Legislation to ban conversion therapy for LGBTQ youth under 18 years old was introduced Thursday in the House Health and Welfare Committee. House Bill 483, sponsored by Rep. John McCrostie, received almost unanimous support for a full hearing. It mirrors recent legislation approved in Utah in 2020. Currently, 20 states have outlawed conversion therapy for minors. McCrostie said conversion therapy …
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Last spring when the coronavirus spread into Idaho communities, no one knew what our schools should do in this unprecedented situation. Yet from that moment on, school leaders did what we always do: monitor and adjust. As we work through a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, Idaho’s classrooms and our teachers’ instructional delivery looks remarkably different from last year. But we must remember …
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Rep. John McCrostie, D-Garden City, introduced House Bill 52 Wednsday to protect LGBTQ young people from the harmful practice of conversion therapy. Several major health organizations have discredited conversion therapy. According to the Trevor Project’s 2020 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health, individuals under 18 who had undergone conversion therapy attempted suicide at more than twice the rate as …
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Republican politicians have had supermajority control of the legislature and every statewide office for decades. Under their governance, Idaho has sunk to 51st place in education investment (and, remarkably, now they want to cut another $99 million from our education budget). For seven years they refused to even allow a vote on Medicaid expansion, leaving many thousands of Idahoans to …
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Our responsibility as representatives of the people is to make decisions that make life better for Idahoans. Our legislation should be rooted in concern and compassion for our community. As a state representative, one of my chief priorities is supporting the mental health of all Idahoans, including the LGBTQ community. Members of the LGBTQ community in Idaho have been ignored …
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Idaho State Capitol -On Monday, critical legislation was introduced in the House Health and Welfare Committee by Rep. John McCrostie/(D-Boise) to protect LGBTQ young people from the dangerous practice of conversion therapy. “Conversion therapy has been discredited by a number of prominent health organizations”. Rep. McCrostie explained. “It is an incredibly harmful practice that has no proven benefits, actually encourages …
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Idaho State Capitol – On Tuesday, the House Education Committee voted to reject the Idaho Content Standards for Math, Science, and English Language Arts. The committee heard testimony over 3 days to cover language arts, math, and science. Although there was testimony in support of both retaining and rejecting the standards, speakers overwhelmingly showed up to ask the committee to …
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Idaho State Capitol – On Tuesday, the Idaho House Democrats held elections for new House Democratic Leadership. Representative Mat Erpelding/(D-Boise) resigned from the Idaho House of Representatives on December 6, 2019, leaving his position as Idaho House Democratic Leader vacant. Representative Ilana Rubel/(D-Boise), the Assistant House Minority Leader at the time, ran for the position of House Minority Leader. With …
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