Legislature
Legislative roundup, 3.18.21: Rural teacher certification bill held in committee
Also, one more member of the House Education Committee tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total up to three.
Senators kill ‘shall-to-may’ bargaining bill
The bill would have given school boards the option of negotiating with teachers unions. A bipartisan coalition of Senate Education Committee members killed the proposal.
House passes tax relief bill along party lines
After lengthy debate, the bill heads to the senate for consideration.
Legislative roundup, 3.17.21: Senators pass higher education budget
In other Statehouse news, senators keep the August school election date on the books, and a second House Education Committee member tests positive for coronavirus.
Supporters offer to drop private school scholarship proposal
But sponsors want to push forward with the other half of their bill: an extension of Gov. Brad Little’s popular Strong Families, Strong Students grant program.
Legislative roundup, 3.16.21: New early education grant bill emerges
Two weeks after the House narrowly rejected the $6 million federal grant, the controversial proposal could come up for another vote. And in other Tuesday Statehouse news, a big tax cut bill heads to the House floor.
Senate Education Committee kills parent payout proposal
“I have a hard time weighing who is at fault here,” Sen. Janie Ward Engelking, D-Boise said. “It’s certainly not our school districts’ fault. It’s certainly not our teachers’ fault. It’s just the situation we’re in. Hopefully we’ll have better insight next time and will do a better job.”
Legislative roundup, 3.15.21: Mask mandate ban heads to House; Clow absent with coronavirus
House Education Committee Chairman Lance Clow, R-Twin Falls, is at least the fourth legislator to contract coronavirus this legislative session.
JFAC draws up K-12 budget bills
Using more than $2 billion in state dollars — and a big infusion of federal coronavirus aid — the budgets would put another $44.9 million teacher pay and $30 million into programs to address learning loss.
Analysis: Are legislators serious about helping kids learn to read, or not?
By the end of the 2021 session, we’ll have a better idea of whether lawmakers want to put money into reading readiness, and post-pandemic catchup.