Lawsuit challenges library law, calling it 'wildly unconstitutional'

A coalition of private schools and libraries and their patrons Thursday filed a lawsuit challenging Idaho’s controversial new library law.

The coalition — which includes institutions in Boise and Blaine County — says the Children’s School and Library Protection Act violates constitutional rights to provide and access information. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for Idaho, asks the federal court to declare the law unconstitutional and to block its enforcement.

“In addition to censoring materials in public schools and public libraries, Idaho’s book banning law is the first in the nation to reach into nongovernmental institutions — like private schools, and even church libraries,” the plaintiffs said in a joint statement to Idaho Education News. “Our coalition of independent schools, libraries, parents, students and patrons is challenging this unprecedented government interference because it threatens the independence and core missions of our beloved community institutions across the state.”

This appears to be the first challenge to the new law, which went into effect July 1. Most Statehouse Republicans supported House Bill 710, and Gov. Brad Little signed it into law in April.

HB 710 prohibited public libraries and schools — both public and private — from allowing children to access “harmful” material. A book, movie or other content is considered “harmful” when it depicts nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement or sado-masochistic abuse in a way that “appeals to the prurient interest” or is “patently offensive to the prevailing standards in the adult community.”

The law requires libraries to implement procedures allowing patrons to challenge material under the “harmful” definition. And it grants challengers a private cause of action to sue a library. A successful lawsuit carries a $250 fine for the library or school, along with potential uncapped civil damages.

The complaint argues that the statute’s “vague and overbroad definition” of “harmful” to minors limits the ability of private schools and libraries to offer “non-obscene content that is disfavored by the state.” The law also “infringes on the fundamental liberty interest of parents” who chose private schools and libraries for their children, and denies minors the right to “receive constitutionally protected, non-obscene material.”

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit include:

The Northwest Association of Independent Schools, a nonprofit accreditation and professional development group for 109 private schools in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain West. That includes Sun Valley Community School and Foothills School of Arts and Sciences.
Sun Valley Community School, a nonprofit private school that serves students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade.
Foothills School of Arts and Sciences, a Boise nonprofit private school that serves students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade.
The Community Library, a privately funded, nonprofit library in Ketchum that’s open to the public.
Collister United Methodist Church, a Boise church that operates a lending library with books focusing on LGBTQ+ people and topics.
Four individuals, on behalf of their minor children:
- Mary Hollis Zimmer of Hailey, the parent of an 11th-grader at Sun Valley Community School.
- Matthew Podolsky of Boise, the parent of a fifth-grader at Foothills School of Arts and Sciences.
- Jeremy Wallace of Boise, the parent of an 11th-grader at an unnamed private high school in Boise.
- Christina Leidecker of Hailey, the parent of a 17-year-old and 15-year-old who frequent The Community Library.

Several law firms and individual attorneys are representing the plaintiffs. Those include:

Ballard Spahr, a national firm, headquartered in Philadelphia, that specializes in litigation, transactions and regulatory compliance.
Free and Fair Litigation Group, a nonprofit firm that touts its mission as advocacy for “democracy in crisis.”
Stoel Rives, a Boise-based firm.
Latonia Haney Keith, an attorney and vice president at the College of Idaho, who briefly served as a Boise City Council member last year.
McKay Cunningham, an attorney and program director at the College of Idaho.

Carey Dunne, an attorney for Free and Fair Litigation Group, said the lawsuit seeks to block enforcement of the statute before the school year starts next month, and before other states adopt similar laws.

“Idaho lawmakers are engaged in an unprecedented and wildly unconstitutional attempt to control speech in private institutions,” Dunne said in a statement to EdNews. “A healthy democracy depends on vibrant, independent, private institutions. This new, dark turn for state censorship in America cannot stand.”

The complaint named as defendants Attorney General Raúl Labrador, Ada County Prosecutor Jan Bennetts and Blaine County Prosecutor Matt Fredback. The three defendants didn’t sponsor the bill, but county prosecutors and the attorney general are responsible for enforcing the law.

HB 710 was sponsored by Rep. Jaron Crane, R-Nampa, House Speaker Mike Moyle, R-Star, and Senate President Pro Tem Chuck Winder, R-Boise. EdNews has reached out to the sponsors for comment.