BOISE, Idaho — A Boise family, represented by the Idaho Family Policy Center’s legal arm, has filed a tort claim against the Boise School District, alleging staff at Boise High School violated Idaho’s school bathroom law.
The claim, filed Monday, argues school employees failed to enforce Senate Bill 1100, a law signed in 2023 requiring students to use bathrooms that align with their biological sex.
WATCH: Idaho Family Policy Center speaks on Boise bathroom law claim
The family says their daughter twice encountered a transgender student, a biological male who identifies as a transgender female, in the girls’ restroom. In one incident, they allege the student was inappropriately touching themselves in an adjacent stall. The parents later withdrew their daughter from Boise High School.
“We are intending to hold them accountable for the psychological and emotional harm they caused this teenage girl as a result of violating state law,” said Blaine Conzatti, president of the Idaho Family Policy Center, which helped draft the legislation.
SB 1100 was briefly blocked by a federal injunction, but the order was lifted earlier this year. Conzatti said the district still had a responsibility to act.
“Even while the injunction was in effect, Boise School District still had a duty of care under the law to protect the privacy and safety of girls like the teenage girl that the legal center represents,” Conzatti said.
The district told Idaho News 6 it was barred from enforcing the law at the time due to the federal court order.
In a statement, the district said it is “committed to the well-being of every student,” but emphasized that a tort claim is only an allegation and does not establish liability. The district also confirmed the transgender student was permitted to use the girls’ restroom under a “gender support plan” previously put in place.
The ACLU of Idaho criticized the law, calling it discriminatory. The group said the case “involves minors where no one was harmed and no rights were violated.”
The family argues their daughter experienced anxiety and emotional distress and is seeking $20,000 in damages.
The Boise School District has 90 days to respond to the tort claim before a formal lawsuit can be filed.
