Bill Analyses and Ratings
Bill Information: S1395 – Idaho Equal Parenting Time Presumption Act
Bill Summary
Senate Bill 1395 rewrites Idaho’s child custody framework by establishing a legal presumption that substantially equal parenting time and joint legal custody — meaning each parent has the child at least 45% of the time — is in the best interests of the child. Courts must now find clear and convincing evidence of good cause to deviate from this equal split, a significantly higher bar than the previous preponderance-of-the-evidence standard. The only automatic exception is when a court finds one parent to be a habitual perpetrator of domestic violence.
The bill also requires parties to attempt alternative dispute resolution, including mediation or a judicial settlement conference, before any contested custody case proceeds to trial. It limits grandparent standing so that grandparents residing with a child may present evidence about the child’s best interests but cannot use that standing to override or rebut a fit parent’s fundamental rights. Parents with disabilities retain the right to present evidence about adaptive equipment and supportive services that enable them to parent effectively.
A new definitions section (Section 32-721) consolidates and clarifies key custody terms — including ‘substantially equal parenting time,’ ‘joint legal custody,’ ‘joint physical custody,’ ‘custodial parent,’ and ‘parental fitness’ — that were previously scattered or undefined in Idaho Code. The bill takes effect January 1, 2027.
Overall Assessment
This bill’s most significant impact is on divorcing and separating parents and their children: by raising the evidentiary threshold to clear and convincing evidence before a court can award unequal custody, it makes equal parenting time the default outcome in Idaho family courts. Fit parents who previously received less than equal time gain stronger legal footing, while parents seeking to limit the other parent’s access face a substantially harder burden of proof. The mandatory alternative dispute resolution requirement pushes families toward negotiated settlements before litigation, potentially reducing court costs and adversarial conflict for children caught in custody disputes.
Rating Breakdown
ARTICLE I. Responsibility in Government (0)
The bill addresses family court custody standards and procedures. It contains no provisions related to fiscal policy, government spending, taxation, budgets, or the structural accountability of government institutions.
ARTICLE II. Citizen Involvement in Government (0)
The bill governs judicial proceedings in child custody disputes between private parties. It has no bearing on elections, voting rights, citizen participation in the political process, or civic engagement mechanisms.
ARTICLE III. Education (0)
Although Section 32-721(8) defines legal custody to include decision-making authority over a child's education, and Section 32-717(1)(d) lists school adjustment as a best-interest factor, the bill does not address school choice, curriculum, parental rights in educational settings, or education funding — the substantive concerns of this metric.
ARTICLE IV. Agriculture (0)
The bill is confined to child custody law and contains no provisions affecting farming, ranching, agricultural water use, or rural land use.
ARTICLE V. Water (0)
The bill contains no provisions related to water rights, water management, irrigation, or any other water policy matter.
ARTICLE VI. Natural Resources and Environment (0)
The bill addresses family law exclusively and has no connection to natural resource management, environmental regulation, public lands stewardship, or related policy.
ARTICLE VII. Energy (0)
The bill contains no provisions related to energy production, regulation, rates, or independence. Its scope is limited to child custody proceedings.
ARTICLE VIII. Idaho National Laboratories (0)
The bill has no connection to the Idaho National Laboratory, nuclear research, or technology development programs.
ARTICLE IX. Private Property Rights (0)
The bill addresses parental rights and custody allocations in family court. It does not involve real property, takings, land use regulation, or any other private property rights matter.
ARTICLE X. State and Federal Lands (0)
The bill contains no provisions related to state or federal land ownership, management, or sovereignty. It is a family law measure.
ARTICLE XI. Wildlife Management (0)
The bill has no connection to wildlife management, hunting, fishing, predator control, or landowner rights in wildlife contexts.
ARTICLE XII. Economy (0)
The bill does not regulate commerce, industry, small business, labor markets, or transportation. While custody arrangements can have indirect economic effects on families, the bill does not address economic policy as defined by this metric.
ARTICLE XIII. Health and Welfare (0)
The bill's definition of legal custody in Section 32-721(8) includes health decision-making authority, and Section 32-717(2) protects parents with disabilities in custody evaluations. However, the bill does not address healthcare access, insurance, welfare program delivery, child support enforcement, or the substantive health and welfare policy concerns central to this metric.
ARTICLE XIV. American Family (1)
The bill directly advances the principle that parents, not government, are the primary caretakers of children. Section 1 declares parenthood a constitutionally protected fundamental right, states that 'the role of the state is secondary and supportive,' and requires clear and convincing evidence before the state can restrict parental rights. Section 32-717B replaces the old joint custody framework with a hard presumption of substantially equal parenting time, ensuring both fit parents maintain meaningful relationships with their children rather than having one parent marginalized by default court outcomes.
ARTICLE XV. Older Americans (0)
While the bill addresses grandparent standing in Section 32-717(3), it actually narrows that standing — grandparents may present evidence about a child's best interests but cannot use their status to override a fit parent's rights. The bill contains no provisions addressing services, benefits, or policies for older Idahoans generally.
ARTICLE XVI. Law and Order with Justice (0)
The bill operates in civil family court, not criminal justice. Although Section 32-717(1)(g) retains domestic violence as a best-interest factor and Section 32-717B(2) bars the equal-custody presumption for habitual domestic violence perpetrators, the bill does not address criminal law, law enforcement, incarceration, gun rights, or the other substantive concerns of this metric.
ARTICLE XVII. National Defense - Securing the Border (0)
The bill preserves existing protections for military members in Section 32-717(5), specifying that active duty or reserve deployment cannot be used as grounds to reduce a service member's previously decreed custody rights. However, the bill contains no provisions on national defense, border security, veterans' affairs, or immigration policy.
ARTICLE XVIII. Election of Judges and Idaho Supreme Court Justices (0)
The bill establishes evidentiary standards and presumptions that guide how judges decide custody cases, but it does not address how judges are selected, elected, or retained, nor does it speak to judicial interpretation principles or court composition.
ARTICLE XIX. Religious Liberty (0)
The bill addresses child custody allocation and parental rights in family court proceedings. It contains no provisions related to religious exercise, conscience protections, or the free exercise of religion.