Daily News and Idaho Press of Nampa. She may be contacted at lguido@idahopress.com and can be found on Twitter @EyeOnBoiseGuido.

How they voted

Yes: Kyle Harris-R, Dale Hawkins-R, Brandon Mitchell-R, Heather Scott-R, Charlie Shepherd-R

No: Lori McCann-R