We have a hearing date and time for HB 590, the dangerous private school voucher bill. The Senate Education Committee will hold a hearing on HB 590 Wednesday, March 14 at 2:00 in the Lincoln Auditorium, which is located on the garden level of the Capitol at the far west end. Those who are unable to attend can watch live streaming coverage of the hearing here.
The committee has only allotted one hour for the HB 590 hearing, so live testimony will be limited. Which makes it all the more important that you e-mail, call, or write members of the Senate Education Committee and tell them you oppose HB 590 and that they should vote NO on this ill-advised legislation. If you plan on attending Wednesday’s hearing, please bring a written copy of your testimony so that we can make sure it is delivered to the committee. Below is a list of Senate Education Committee members and their e-mail addresses.
Sen. Dean Mortimer (Chair) dmortimer@senate.idaho.gov
Sen. Steven Thayne (Vice Chair) sthayne@senate.idaho.gov
Sen. Chuck Winder cwinder@senate.idaho.gov
Sen. Bob Nonini bnonini@senate.idaho.gov
Sen. Lori Den Hartog ldenhartog@senate.idaho.gov
Sen. Jim Guthrie jguthrie@senate.idaho.gov
Sen. Carl Crabtree ccrabtree@senate.idaho.gov
Sen. Cherie Buckner-Webb cbucknerwebb@senate.idaho.gov
Sen. Janie Ward-Engelking jwardengelking@senate.idaho.gov
The IEA and every other major education stakeholder group oppose this unnecessary legislation, which would pave the way for public funds to be diverted to private and religious schools. We need to invest in out public schools, which serve and educate every student who comes through the doors, not funnel money to private schools that can pick and choose which students they want to admit.
For more information about HB 590, private school vouchers, and why they are harmful to public schools, visit the Protect Idaho’s Public Schools website. Another good resource is this IEA REPORTER podcast, where IEA President Kari Overall shares concerns the IEA and other education groups have with HB 590.
