The Senate Education Committee breezed through what might have been the shortest committee meeting on record — less than two minutes — by voting to print the following bills this week. They’ll be ready for a hearing at a future date.  

Parent tech awareness program. Sen. Kevin Cook (R-Idaho Falls) introduced legislation to create a parent tech awareness program to combat “online threats.”  

Professional development for literacy. Sen. Van Burtenshaw (R-Terrenton) introduced a bill that would offer professional development to reading educators. Open to educators who teach K-3, the “multi-year” training would be administered by the Idaho Department of Education.  

Education savings accounts. Yet another voucher bill — this one sponsored by former senator Steven Thayn, a Republican from Emmett — came out of the committee meeting. The bill would allow both public schools, including charters, to offer education savings accounts for tutoring, supplies and other items.  

Several other education-related bills wound their way through the Legislature this week:  

Educator raises. The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee agreed on a plan to give K-12 educators and staff, along with other state employees, a 5 percent raise. For educators, this legislation would simply provide the funding for raises to school districts. Ultimately, educator raises are secured locally through the contract negotiations process. 

Bible reading in class. The legislation, brought forward by Rep. Jordan Redman (R-Coeur d’Alene), would require all public school teachers to read a passage from the Bible to their classrooms every day “without instruction or comment.” The bill’s text includes “reasonable accommodations” for teachers and students who object. Rep. Redman left most of the introduction of his proposed bill to lobbyist Blaine Conzatti, president of the Idaho Family Policy Center, who said Bible reading was the law in Idaho in 1925 and fits with the state’s history and traditions. The U.S. Supreme Court barred public school-sponsored prayer and Bible reading in 1963. The bill passed the House Education Committee on Thursday.  

Priority access to public charter schools. The House Education Committee voted on Thursday to introduce a bill granting students whose parents are active-duty military priority registration at the state’s public charter schools. The bill is sponsored by Rep. David Leavitt (R-Twin Falls). 

Catching Up on Last Week’s Bills 

Here are status updates for the bills we mentioned in last week’s IEA Reporter:  

School Safety and Security Advisory Board changes. Rep. Ted Hill (R-Eagle) has been working on House Bill 42, which proposes reducing the number of people serving on the School Safety and Security Advisory Board from 13 to 6, citing difficulty filling positions. HB 42 was endorsed by the House Education Committee but has been returned to that committee without being considered by the full House of Representatives. It is unlikely to advance in its current form. 

Rural facilities school funding. Last week, Boise Education Association member Rep. Soñia Galaviz (D-Boise) and Rep. Rod Furniss (R-Rigby) co-sponsored House Bill 75, which would create a new fund to support public education facilities. The fund would draw $25 million from the public school facilities cooperative fund and $28 million from the public school health insurance participation fund. To access the funds, public schools could apply for a need-based grant to pay for school construction, remodeling and maintenance, with priority given to rural districts. The bill has been referred to the House Education Committee.  

Mobile device policy. Senate Bill 1032, brought forward by Sen. Treg A. Bernt (R-Meridian), would require Idaho public school districts to create distraction-free learning policies to limit the use of electronic communications devices such as cell phones and tablets. The legislation would require all districts to have a policy in place by Dec. 31, 2025. The Senate Education Committee advanced the bill this week and is expected to be considered by the full Senate soon. 

Ending compulsory attendance. House Joint Resolution No. 1 would amend the Idaho Constitution to change the language regarding compulsory education. Under the current language, every child between six-18 must attend public schools unless they are educated by other means, such as home schooling or private schooling. HJR 1 would allow parents to educate children completely outside of the public school system “without government regulation.” If passed, the proposed constitutional amendment will appear on the November 2026 ballot. The resolution was proposed by Rep. Dale Hawkins (R-Fernwood) and has been referred to the House State Affairs Committee; it made no advancement this week.