Little’s move: Gov. Brad Little, the lawmaker Idaho Education Association members honored with the 2024 Champion of Education Award, today put yet another nail in the coffin of his legacy as a supporter of public school educators by signing House Bill 516.
• The signing comes despite hundreds of emails and phone calls to the governor urging him to veto the bill, as well as admonitions to avoid signing it from public education stakeholders and supporters like Reclaim Idaho.
IEA's reaction: IEA President Layne McInelly issued this statement Friday evening: "Gov. Little claims the mantle of a public education supporter, but he just signed a bill that could cement his legacy as anything but. In the eyes of public education's most ardent and dedicated advocates for students and public schools — IEA's members — he has certainly forfeited that claim. The governor had every reason to veto House Bill 516, including that it would simply be the right thing to do for Idaho’s students and educators. The governor even detailed how the new law could lead to discrimination against union members in the letter justifying his action. Unfortunately, he ignored his better angels, signed this terrible bill into law, and waited to reveal that until Friday at 5 p.m. — a time designed to avoid the spotlight. Disappointing doesn’t even begin to describe his actions nor the entire process by which this attack on educators came to be. Idaho’s students and the dedicated professionals who teach them will be worse off because of his choice. They deserve better."
What Comes Next, and What You Can Do Now
IEA will provide guidelines and trainings in the coming weeks and months as members navigate this new law and its ramifications. In the meantime, here’s what you can do:
• If you are still on payroll deduction, you must make the switch to IEA AutoPay now. IEA has a limited window to process members before the law goes into effect on July 1.
• Vote in the May 19 primary. IEA members could have avoided this law if just a few races turned out differently in 2024. Your vote counts.
• Ensure that the email you have on file with IEA is your personal email, not your work email. IEA will be prohibited from contacting you at your work email.
Little’s justification: In his transmittal letter, Little said he has made education his “top priority” and that he has “deep respect” for the state’s public school teachers.
• “However, while local and state teachers’ associations do important work, they remain private organizations that currently receive taxpayer-funded support not extended to other private entities.” Supporters of the new law have used payroll deduction at the district level — a one-time nominal cost — as evidence of “support.”
• As he has with many other bills, Little signed the law while acknowledging that it makes union members targets: “Some of the new definitions in the bill are overly broad and ambiguous and will lead to increased scrutiny of a teacher’s actions purely based on their affiliation with their local association.”
• “Additionally,” he wrote, “the bill may have chilling effect (sic) on school districts’ ability to collaborate with their local association on professional development and charitable work in the community. These are real and valuable activities that exist to improve the competency of our educators and, in turn, student outcomes.” The law could sweep the IEA Children’s Fund and the Center for Teaching and Learning into its definition of “affiliates,” potentially limiting their ability to operate at current levels.
• Little ended the signing letter with a laundry list of his accomplishments in support of public education.
The law is targeted directly at IEA:
• It places restrictions only on Idaho Education Association members. No other public sector unions are affected.
• It limits worksite access. IEA members will no longer be able to hold union meetings during breaks or otherwise scheduled times at their worksites. IEA members will also be banned from using district buildings for labor-management communication.
• The law diminishes representation. Members will be forced to jump through bureaucratic hoops to exercise their right to union representation during disputes and disciplinary actions.
• It strangles communication. IEA will no longer be able to contact union members through their employer email systems.
• The law complicates conflict. IEA members and public school districts will lose more control over how they can solve informal disputes.
• It kicks union members offsite. Union work related to bargaining, mediation and dispute resolutions will be moved outside of work hours and out of school facilities.
• The law disrupts union-district relations. It replaces practices negotiated between school districts and union members, gutting local control and reducing flexibility.
• It could weaken PACE, the Children’s Fund and the Center for Teaching and Learning: IEA’s longstanding Children’s Fund, which has provided more than $1.5 million to Idaho public school families so they can buy essentials like glasses and backpacks and shoes, will be a target under HB 516 because it will be considered an “affiliate” of IEA. The Political Action Committee for Education and the Center for Teaching and Learning falls under the bill's definition of "affiliate" as well.
