Idaho pronoun law takes effect. Here’s why Boise-area teachers fear its impact

When Julia Sharkey resigned from Kuna High School, she made sure to keep mementos — messages from students, telling her that she helped save their lives.

In an interview with the Idaho Statesman, the former teacher pulled out a stack of cards and papers from a packed yellow envelope. As the former adviser of the Gay Straight Alliance at Kuna High, she received scores of them: “Thanks for keeping me safe,” “for giving me a safe place to be,” for “helping me feel safe in and accepted in my identity.” In another card, a student told her they didn’t think they’d make it to their graduation day.

“I’ll be honest, I would be dead right now if I didn’t have a great support system,” the letter read.

On her last few days at school, she said goodbye to a classroom with several sobbing students, she told the Statesman.

The longtime educator said she had saved all of those notes as a reminder that a small gesture — treating students with respect and calling them by what they ask to be called — can have a huge impact on children’s mental health.

But earlier this year, Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed a law that mandates teachers to get written approval from students’ parents or guardians if the students want to use names or pronouns different from their sex at birth. The law came after Sharkey had a long year of fighting against district and state proposals she felt would hurt her students, she said.

The law, which took effect July 1, would require teachers to potentially out transgender or nonbinary students to their families. It also protects teachers who refuse to use the pronouns students request.

“I never thought I would resign. I thought I was in the career for the long haul,” Sharkey told the Statesman. She was prepared for the low pay and the long hours, “but I was not prepared for the severity of the politics,” she said. “My district and the state have asked me to do things that I disagree with vehemently.”

Several teachers in Idaho told the Statesman they fear the new law could put kids in danger if their parents aren’t supportive and h ave a negative impact on their relationships with their students. Students could also decide not to come to school altogether rather than face teachers who won’t address them the way they want, teachers said, or could face even more bullying .

When the bill was introduced, Rep. Ted Hill, an Eagle Republican who sponsored the legislation, in a legislative hearing said there had been pressure on Idaho employees to recognize a person’s preferred pronouns “with fear of reprisal.” He presented little evidence that this was happening but said teachers were “fearful” to come forward and felt threatened over their jobs. The legislation protected First Amendment rights and compelled speech, he added. Hill did not respond to a request for comment.

Idaho school districts comply with state law

Idaho for several years has been a leader in passing laws that target LGBTQ+ people. In 2020, Idaho became the first state to ban trans women and girls from playing women’s sports. The Legislature since then has also banned gender-affirming health care for trans youth and required students to use the bathrooms t hat correspond with their sex at birth.

Idaho laws, combined with a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling, means little to no protections from discrimination for LGBTQ+ students in the state. Earlier this year, a federal judge temporarily blocked a new Title IX rule from taking effect in Idaho that would have barred discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation in schools.

Nampa School District spokesperson Matthew Sizemore said the law won’t have much of an effect on what was already in place there. A district policy states that the district can’t “compel speech” or require staffers or students to “affirm any belief they do not hold.”

Brian Coffey, a Nampa teacher and the adviser of Nampa High’s Gender and Sexuality Alliance, said LGBTQ+ students have faced bullying for years. The Nampa school board’s decision two years ago to remove about two dozen books from school libraries, many of which featured LGBTQ+ people, further alienated those students, he said.

“The LGBTQ community, based on my sense of it as an ally and a faculty adviser, has been targeted for years now, and more and more aggressively every year,” he told the Statesman. “But it’s not like it’s ever been easy to be gay in Nampa.”

The district, Coffey said, wants to be kind and respectful to students but also wants to follow the law. Many parents in the district also have strong religious or political beliefs about gender identity, he said.

“The intent of the Legislature getting involved is really to squelch and quash people from talking about it,” he said, adding that people want to go back to the “good old days” when people felt they had to be “in the closet.”

Sharkey said that over the past year, she received complaints of indoctrinating students from a small group of parents and threats from her administration for speaking out against the policies that would have forced her to out her students.

“Students … had no idea who they could trust or go to, or tell people their preferred names,” she said. She said some students stopped coming to school because they didn’t want to hear their dead names and didn’t feel accepted.

She feels there is a culture in the district that allows bullying against LGBTQ+ students. In her GSA club her job is to offer a safe space for students, she said, so she doesn’t provide a curriculum, and students drive the club and decide what they want to do.

Matthew Horner, a behavior professional in West Ada who is a trans man, said he finally feels comfortable with himself after transitioning and receiving gender-affirming care. But students who are questioning their gender identity still feel insecure and uncomfortable in their bodies and these policies could further traumatize students, he said .

“It’s frustrating to me,” he told the Statesman. “It seems like we’re fixated so much on taking away people’s rights, and not at all focused on providing more support.”

‘Every student deserves a safe’ environment

Teachers told the Statesman they’re still figuring out how to comply with the law while respecting their students. They also said the law could pose more problems than the Legislature expected.

Many students go by different names than their legal name, and Sharkey said many teachers she knows plan to continue to call students by the name they ask to be called.

Teachers said schools also already struggle with chronic absenteeism, and the law could only make it worse for LGBTQ+ students with families who don’t support their gender identity.

Cassie Horner, a teacher with the Boise School District and adviser for the Unity Club, a group for LGBTQ+ students and allies, said she’s done all she can to support her students and make them feel safe with her. She wears a pronoun pin and asks students at the beginning of the year what they want her to know about them. She plans to continue doing so, she said.

“I’m going to do it out of respect for my students,” said Cassie Horner, who’s married to Matthew Horner.

The Boise School District is working on guidance on the new law and plans to share it with staff around the beginning of the year, spokesperson Ryan Hill said.

“Any guidance offered will ensure we not only comply with the law but also reinforce that every student deserves a safe, respectful and welcoming learning environment,” he said in an email.

Sharkey said s he’s still passionate about teaching and advocating for her students. She cares that students are happy and healthy, regardless of their sexuality or gender identity.

“It just seemed like Idaho doesn’t want teachers like me,” she said, “because I simply accept kids for who they are.”

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