Each legislative session, committees are inundated with reports and presentations on a variety of issues. Many of the recommendations from these reports morph into legislation or other work for lawmakers.
On Tuesday, members of the House and Senate Education Committees received one of a series of reports they will be hearing over the next few weeks presented by the State Board of Education and originating from the 20 recommendations from the Governor’s Task Force on Education. Tuesday’s report focused on the work of several subcommittees as they have continued fleshing out some of the original 20 Governor’s Task Force Recommendations. House Education Committee Chair Reed DeMordaunt (R-Eagle), reminded members of his committee that much of their time this session will be focused on implementing many of these recommendations.
Tom Taggart, chair of the High Expectations Subcommittee outlined a list of recommendations, including the concept of mastery-based learning and the expansion of advanced opportunities for junior and senior high school students. He also noted that one of the recommendations this group was asked to consider was a change in the funding formula. Taggart told legislators that his committee decided that because school districts are still struggling to deal with education cuts, now is not the time to move forward on this recommendation. The High Expectations Subcommittee is concerned that any change in the funding formula will create winners and losers. A report on Idaho Education News has more information about this particular decision.
State Board of Education member and co-chair of the Innovation and Collaboration subcommittee Don Soltman presented several recommendations for improving collaboration among teachers, provisions for job-embedded professional development, and technology implementation.
Legislators will also learn more about additional recommendations at future meetings, including the SBE’s proposed rule changes regarding tiered licensure for teacher certification and a plan to create a career ladder form of teacher pay.
