Coalition of schools files legal challenge to new Idaho library law | News [Video]

BOISE, Idaho – A coalition of private schools, churches and Idaho residents has filed a lawsuit in federal court, challenging a new law that restricts access to materials in Idaho libraries and schools.

The lawsuit was filed Thursday and names as plaintiffs Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador and the prosecutors in Ada and Blaine County.

The group calls the law “an unprecedented attempt by the government to control speech and ideas in private institutions.”

Idaho lawmakers passed HB 710 last session, which restricts libraries and schools from possessing “harmful” materials that could be accessed by kids.

Libraries and schools can be held financially responsible for having such materials.

This lawsuit says it’s a violation of First Amendment rights of schools and libraries and “infringes on the fundamental liberty interest of parents who choose private entities over State-controlled public schools and libraries for the educational development of their minor children.”

Plaintiffs …