Day 82: Looking past the legislative session

Carly Flandro | 03/27/2023

Unlikely as it may seem after today’s end-of-session plot twist, the 2023 legislative session will come to an end sometime soon.

State superintendent Debbie Critchfield is starting to consider what’s next on the horizon.

Today, she and Chief of Staff Greg Wilson began planning the State Department of Education’s upcoming post-legislative tour, slated for April. The statewide tour will give SDE officials a chance to discuss new policy changes with districts.

Critchfield also held two meetings — one with a public health administrator and another with Rep. Barbara Ehardt, R-Idaho Falls — to discuss health education and new legislation.

Finally, she attended a virtual briefing on the U.S. Department of Labor’s newly announced State Apprenticeship Grants.

“The U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Labor have recognized the importance of connecting kids to skills. Idaho is ahead of the nation in this arena,” Critchfield said. “Today’s briefing resulted in some interesting discussions on, among other things, teacher apprenticeships.”

Carly Flandro

Carly Flandro reports from her hometown of Pocatello. Prior to joining EdNews, she taught English at Century High and was a reporter for the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. She has won state and regional journalism awards, and her work has appeared in newspapers throughout the West. Flandro has a bachelor’s degree in print journalism and Spanish from the University of Montana, and a master’s degree in English from Idaho State University. You can email her at [email protected] or call or text her at (208) 317-4287.