This bill would ban mask mandates in Idaho schools. Here’s how the House voted on it
Idaho schools would be prohibited from mandating masks to prevent or slow the spread of a contagious disease under a bill that cleared the House on Monday.
House Bill 631, sponsored by Rep. Karey Hanks, a St. Anthony Republican, says any political subdivision of Idaho — including state and local government agencies and public schools — can recommend masks but not mandate them.
The Idaho House approved the bill in a 46-24 vote. Much of Monday’s debate surrounded schools. Bill supporters argued face coverings have been harmful to students.
“We still have areas in Idaho where our children, our students are required to wear masks,” Hanks said. “There are some serious issues with ... mask mandates and our requirements for our children.”
Rep. Gayann DeMordaunt, an Eagle Republican, said requiring children to wear masks leads to social isolation and speech challenges with “significant” and “long-lasting” impact.
Two children in Idaho have died of COVID-19, according to the Department of Health and Welfare. Health experts have also tracked other long-lasting complications in kids who contracted COVID-19 — such as Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children, a rare illness that causes inflammation in the organs and can be fatal.
Rep. Steve Berch, a Boise Democrat, noted that he and DeMordaunt both represent areas within the West Ada School District’s boundaries. The district — which has seen a wave of recall efforts and resignations on its school board during the pandemic — last year allowed parents to opt out their children from its mask mandate. About one-third of parents did exempt their children, “which means two-thirds of the parents didn’t,” Berch said.
“When you vote on this bill, do those two-thirds not matter?” he said.
Ten Republicans opposed the bill. Among them was Rep. Scott Syme, of Caldwell, who offered a sarcastic polemic against it.
“Why in the world would anyone, any political subdivision, want to slow the spread of any contagious or infectious disease?” Syme asked. “This says we’re clairvoyant, we know what’s going to happen in the future. We know there will never be another disease that we might need to have somebody say, ‘You need to wear a mask’ for. That’s why I love the bill, but unfortunately, I’ll be voting against it.”
This month, Hanks introduced another bill that effectively did the same thing but included a penalty provision. A violation of the proposed statute would have terminated any disaster emergency and public health order in the state or political subdivision in which the violation occurred. The current bill does not include the penalty provision.
Hanks told a committee earlier this month, “If people were dying in the streets, and we felt that a mask would change that, then I believe that we would wear them.”
As of Monday afternoon, the state has counted 4,676 COVID-19-related deaths in Idaho, according to the Department of Health and Welfare.
Boise city officials, Idaho teachers oppose bill
Boise city officials previously imposed a citywide mask requirement, which Mayor Lauren McLean terminated in May 2021. Since September, the city has required masks inside city facilities and at large, permitted events.
Kathy Griesmyer, the city’s director of governmental affairs, recently told the Idaho Statesman that Hanks’ legislation would raise the risk of COVID-19 outbreaks among city employees.
“Barring public entities from enacting employer-based masking requirements jeopardizes our ability to provide services for our residents,” Griesmyer said by phone.
Idaho’s statewide teachers union also opposes barring mask mandates, according to Idaho Education Association spokesperson Mike Journee. He told the Statesman by email that the bill would “disenfranchise” local voters who “have the right to define what the education experience in their local public schools looks like.”
“It would be folly for lawmakers to open a Pandora’s box that calls Idaho’s time-honored desire for ‘local control’ into question,” Journee said.
The bill now heads to the Senate.
This story was originally published February 21, 2022 at 4:33 PM.
