Legislature Still Playing Games with Education Budgets As the interminable 2021 legislative session passed the 100 day mark this week, the legislature continued its antics around education budgets and “straw man” arguments around the “indoctrination” of students. Lieutenant Governor Janice McGeachin is forming a task force to “investigate” the issue. And the House approved…
IEA Hotline—April 2, 2021 Legislature Back from Recess Next Week; Budget and Early Childhood Bills Still in Flux Following a recess necessitated by COVID-19 spread among its members, the Idaho legislature will gavel back in this Tuesday, April 6. Approving budgets for public education is a constitutional mandate, while the legislature also seems to have…
IEA Hotline—March 19, 2021 Dangerous Bills Held in Committee, Legislature to Recess Due to COVID Cases With at least six confirmed cases of COVID-19 in their ranks, the legislature announced today that they will recess until April 6. Read more about the COVID-19 outbreak and the decision to recess from Idaho Education News. The week…
IEA Hotline—March 12, 2021 Stop HB 221 Next Week; Support Early Childhood Education The Senate Education Committee will hold a hearing on HB 221, the ‘local certification” bill, next Thursday, March 18 at 3:00 p.m. Mountain Time. This legislation is the most extreme threat yet to minimum qualifications for being a teacher in Idaho.…
Atrocious Local Certification Bill Passes House, Heads to Senate Education Committee The Idaho House passed HB 221, which allows local districts to “self-certify” teachers, by a 54-13 margin, spurning testimony from professional educators who voiced opposition. Rather than addressing the root causes of Idaho’s teacher shortage, the House has opted for yet another shortcut,…
House Education Committee Takes Another Shortcut, Fails to Address Causes of Teacher Shortage The most disturbing alternative certification bill yet, HB 221, passed the House Education Committee on a party-line vote of 12-3. This bill would allow school districts to bypass state certification and “self-certify” anyone meeting these minimal qualification thresholds Be 18 years old…