BATTLING BOOK BANS

THE IMPACT

Idaho passed the first book banning law in the U.S. that applies not only to public schools and public libraries, but to private schools and private libraries as well. If the plaintiffs win, the case will create an important precedent establishing that this government interference is unconstitutional, and will stop other states from enacting similar laws.

THE CASE

Idaho House Bill 710 became effective on July 1, 2024. The law empowers the state Attorney General, county prosecutors, and private “vigilante” citizens to take legal action against schools and libraries if they find material which they say is “harmful to minors” – based on an overly broad and vague definition that sweeps in material long protected by the First Amendment under well-settled law.

HB 710 does not distinguish between older minors and younger minors – meaning teenagers can only be provided with material appropriate for five-year-olds. The law offers a financial incentive – a $250 cash bounty, plus “actual damages” – to encourage vigilantes to initiate complaints. Under the law’s definitions, health and science textbooks, depictions of Michelangelo’s David, and even the Bible are subject to challenge. HB 710 also prohibits materials that include “any act of homosexuality” – including brief references to cohabitation or holding hands.

Private schools and privately funded libraries – including a church with a lending library – allege that the law violates their First Amendment free speech rights as private entities. Parents of students and minor library patrons argue that the law is a violation of their Fourteenth Amendment right to direct the education and development of their children, independent of State-controlled institutions. Finally, students and minor patrons of the privately funded libraries allege that the law violates their First Amendment right to read books their schools, libraries, and parents have determined are appropriate for their educational, social, and emotional development.

A coalition that includes the Northwest Association of Independent Schools, private schools, parents, students, a community library, and a United Methodist Church, are seeking a preliminary injunction to suspend the law before the new school year begins in August 2024, and a permanent injunction to strike down the law as unconstitutional.

THE TEAM

The plaintiffs are represented pro bono by Free + Fair, Ballard Spahr, Stoel Rives, Latonia Haney Keith, and McKay Cunningham.