Idaho is one step closer to updating its graduation requirements — for the first time in more than a decade.

The State Board of Education approved the proposed changes Wednesday. If the Legislature signs on next winter, the new requirements would affect Idaho’s graduating class of 2028, this year’s ninth-graders.

The biggest change would be a new, required digital literacy course. The class would cover basics of computer science — algorithms, coding and AI — as well as internet safety and digital citizenship.

The goal is to better prepare high school graduates for the world they’re living in, said state superintendent Debbie Critchfield, who is spearheading the changes. “AI is not going to replace people in their jobs. But people who know AI will replace the people who don’t.”

The other significant change is a “future readiness project,” which wouldn’t necessarily be a written paper. Instead, seniors should be able to apply what they’ve learned from a summer job or an apprenticeship.

The two changes wouldn’t add new hurdles to graduation: Students would still need 46 credits, a blend of 29 requirements and 17 electives. The digital literacy course would replace a communication class, required since 2000. The future readiness project would update a senior project that has been in place for years.

The new graduation requirements will now be written into a proposed Idaho Department of Education rule. A rule isn’t the same as a law — but if it passes, it has the force of state law. And members of the Legislature get the final word, because the graduation rules would go before the House and Senate education committees.

Wednesday’s State Board vote represented the first hurdle. With little debate, the board approved the changes unanimously.

State Board President Linda Clark said the new requirements will better prepare high school students for “the fourth R:” the reality that awaits them after graduation.

“This body has been interested in bringing the high school requirements into this century,” she said.

Indian education director search nears closure

In other State Board news Wednesday, Critchfield said she hopes to hire an Indian education director, perhaps in the next few weeks.

More than 50 people have applied for the director’s post. Critchfield said she hopes to hire a director, and an assistant director, to better meet the distinct needs of Idaho’s five Indian tribes.

The assistant director’s job would be a new Idaho Department of Education position. It will be incorporated into Critchfield’s 2025-26 spending proposal, which is due to Gov. Brad Little’s budget team next week.

The director’s search has not been without controversy. In June, the Indigenous Idaho Alliance criticized the department for firing Johanna Jones, who had served as Indian education coordinator for more than a decade.

The department has maintained that the decision to hire a director — and elevate the position from a coordinator’s post — will better serve the state’s 3,000 Native American students.

Clark echoed that sentiment Wednesday. “It’s been painful, but I think we’re on a good road.”

U of I doctoral program approved

The State Board approved the University of Idaho’s plan to add a doctoral program in anatomical sciences.

Graduates from the hybrid program will be able to fill a growing need, in Idaho and beyond: a shortage of professionals who can teach anatomy to other health care professionals.

Jeff Seegmiller, the dean and director of the U of I’s WWAMI medical program, gave the State Board a firsthand account of the shortage. Seegmiller is a clinical anatomist who has taught for more than 20 years; in that time, he has watched the number of anatomists steadily decrease.

The program could serve 16 students immediately, and 43 students in its third year of operation.

The program could cost up to $775,000 a year, but it would not receive state funding. WWAMI fees would cover part of the costs.

Stadium and steaks: Board OKs a pair of campus projects

Voting unanimously, the State Board approved one high-profile project: a north end zone expansion at Boise State University’s Albertson Stadium.

The project includes 12 field-level suites, a 868-seat club room, and a total of 1,550 stadium seats. The project could cost up to $76.1 million, and will be funded through bonds, donations and university and athletic department reserves.

Moments later, the board gave the go-ahead for the U of I’s Meat Science and Innovation Center — albeit at a higher price than originally expected.

The center will house instruction and research in meat science, across several academic disciplines.

Originally, the project carried a $14.1 million price tag, with money coming largely from gifts and donations and the state’s Permanent Building Fund. But the cost will now reach up to $17.2 million, due to project bids that came in well above projections.

Increased labor costs drove up the price of this center, and could affect future campus projects, U of I President C. Scott Green said. “I actually think it’s going to get worse before it gets better.”