Senate Education Chairman John Goedde, R-Coeur d’Alene, questioned how the state Board of Education could have framed a request for proposals for a statewide testing program that left key parts in optional add-on sections, rather than in the main, base portion. “Why would you have an RFP formulated that didn’t include what you were required to have by your own rule? … Can you explain that?” he asked. Board member Laird Stone responded that multiple committees and a consultant helped formulate and review the RFP, and the state Division of Purchasing recommended that just the federal requirements be in the base portion. Perhaps another review was needed, he said, but it should’ve been by attorneys familiar with the legal requirements, not by the board, he said. The board ended up having to cancel 2nd and 9th grade ISAT testing for lack of funds; they were add-ons in the contract, though they were required by state board rules.

---

---