States’ Rights & Parental Education Information Freedom on the Docket at Idaho Supreme Court

Idaho’s Highest Court to hear oral arguments in a case that may decide if FERPA’s 45-day timeline nullifies parts the Idaho Parental Rights in Education Act

POCATELLO, ID, UNITED STATES, October 14, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — In 2023, Idaho legislators passed HB-163, strengthening the rights of Idaho parents to have timely access and visibility into their child’s education and health records. On October 15th, 2026 the Idaho Supreme Court will hear oral arguments for an appeal related to one of the first cases, brought under the new law (Idaho Code § 33-6001(3)), challenging a school district (specifically, Soda Springs Joint School District) decision to deny parents these protected rights – asserting the district misapplied a federal education privacy regulation.

The appeal is being argued before the Court by Boise trial attorney, Kristian Beckett, on behalf of Richard Kollmann, who alleges that the school district violated his parental rights, deliberately delayed release of all records pertaining to his child, and inappropriately invoked federal regulations to delay the release of critical information related to his child’s education and health records. Mr. Kollmann brought the original case in November 2025, but it was dismissed by the District Court of the Sixth Judicial District in Caribou County Judge on the grounds that “the statutory language governing the dispute was not ambiguous.”

“The foundation of our appeal is simple – the school district cannot infringe on the rights of Idaho parents,” explains Mr. Beckett. “The State Legislature was clear – a parent has a right to know what is happening with their child’s education and health within five school days, period. The district decided to treat the federal regulation’s 45-day maximum as the governing deadline rather than an outer limit.”

According to filings in the original trial court proceedings (Case No. CV15-25-0292), the case stems from an incident at the school in Soda Springs School District where Mr. Kollmann’s child, who is autistic and nonverbal, lost consciousness during an assembly and suffered an injury to the head. He claims to have only learned about the incident from other concerned students who were asking about his child’s condition. “The administrators neglected to inform my client (Kollmann), as is their obligation under the law,” Mr. Beckett said. “How would you feel if the Superintendent hid behind bureaucratic rhetoric and semantics rather than produce any documents, records, or information about your child’s injuries sustained at school – instead declaring he would do it in 45-days because a federal regulation says he can.”

According to briefs filed by the attorneys for the school district, their defense claim is that the original case was rightly dismissed because the five-school-day deadline does not govern this request due to the fact that Idaho law expressly recognizes alternative timelines established under applicable federal law. They assert that the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”), which provides for a maximum of 45 days to provide access to such information, is an example of the “unless a timeline is otherwise delineated in a specific applicable state or federal law” provision in the Idaho statute. Thus, their claim is that the district was within its rights to delay the production of such records until that point. In addition, the district is arguing that Kollmann did not wait until the 45 days had expired before filing suit – asserting other remedies were available.

“We contend that their argument is backwards, and we are appealing to the Supreme Court because we think they will agree with us that the original case was wrongly dismissed and essentially renders Idaho’s five-school-day protections ineffective for many ordinary educational-record requests,” continues Mr. Beckett. “Yes, the federal statute provides for a maximum of 45 days, but that is the maximum. We feel the State Law and FERPA agree that as soon as a record can be produced, it should be – whether it’s 1 day, 5 days, or 45 days. It is our contention that that neither the State Law nor Federal statute justifies nor sanctions delaying delivery of these types of records.”

Supreme Court Case No. 53530-2025 will be heard at the Bannock County Courthouse, 624 E. Center Street, Pocatello, Idaho, on October 15, 2026, at 10:00 a.m., in Courtroom 301. A final decision from the court is unlikely to come the same day as oral arguments. The Court has not announced when it will issue its decision.

Jason Andrew
K2 Elevate Media

Media gallery