Legislature
Legislative roundup 3.11.21: House passes guns-in-schools bill
The House Education Committee also introduced a bill that would fund optional full-day kindergarten, so districts wouldn’t have to rely on supplemental levy funds.
Caldwell requires permission slips for sex ed. Teachers say it might not work everywhere.
“We’ve had to work really hard to make this process go as smoothly as it does,” one teacher told EdNews. She worries that a legislative mandate requiring parental permission could leave some students without necessary information.
Legislative roundup, 3.10.21: House approves bill to withhold funding to schools closed during pandemic
“If you choose to remain closed to the students of Idaho, we have to provide them another option,” bill sponsor, Rep. Codi Galloway said.
Legislative roundup, 3.9.21: House approves scholarship, Strong Students grants bill
In other news, bills relating to vaccine exemption disclosures and state payments to parents that withdraw from remote schools are headed to the floor.
Guns-in-schools bill heads to the House floor
Rep. Chad Christensen’s bill would allow employees with an enhanced concealed weapons license to carry a gun on school grounds, without local trustees’ permission. The House State Affairs Committee approved the bill Tuesday along party lines.
Legislative roundup, 3.8.21: House passes optional union negotiations bill
If the bill passes, districts could implement salaries and benefits without having to negotiate or agree with teachers’ representatives.
Sex education opt-in bill advances to the Senate
The bill would require parents to sign permission slips for their children to discuss human sexuality, including topics like gender identity and sexual orientation.
Legislative roundup, 3.4.21: House passes rural teacher hiring bill
The House also moved quickly Thursday to pass a bill to streamline school reporting requirements.
Legislative roundup, 3.3.21: Moon’s labor negotiations bill advances
If the bill becomes law, school districts could decide whether or not to negotiate with the local teachers union.
‘We are left with no other option:’ Lawmakers cut into Boise State’s budget
The $409,000 move is designed to cut spending on social-justice initiatives that have left Boise State University’s political standing “in the ditch,” said Sen. Carl Crabtree, R-Grangeville. House conservatives considered the cut inadequate.