Two quick catchup items from Tuesday:

Early retirement. A bill eliminating the teacher early retirement program is headed to the Senate floor, following a party-line vote in the Senate Education Committee. Supporters of Senate Bill 1089 say the bill would eliminate a $3.6 million program that amounts to little more than a bonus for retiring teachers; the Idaho Education Association says the program makes early retirement an option for mothers who temporarily leave the teaching profession to raise their young children. (More from the committee meeting from Betsy Russell of the Spokane Spokesman-Review.)

The early retirement program was eliminated in Students Come First, but was reinstated when voters rejected the laws.

Here’s a link to our recent story on SB 1089.

Online district data. The Senate voted 35-0 to clean up a loophole in state law, again requiring school districts to post budgets and master agreements online. These requirements were not part of Students Come First, but somehow were struck from state law with the repeal. Senate Bill 1055 now heads to the House.