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Boise State University

4 year • Boise, ID

Boise State University is a public institution that was founded in 1932. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 22,962 (fall 2022), its setting is city, and the campus size is 192 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. Boise State University's ranking in the 2024 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities, #332. Its in-state tuition and fees are $8,782; out-of-state tuition and fees are $26,976.

Boise State University is located in the capital of Idaho, in the western part of the state. Boise State students can choose from about 170 academic programs, including several master’s degrees in fields such as business , education , and art . A few of Boise State’s unique academic features include the nation’s only degree in raptor biology, through which students research birds of prey, and a partnership with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, which serves as a great resource for studying microelectronics.

Outside the classroom, students can join more than 200 campus clubs, study abroad in more than 50 countries, or check out one of the many annual school events, such as Earth Week and the International Food, Song and Dance Festival. Boise State is also home to unique athletic facilities for students to explore, including the recreation center with a 7,200-square-foot rock wall, and Bronco Stadium, with its famous blue turf football field. Student athletes can play at the intramural level or try out for one of the nearly 20 Boise State Broncos varsity teams, which compete in the NCAA Division I Mountain West Conference.

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• #332 in National Universities  (tie)
• #176 in Top Public Schools  (tie)
• in Business Programs

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$16,610 (2023-24)

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• Rating 2 out of 5   Poor 159   reviews ( 6 %)
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We are excited for you to join Bronco Nation!  

Already submitted applications:   A list of applications will appear below as you start and/or submit an application. You can complete an unsubmitted application, or access your status page on a submitted application, by selecting it below.  Apply Idaho applicants:  Apply Idaho is Idaho's statewide application for high school seniors.  If you have applied to Boise State with the Apply Idaho application you do not need to apply again.  However,  you will need to set up your account credentials . To do so, please click on "Log in" below under Returning Users. Then click on "Forgot Your Password". When prompted, enter the email address you used on your application and your date of birth.  

Boise State University

Boise State University

General Information

2023-2024 tuition, enrollment statistics, admission requirements, sports and athletics, men's sports.

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Ex-USC QB Malachi Nelson, No. 1 recruit in 2023, to visit Boise State

No. 1 QB recruit Malachi Nelson rolls out and connects with Makai Lemon for a touchdown. (0:26)

Quarterback Malachi Nelson , ESPN's No. 1 overall recruit from 2023, will take an official visit to Boise State in the upcoming days, sources told ESPN on Thursday.

It will be his first visit since leaving USC , where Nelson spent his freshman season in 2023 before entering the NCAA transfer portal in December. The trip to Boise State will mark his first official visit, as he's received interest from myriad high-profile programs.

Boise State looms as the favorite, sources told ESPN, as Nelson looks for a blue-collar program where he can blend in and prove himself while growing up with a strong team. After being redshirted at USC in 2023, he would immediately available with four years of eligibility remaining.

Nelson would have an opportunity to earn the starting job at Boise State after quarterback Taylen Green 's transfer to Arkansas . The Broncos won the Mountain West championship in 2023 under interim coach Spencer Danielson and have 18 starters returning.

The returning starters include four offensive linemen and Mountain West Player of the Year Ashton Jeanty , who led the nation in yards from scrimmage per game (159.6). Jeanty resisted big-money overtures from power conference teams to return to Boise State this year.

While at Los Alamitos High School in Southern California, Nelson threw for 2,898 yards and 35 touchdowns as a senior, eventually eclipsing Arch Manning atop the ESPN recruiting rankings. He won back-to-back California Gatorade Player of the Year awards and his offer sheet included Alabama , Georgia , Ohio State , Michigan and Notre Dame .

Nelson took four snaps for USC.

While Nelson got interest from bigger programs in the portal, the potential to play immediately and a strong roster loomed large in him choosing to first visit Boise State. This visit could end up as an anecdote that supports the trend of players in the NIL era seeking playing time over big brands, as the generations-long path of top recruits signing with the biggest schools and waiting their turns is being tested.

Nelson clicked during multiple conversations with Danielson, according to sources, and also has a long-standing relationship with offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan. While Hamdan was an assistant at Washington in 2015-16, he began recruiting Nelson and stayed in touch with him.

Hamdan, a former Boise State quarterback, brings NFL experience from his time coaching Matt Ryan with the Atlanta Falcons and runs a pro-style offense, which is attractive to Nelson. There are also family ties in Boise, as Nelson's aunt lives there.

Boise State finished 8-6 last season, firing coach Andy Avalos in November before winning the final three games to win the Mountain West title.

Boise has a rich recent history that includes 19 consecutive years of being ranked in the Associated Press poll, a run that ended in 2021. Since 2006, Boise State earned a top-five ranking at some point in the season in five different years.

Broncos run toward the future together.

Our relentless belief in a better tomorrow starts with empowering Broncos today.

Unbridled giving, unbridled impact, unbridled future. The Campaign for Boise State emboldens us to create a better campus and a better community, together.

Infinite Possibilities

Alejandra “Ally” Almaraz, alongside her faculty mentors, is making innovative discoveries impacting our global economy.  

In the Advanced Nanomaterials and Manufacturing Laboratory at Boise State University, Alejandra Almaraz has been synthesizing something unusual: synthesizing titanium carbide MXene ink that she can aerosol jet print into a biosensor to detect cortisol, a stress hormone found in sweat, on astronauts. The exciting thing about MXenes is that with the thickness of a single atom, they’re effectively two-dimensional.

• Make an Impact

I haven’t had to take out as many loans as I’ve had to in the past, which has been great. There are a lot more opportunities for funding than there were previously, and it’s allowed me to put more focus into my studies and incredible research opportunities. Ally Almaraz '24 Scholarship Recipient

The Blueprint for Boise State’s Future

Guided by three campaign pillars, we’re creating opportunities to break down barriers and charge toward challenges with confidence, building an environment of progress and innovation, and fostering a culture of excellence and enrichment.

Student Access & Success

We are shaping the future of Idaho through education. With scholarships and academic support, our Broncos are doing the work. You make that possible.  

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Relentless Faculty Innovation

Boise State is a force of intellectual curiosity and ingenuity. W e continue to make game-changing discoveries and provide student-centered learning experiences. 

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Positioned for What’s Next

Our grass isn’t greener . It’s blue. We aim to deliver unmatched, elevated athletic experiences and facilities where Broncos can gather, connect, and triumph.

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Be a Part of The Campaign for Boise State

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Stories of Impact

Video: royanne and alan minskoff celebrate endowment of honors college scholarship, ‘blain’ scholarship to assist sociology majors at boise state.

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Wood Products Company Woodgrain Gives Back by Endowing Two Scholarships

Endowed Scholarships

Boise State Celebrates Legacy of Construction Industry Icon with Historic Gift to College of Engineering

Meet a first-generation researcher advancing frontiers in tissue engineering, university wins two national awards for innovations in student success, mark cowan endowed scholarship, true blue scholar: lindsay niezgoda, carey simons and debbie oliver, true blue scholar: maci stephens, scholarship support provides opportunities for rural idaho nursing student, niya nyapamba, bronco athletics receives approval for next step in basketball complex renovation.

Elevating Athletics

Boise State Expands Offerings to Equip Student-Athletes to Maximize NIL Opportunities

Another dream for scott matlock in the nfl, how one bronco graduate redefined the role of student-athlete, boise state will light the blue, you can too, boise state's huchingson, new mexico's parsons named mountain west's ncaa woman of the year nominees, carissa rogers raises and treats teens while pursuing her master of social work online, longtime donors pay it forward.

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Bengal Visit Day

Saturday, April 20, 2024

Bengal Visit Day  is an event to welcome all future Bengals to Idaho State and to discover all of the amazing opportunities available to them!

During this open house style event, you'll have the chance to truly embrace the Bengal life! Explore campus at your own pace, explore numerous free activities, meet with departments to learn more about your future career field, get help with paying for college, and so much more.

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What to see on Campus:

• The Pond Student Union
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• Idaho Museum of Natural History
• Hutchinson Quad
• Swanson Arch
• The Rendezvous
• Reed Gym (The Student Rec. Center)
• Stephen's Performing Arts Center

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While on campus you can attend a student event, roar at a home game, or take in a play or concert.

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Campus dining options Visit eateries in the Student Union and Rendezvous or try out the Turner dining hall with buffet style meals. All dining options are open to the public.

Dining in Pocatello Pocatello offers countless dining options.

Lodging Pocatello has accommodations ranging from hotels to campgrounds.

Online Business Degrees and Certificates

Embark on a transformative and affordable online learning journey with Boise State Online business programs. Trust in our proven success: high retention and graduation rates, national recognition and rankings and accreditation from top accrediting bodies.

Undergraduate Business Programs

Many of our bachelor’s programs require incoming students to transfer credits or have already earned an associate degree from an accredited university. If you do not have transfer credits or an associate degree, learn how you can get started with the Online Degree Pathway .

Bachelor of Business Administration in Management

Bachelor of Business Administration in Management, Entrepreneurship Emphasis

Bachelor of business administration in management, resort and hospitality management emphasis, bachelor of project management, bachelor of project management, business management emphasis, bachelor of project management, communications management emphasis, bachelor of project management, cyber security emphasis, bachelor of project management, public health emphasis, certificate in applied leadership, certificate in +business, certificate in business creation, certificate in business preparation, certificate in communication management, certificate in conflict management, certificate in media content management, certificate in nonprofit management, certificate in project management, certificate in project management for all, certificate in resort and hospitality management, graduate business programs.

Earn a master’s degree or certificate in one of our business programs and make lifelong professional connections, build your portfolio and gain valuable experience.

Master of Science in Accountancy

Master of Science in Accountancy, Foundations

Master of science in organizational performance and workplace learning, online master of business administration, online master of business administration, business analytics emphasis, online master of business administration, construction management emphasis, online master of business administration + cyber emphasis, online master of business administration, finance emphasis, online master of business administration, healthcare leadership emphasis, online master of business administration, management emphasis, online master of business administration, marketing leadership emphasis, graduate certificate in accounting foundations, graduate certificate in applied public administration, graduate certificate in governance and policy administration, graduate certificate in workplace performance improvement, care and support.

• Prioritize your needs and goals
• Personalized advising, from application to graduation and beyond
• Belong to a diverse, skilled learning community and expand your professional network

Save Time and Money

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• Affordable per-credit rates
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Quality Programs

• Innovative, career-focused curriculum
• Rankings and recognition from notable education organizations
• High graduation and retention rates

Hear From Our Graduates

Angelica fabricatore.

“It was manageable going full-time and doing two classes at a time. That was really nice. I was nervous about going to school full-time, but it’s so flexible.”

Read Angelica’s Story

Wendy Berkson

Master of Business Administration

“The academic advisors are amazing. Essentially, they were just there for you at any time you needed them or had questions about the track you were on and which classes to take as they rotated through.”

Read Wendy’s Story

Mason Hampton

“It is an investment in your future. When you are spending 12-15 hours a week doing school, you have to take a step back and remember you are investing in yourself. It’s the accounting term: return on investment. If I can get my degree, then I will be more valuable to a company and more marketable to recruiters.”

Read Mason’s Story

Recognized for Quality Education

Our faculty and instructional designers in the Boise State eCampus Center work together to develop state-of-the-art, interactive classes specialized for an online learning environment. This work has been recognized nationally by accreditation and ranking institutions.

Boise State Accreditation

Boise State University is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU). This means the entire university meets or exceeds the criteria for the assessment of institutional quality and is evaluated through a peer review process. In addition, many academic programs have special accreditation or endorsement.

Learn More About NWCCU Accreditation

Ranked by U.S. News and World Report

Boise State University is ranked among U.S. News and World Report’s Best Online Bachelor’s Programs , Best Online Bachelor’s Programs for Veterans and Best Online Master’s in Business Programs . These rankings highlight the university’s commitment to providing high-quality, accessible education to students in Idaho and across the country.

Read More About our Rankings

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NCAA Approves Technology Rules in Football

4/19/2024 2:23:00 PM | Football

Automatic timeouts to occur in last two minutes of 2nd and 4th quarters

• Allowing conferences the option of using a collaborative replay review system. This will be formally added to the rules book; it had been an experimental rule.
• Penalizing horse-collar tackles that occur within the tackle box as a 15-yard personal foul. Previously, a horse-collar tackle within the tackle box was not a foul.
• Melaleuca Special Events Center, 4609 West 65th South, Idaho Falls

• Please register for the  Idaho Falls  event.
• Club House @ Canyon Springs Golf Course, 199 Canyon Springs Rd., Twin Falls

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• Mother Earth Brewing Co., 1428 Madison Ave, Nampa

• Please register for the  Nampa  event.
• Location is pending.
• Please register for the  Coeur d'Alene  event.
• Albertsons Stadium, 1400 Bronco Ln, Boise
• 5 p.m.        Doors Open (Opportunity to meet Bronco student-athletes and participate in on-field activities.)
• 6 p.m.         Q&A with Bronco football head coach  Spencer Danielson
• 6:30 p.m.    Movie on The BLUE (Movie title will be selected through an online poll in early May.)

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Grace College Transfer Elijah Malone Plans to Visit Indiana

Elijah Malone won the Bevo Francis Award playing for Grace College in 2023-24, an award given to the best player among all NCAA Division II, Division III, NAIA and junior colleges. Now he's drawing interest from high-major Division I programs, including Indiana, which he'll visit Thursday.

• Author: Jack Ankony

In this story:

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Grace College center Elijah Malone is looking to jump up to the Division I level for his final season of eligibility. His Indiana visit begins Thursday, as first reported by NAIA Hoops Report.

Malone earned the Bevo Francis Award in 2023-24, an award given to the best player among all NCAA Division II, Division III, NAIA and junior colleges. As a senior, Malone averaged 17.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 1.9 assists playing 24.5 minutes per game. He shot an efficient 63% from the field, 36.9% from 3-point range on 103 attempts, and 81.4% from the free throw line.

Malone has heard from 30 Division I programs since entering the transfer portal, according to Fort Wayne's WANE 15 News . He has already visited Notre Dame, and now he plans to visit Indiana and Colorado.

6’10 Elijah Malone…NAIA POY is entering the transfer Portal 18 PPG, 8 RPG and 2.5 BPG on 61/38/82 splits and only played 24 MPG Became the most dominant big at the NAIA level in his senior year, Stretch 5, who’s dominant down low and dunks everything Lead Grace to a 34-2… pic.twitter.com/uUpycNiIbc — PDT (@PDTScouting) April 2, 2024

Malone started 117 games and played in 139 across his four-year career. He averaged 9.6 points per game as a freshman, then over 14 points per game from his sophomore through junior seasons. He made the NAIA All-American second team as a junior, and earned a spot on the All-Crossroads League second team as a sophomore.

Coached by Scott Moore, Grace College had a combined 112-45 record across Malone's four seasons with the team. Grace, an NAIA program in Winona Lake, Ind., won the Crossroads League regular season title in both the 2023-24 and 2022-23 seasons, in addition to fourth and fifth-place finishes the previous two seasons. That success carried over into the postseason, reaching the Fab Four in 2023-24 and making the Elite Eight and Sweet 16 prior.

At 6-foot-10, Malone has a versatile game for a center. He's powerful inside, whether its scoring over defenders, rebounding or blocking shots. But he also stepped out to hit 99-of-251 3-point attempts, or 39.4%, across four seasons. A willing passer, too, Malone dished out 179 assists in his career, including a career-high 1.9 as a senior.

Did your miss Elijah Malone’s 28-point performance last night? Don’t worry we’ve got the highlights! pic.twitter.com/ZsDkzQndxy — Grace Sports Network (@GraceSportsNet) November 16, 2023

He graduated from Prairie Heights High School in LaGrange, Ind., near the Ohio and Michigan borders, where he was a small school All-State honoree in 2019. Moore recognized Malone's talent at a young age.

“‘There's this 6'8 kid from Prairie Heights that is pretty good' is all I kept hearing about back at the beginning of the season," Moore said. "I finally had the chance to go see Elijah play and knew instantly the boy could play. He is very skilled for a big man and offers much more than size. He can shoot it, pass it, and loves to rebound. But the best quality that Elijah brings is his enthusiasm for his teammates, and I can't wait to see that with our team!"  

Grace College center Elijah Malone dunks the ball.

Jeff Nycz, Mid-South Images

Indiana landed Arizona center Oumar Ballo on Tuesday, who figures to replace NBA-bound Kel'el Ware in the Hoosiers' starting lineup. But Indiana also lost backup bigs Anthony Walker and Payton Sparks following the 2023-24, creating a need for front court depth. That could be filled with a player like Malone. Indiana still has four scholarships heading into the 2024-25 season, but is off to a good start this offseason, adding Ballo, five-star freshman Bryson Tucker and Washington State guard transfer Myles Rice.

Related stories on Indiana basketball

• CONNOR ESSEGIAN VISITING INDIANA: Connor Essegian made the Big Ten All-Freshman team, but his minutes decreased during his sophomore season. Now the Indiana native in the transfer portal and begins his visit to Bloomington on Wednesday. CLICK HERE
• OUMAR BALLO COMMITS TO INDIANA:  After two consecutive first team All-Pac-12 seasons at Arizona, 7-foot center Oumar Ballo announced he’s transferring to Indiana for his final season of eligibility.  CLICK HERE
• MYLES RICE COMMITS TO INDIANA:  After earning a spot on the All-Pac-12 first team as a freshman at Washington State, guard Myles Rice announced he’s transferring to Indiana.  CLICK HERE
• INDIANA BASKETBALL TRANSFER PORTAL TRACKER:  The college basketball transfer portal is in full swing. Here you can find all the Indiana basketball transfer portal news, including incoming and outgoing transfers, players with interest from Indiana, NBA draft entrants and a scholarship chart for next season.  CLICK HERE
• INDIANA CONTACTS KOBY BREA:  Koby Brea shot 49.8% from 3-point range for Dayton last season, which ranked first among all Division I college basketball players in 2023-24. Indiana has reportedly reached out to Brea after he entered the transfer portal.  CLICK HERE

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The Supreme Court Takes Up Homelessness

Can cities make it illegal to live on the streets.

This transcript was created using speech recognition software. While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. Please review the episode audio before quoting from this transcript and email [email protected] with any questions.

From “The New York Times,” I’m Katrin Bennhold. This is “The Daily.”

This morning, we’re taking a much closer look at homelessness in the United States as it reaches a level not seen in the modern era. California —

As the number of homeless people has surged in the US —

More than 653,000, a 12 percent population increase since last year.

The debate over homeless encampments across the country has intensified.

It is not humane to let people live on our streets in tents, use drugs. We are not standing for it anymore.

People have had it. They’re fed up. I’m fed up. People want to see these tents and encampments removed in a compassionate, thoughtful way. And we agree.

With public officials saying they need more tools to address the crisis.

We move from block to block. And every block they say, can’t be here, can’t be here, can’t be here. I don’t know where we’re supposed to go, you know?

And homeless people and their advocates saying those tools are intended to unfairly punish them.

They come and they sweep and they take everything from me, and I can’t get out of the hole I’m in because they keep putting me back in square one.

That debate is now reaching the Supreme Court, which is about to hear arguments in the most significant case on homelessness in decades, about whether cities can make it illegal to be homeless. My colleague Abbie VanSickle on the backstory of that case and its far-reaching implications for cities across the US.

[THEME MUSIC]

It’s Friday, April 19.

So Abbie, you’ve been reporting on this case that has been making waves, Grants Pass versus Johnson, which the Supreme Court is taking up next week. What’s this case about?

So this case is about a small town in Oregon where three homeless people sued the city after they received tickets for sleeping and camping outside. And this case is the latest case that shows this growing tension, especially in states in the West, between people who are homeless and cities who are trying to figure out what to do about this. These cities have seen a sharp increase in homeless encampments in public spaces, especially with people on sidewalks and in parks. And they’ve raised questions about public drug use and other safety issues in these spaces.

And so the question before the justices is really how far a city can go to police homelessness. Can city officials and police use local laws to ban people from laying down outside and sleeping in a public space? Can a city essentially make it illegal to be homeless?

So three homeless people sued the city of Grants Pass, saying it’s not illegal to be homeless, and therefore it’s not illegal to sleep in a public space.

Yes, that’s right. And they weren’t the first people to make this argument. The issue actually started years ago with a case about 500 miles to the East, in Boise, Idaho. And in that case, which is called Martin v. Boise, this man, Robert Martin, who is homeless in Boise, he was charged with a misdemeanor for sleeping in some bushes. And the city of Boise had laws on the books to prohibit public camping.

And Robert Martin and a group of other people who are homeless in the city, they sued the city. And they claimed that the city’s laws violated the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment.

And what makes it cruel and unusual?

So their argument was that the city did not have enough sufficient shelter beds for everyone who was homeless in the city. And so they were forced to sleep outside. They said, we have no place to go and that an essential human need is to sleep and we want to be able to lay down on the sidewalk or in an alley or someplace to rest and that their local laws were a violation of Robert Martin and the others’ constitutional rights, that the city is violating the Eighth Amendment by criminalizing the human need to sleep.

And the courts who heard the case agreed with that argument. The courts ruled that the city had violated the Constitution and that the city could not punish people for being involuntarily homeless. And what that meant, the court laid out, is that someone is involuntarily homeless if a city does not have enough adequate shelter beds for the number of people who are homeless in the city.

It does seem like a very important distinction. They’re saying, basically, if you have nowhere else to go, you can’t be punished for sleeping on the street.

Right. That’s what the court was saying in the Martin v. Boise case. And the city of Boise then appealed the case. They asked the Supreme Court to step in and take it on. But the Supreme Court declined to hear the case. So since then, the Martin v. Boise case controls all over the Western parts of the US in what’s called the Ninth Circuit, which includes Oregon where the Grants Pass case originated.

OK. So tell us about Grants Pass, this city at the center of the case and now in front of the Supreme Court. What’s the story there?

Grants Pass is a town in rural Southwestern Oregon. It’s a town of about 38,000 people. It’s a former timber town that now really relies a lot on tourists to go rafting through the river and go wine tasting in the countryside. And it’s a pretty conservative town.

When I did interviews, people talked about having a very strong libertarian streak. And when I talked with people in the town, people said when they were growing up there, it was very rare to see someone who was homeless. It just was not an issue that was talked a lot about in the community. But it did become a big issue about 10 years ago.

People in the community started to get worried about what they saw as an increase in the number of homeless people that they were noticing around town. And it’s unclear whether the problem was growing or whether local officials and residents were worried that it might, whether they were fearing that it might.

But in any case, in 2013, the city council decided to start stepping up enforcement of local ordinances that did things like outlaw camping in public parks or sleeping outside, this series of overlapping local laws that would make it impossible for people to sleep in public spaces in Grants Pass. And at one meeting, one of the former city council members, she said, “the point is to make it uncomfortable enough for them in our city so they will want to move on down the road.”

So it sounds like, at least in Grants Pass, that this is not really about reducing homelessness. It’s about reducing the number of visible homeless people in the town.

Well, I would say that city officials and many local residents would say that the homeless encampments are actually creating real concerns about public safety, that it’s actually creating all kinds of issues for everyone else who lives in Grants Pass. And there are drug issues and mental health issues, and that this is actually bringing a lot of chaos to the city.

OK. So in order to deal with these concerns, you said that they decided to start enforcing these local measures. What does that actually look like on the ground?

So police started handing out tickets in Grants Pass. These were civil tickets, where people would get fines. And if police noticed people doing this enough times, then they could issue them a trespass from a park. And then that would give — for a certain number of days, somebody would be banned from the park. And if police caught them in the park before that time period was up, then the person could face criminal time. They could go to jail.

And homeless people started racking up fines, hundreds of dollars of fines. I talked to a lot of people who were camping in the parks who had racked up these fines over the years. And each one would have multiple tickets they had no way to pay. I talked to people who tried to challenge the tickets, and they had to leave their belongings back in the park. And they would come back to find someone had taken their stuff or their things had been impounded.

So it just seemed to be this cycle that actually was entrenching people more into homelessness. And yet at the same time, none of these people had left Grants Pass.

So they did make it very uncomfortable for homeless people, but it doesn’t seem to be working. People are not leaving.

Right. People are not leaving. And these tickets and fines, it’s something that people have been dealing with for years in Grants Pass. But in 2018, the Martin v. Boise case happens. And not long after that, a group of people in Grants Pass challenged these ordinances, and they used the Boise case to make their argument that just like in Boise, Grants Pass was punishing people for being involuntarily homeless, that this overlapping group of local ordinances in Grants Pass had made it so there is nowhere to put a pillow and blanket on the ground and sleep without being in some kind of violation of a rule. And this group of local homeless people make the argument that everyone in Grants Pass who is homeless is involuntarily homeless.

And you told us earlier that it was basically the lack of available shelter that makes a homeless person involuntarily homeless. So is there a homeless shelter in Grants Pass?

Well, it sort of depends on the standard that you’re using. So there is no public low-barrier shelter that is easy for somebody to just walk in and stay for a night if they need someplace to go. Grants Pass does not have a shelter like that.

There is one shelter in Grants Pass, but it’s a religious shelter, and there are lots of restrictions. I spoke with the head of the shelter who explained the purpose is really to get people back into the workforce. And so they have a 30-day program that’s really designed for that purpose.

And as part of that, people can’t have pets. People are not allowed to smoke. They’re required to attend Christian religious services. And some of the people who I interviewed, who had chronic mental health and physical disabilities, said that they had been turned away or weren’t able to stay there because of the level of needs that they have. And so if you come in with any kind of issue like that, it can be a problem.

That’s a very long list of restrictions. And of course, people are homeless for a lot of very different reasons. It sounds like a lot of these reasons might actually disqualify them from this particular shelter. So when they say they have nowhere else to go, if they’re in Grants Pass, they kind of have a point.

So that’s what the court decided. In 2022, when the courts heard this case, they agreed with the homeless plaintiffs that there’s no low-barrier shelter in Grants Pass and that the religious shelter did not meet the court’s requirements. But the city, who are actually now represented by the same lawyers who argued for Boise, keeps appealing the case. And they appeal up to the Ninth Circuit just as in the Boise case, and the judges there find in favor of the homeless plaintiffs, and they find that Grants Pass’s ordinances are so restrictive that there is no place where someone can lay down and sleep in Grants Pass and that therefore the city has violated the Eighth Amendment and they cannot enforce these ordinances in the way that they have been for years.

So at that point, the court upholds the Boise precedent, and we’re where we were when it all started. But as we know, that’s not the end of the story. Because this case stays in the court system. What happened?

So by this point, the homelessness problem is really exploding throughout the Western part of the US with more visible encampments, and it really becomes a politically divisive issue. And leaders across the political spectrum point to Boise as a root cause of the problem. So when Grants Pass comes along, people saw that case as a way potentially to undo Boise if only they could get it before the Supreme Court.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

We’ll be right back.

Abbie, you just told us that as homeless numbers went up and these homeless encampments really started spreading, it’s no longer just conservatives who want the Supreme Court to revisit the Boise ruling. It’s liberals too.

That’s right. So there’s a really broad group of people who all started pushing for the Supreme Court to take up the Grants Pass case. And they did this by filing briefs to the Supreme Court, laying out their reasoning. And it’s everyone from the liberal governor of California and many progressive liberal cities to some of the most conservative legal groups. And they disagree about their reasoning, but they all are asking the court to clarify how to interpret the Boise decision.

They are saying, essentially, that the Boise decision has been understood in different ways in all different parts of the West and that that is causing confusion and creating all sorts of problems. And they’re blaming that on the Boise case.

It’s interesting, because after everything you told us about these very extreme measures, really, that the city of Grants Pass took against homeless people, it is surprising that these liberal bastions that you’re mentioning are siding with the town in this case.

Just to be clear, they are not saying that they support necessarily the way that Grants Pass or Boise had enforced their laws. But they are saying that the court rulings have tied their hands with this ambiguous decision on how to act.

And what exactly is so ambiguous about the Boise decision? Which if I remember correctly, simply said that if someone is involuntarily homeless, if they’re on the streets because there’s no adequate shelter space available, they can’t be punished for that.

Yeah. So there are a couple of things that are common threads in the cities and the groups that are asking for clarity from the court. And the first thing is that they’re saying, what is adequate shelter? That every homeless person situation is different, so what are cities or places required to provide for people who are homeless? What is the standard that they need to meet?

In order not to sleep on the street.

That’s right. So if the standard is that a city has to have enough beds for everyone who is homeless but certain kinds of shelters or beds wouldn’t qualify, then what are the rules around that? And the second thing is that they’re asking for clarity around what “involuntarily homeless” means. And so in the Boise decision, that meant that someone is involuntarily homeless if there is not enough bed space for them to go to.

But a lot of cities are saying, what about people who don’t want to go into a shelter even if there’s a shelter bed available? If they have a pet or if they are a smoker or if something might prohibit them from going to a shelter, how is the city supposed to weigh that and at what point would they cross a line for the court?

It’s almost a philosophical question. Like, if somebody doesn’t want to be in a shelter, are they still allowed to sleep in a public space?

Yeah. I mean, these are complicated questions that go beyond the Eighth Amendment argument but that a lot of the organizations that have reached out to the court through these friend of the court briefs are asking.

OK. I can see that the unifying element here is that in all these briefs various people from across the spectrum are saying, hello, Supreme Court. We basically need some clarity here. Give us some clarity.

The question that I have is why did the Supreme Court agree to weigh in on Grants Pass after declining to take up Boise?

Well, it’s not possible for us to say for certain because the Supreme Court does not give reasons why it has agreed to hear or to not hear a case. They get thousands of cases a year, and they take up just a few of those, and their deliberations are secret. But we can point to a few things.

One is that the makeup of the court has changed. The court has gained conservative justices in the last few years. This court has not been shy about taking up hot button issues across the spectrum of American society. In this case, the court hasn’t heard a major homelessness case like this.

But I would really point to the sheer number and the range of the people who are petitioning the court to take a look at this case. These are major players in the country who are asking the court for guidance, and the Supreme Court does weigh in on issues of national importance. And the people who are asking for help clearly believe that this is one of those issues.

So let’s start digging into the actual arguments. And maybe let’s start with the city of Grants Pass. What are the central arguments that they’re expected to make before the Supreme Court?

So the city’s arguments turn on this narrow legal issue of whether the Eighth Amendment applies or doesn’t. And they say that it doesn’t. But I actually think that in some ways, that’s not the most helpful way to understanding what Grants Pass is arguing.

What is really at the heart of their argument is that if the court upholds Grants Pass and Boise, that they are tying the hands of Grants Pass and hundreds of other towns and cities to actually act to solve and respond to homelessness. And by that, I mean to solve issues of people camping in the parks but also more broadly of public safety issues, of being able to address problems as they arise in a fluid and flexible way in the varied ways that they’re going to show up in all these different places.

And their argument is if the court accepts the Grants Pass and Boise holdings, that they will be constitutionalizing or freezing in place and limiting all of these governments from acting.

Right. This is essentially the argument being repeated again and again in those briefs that you mentioned earlier, that unless the Supreme Court overturns these decisions, it’s almost impossible for these cities to get the encampments under control.

Yes, that’s right. And they also argue they need to have flexibility in dealing actually with people who are homeless and being able to figure out using a local ordinance to try to convince someone to go to treatment, that they say they need carrots and sticks. They need to be able to use every tool that they can to be able to try to solve this problem.

And how do we make sense of that argument when Grants Pass is clearly not using that many tools to deal with homeless people? For example, it didn’t have shelters, as you mentioned.

So the city’s argument is that this just should not be an Eighth Amendment issue, that this is the wrong way to think about this case, that issues around homelessness and how a city handles it is a policy question. So things like shelter beds or the way that the city is handling their ordinances should really be left up to policymakers and city officials, not to this really broad constitutional argument. And so therefore, the city is likely to focus their argument entirely on this very narrow question.

And how does the other side counter this argument?

The homeless plaintiffs are going to argue that there’s nothing in the lower courts’ decisions that say that cities can’t enforce their laws that, they can’t stop people from littering, that they can’t stop drug use, that they can’t clear encampments if there becomes public safety problems. They’re just saying that a city cannot not provide shelter and then make it illegal for people to lay down and sleep.

So both sides are saying that a city should be able to take action when there’s public disorder as a result of these homeless encampments. But they’re pointing at each other and saying, the way you want to handle homelessness is wrong.

I think everyone in this case agrees that homelessness and the increase in homelessness is bad for everyone. It’s bad for people who are camping in the park. It is bad for the community, that nobody is saying that the current situation is tenable. Everyone is saying there need to be solutions. We need to be able to figure out what to do about homelessness and how to care for people who are homeless.

How do we wrestle with all these problems? It’s just that the way that they think about it couldn’t be further apart.

And what can you tell me about how the Supreme Court is actually expected to rule in this?

There are a number of ways that the justices could decide on this case. They could take a really narrow approach and just focus on Grants Pass and the arguments about those local ordinances. I think that’s somewhat unlikely because they’ve decided to take up this case of national importance.

A ruling in favor of the homeless plaintiffs would mean that they’ve accepted this Eighth Amendment argument, that you cannot criminalize being homeless. And a ruling for the city, every legal expert I’ve talked to has said that would mean an end to Boise and that it would break apart the current state that we’ve been living in for these last several years.

I’m struck by how much this case and our conversation has been about policing homelessness rather than actually addressing the root causes of homelessness. We’re not really talking about, say, the right to shelter or the right to treatment for people who are mentally ill and sleeping on the streets as a result, which is quite a big proportion. And at the end of the day, whatever way the ruling goes, it will be about the visibility of homelessness and not the root causes.

Yeah, I think that’s right. That’s really what’s looming in the background of this case is what impact is it going to have. Will it make things better or worse and for who? And these court cases have really become this talking point for cities and for their leaders, blaming the spike in encampments and the visibility of homelessness on these court decisions. But homelessness, everyone acknowledges, is such a complicated issue.

People have told me in interviews for the story, they’ve blamed increases in homelessness on everything from the pandemic to forest fires to skyrocketing housing costs in the West Coast, and that the role that Boise and now Grants Pass play in this has always been a little hard to pin down. And if the Supreme Court overturns those cases, then we’ll really see whether they were the obstacle that political leaders said that they were. And if these cases fall, it remains to be seen whether cities do try to find all these creative solutions with housing and services to try to help people who are homeless or whether they once again fall back on just sending people to jail.

Abbie, thank you very much.

Thank you so much.

Here’s what else you need to know today. Early on Friday, Israel attacked a military base in Central Iran. The explosion came less than a week after Iran’s attack on Israel last weekend and was part of a cycle of retaliation that has brought the shadow war between the two countries out in the open. The scale and method of Friday’s attack remained unclear, and the initial reaction in both Israel and Iran was to downplay its significance. World leaders have urged both sides to exercise restraint in order to avoid sparking a broader war in the region.

And 12 New Yorkers have been selected to decide Donald Trump’s criminal trial in Manhattan, clearing the way for opening statements to begin as early as Monday. Seven new jurors were added in short order on Thursday afternoon, hours after two others who had already been picked were abruptly excused.

Trump is accused of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment made to a porn star during his 2016 presidential campaign. If the jury convicts him, he faces up to four years in prison. Finally —

This is the New York Police Department.

The New York Police Department said it took at least 108 protesters into custody at Columbia University after University officials called the police to respond to a pro-Palestinian demonstration and dismantle a tent encampment.

We’re supporting Palestine. We’re supporting Palestine. 1, 2, 3, 4.

The crackdown prompted more students to vow that demonstrations would continue, expressing outrage at both the roundup of the student protesters and the plight of Palestinians in Gaza.

Free, free Palestine.

Today’s episode was produced by Olivia Natt, Stella Tan, and Eric Krupke with help from Rachelle Bonja. It was edited by Liz Baylen, fact checked by Susan Lee, contains original music by Will Reid Pat McCusker Dan Powell and Diane Wong and was engineered by Chris Wood. Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly.

That’s it for “The Daily.” I’m Katrin Bennhold. See you on Monday.

• April 19, 2024   •   30:42 The Supreme Court Takes Up Homelessness
• April 18, 2024   •   30:07 The Opening Days of Trump’s First Criminal Trial
• April 17, 2024   •   24:52 Are ‘Forever Chemicals’ a Forever Problem?
• April 16, 2024   •   29:29 A.I.’s Original Sin
• April 15, 2024   •   24:07 Iran’s Unprecedented Attack on Israel
• April 14, 2024   •   46:17 The Sunday Read: ‘What I Saw Working at The National Enquirer During Donald Trump’s Rise’
• April 12, 2024   •   34:23 How One Family Lost $900,000 in a Timeshare Scam
• April 11, 2024   •   28:39 The Staggering Success of Trump’s Trial Delay Tactics
• April 10, 2024   •   22:49 Trump’s Abortion Dilemma
• April 9, 2024   •   30:48 How Tesla Planted the Seeds for Its Own Potential Downfall
• April 8, 2024   •   30:28 The Eclipse Chaser
• April 7, 2024 The Sunday Read: ‘What Deathbed Visions Teach Us About Living’

Hosted by Katrin Bennhold

Featuring Abbie VanSickle

Produced by Olivia Natt ,  Stella Tan ,  Eric Krupke and Rachelle Bonja

Edited by Liz O. Baylen

Original music by Will Reid ,  Pat McCusker ,  Dan Powell and Diane Wong

Engineered by Chris Wood

Listen and follow The Daily Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music

Debates over homeless encampments in the United States have intensified as their number has surged. To tackle the problem, some cities have enforced bans on public camping.

As the Supreme Court prepares to hear arguments about whether such actions are legal, Abbie VanSickle, who covers the court for The Times, discusses the case and its far-reaching implications.

On today’s episode

Abbie VanSickle , a Supreme Court correspondent for The New York Times.

Background reading

A ruling in the case could help determine how states, particularly those in the West, grapple with a rising homelessness crisis .

In a rare alliance, Democrats and Republicans are seeking legal power to clear homeless camps .

There are a lot of ways to listen to The Daily. Here’s how.

We aim to make transcripts available the next workday after an episode’s publication. You can find them at the top of the page.

Fact-checking by Susan Lee .

The Daily is made by Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, Luke Vander Ploeg, M.J. Davis Lin, Dan Powell, Sydney Harper, Mike Benoist, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Rachelle Bonja, Diana Nguyen, Marion Lozano, Corey Schreppel, Rob Szypko, Elisheba Ittoop, Mooj Zadie, Patricia Willens, Rowan Niemisto, Jody Becker, Rikki Novetsky, John Ketchum, Nina Feldman, Will Reid, Carlos Prieto, Ben Calhoun, Susan Lee, Lexie Diao, Mary Wilson, Alex Stern, Dan Farrell, Sophia Lanman, Shannon Lin, Diane Wong, Devon Taylor, Alyssa Moxley, Summer Thomad, Olivia Natt, Daniel Ramirez and Brendan Klinkenberg.

Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Sam Dolnick, Paula Szuchman, Lisa Tobin, Larissa Anderson, Julia Simon, Sofia Milan, Mahima Chablani, Elizabeth Davis-Moorer, Jeffrey Miranda, Renan Borelli, Maddy Masiello, Isabella Anderson and Nina Lassam.

Katrin Bennhold is the Berlin bureau chief. A former Nieman fellow at Harvard University, she previously reported from London and Paris, covering a range of topics from the rise of populism to gender. More about Katrin Bennhold

Abbie VanSickle covers the United States Supreme Court for The Times. She is a lawyer and has an extensive background in investigative reporting. More about Abbie VanSickle

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