Here's a link to my full story at spokesman.com on the retooled version of state Superintendent of Schools Tom Luna's school reform plan that was introduced today; it makes no change in the most controversial provision: Raising class sizes and cutting hundreds of teaching jobs.…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The Idaho Transportation Department has issued a permit for Imperial Oil/ExxonMobil to transport an oversized test load on U.S. Highway 12 beginning on Feb. 22. ITD Motor Vehicle Administrator Alan Frew also issued…
Senate Education Committee Chairman John Goedde, R-Coeur d'Alene, said it likely will take his committee "a number of days" just to go through the details of the school-reform bills. "In an hour, we went through probably 12 pages, and this bill is 60 pages," he…
Gov. Butch Otter and state schools Supt. Tom Luna said in a news release today that the changes made to the education reform bills, which were introduced in a new three-bill package today, only "enhance" the plan. Click below to read the full news release.
State Superintendent of Schools Tom Luna said the reason his school reform proposal jumped from two bills to five and then back to three was just because of different configurations of the same items; for example, the two bills not introduced today did things like…
Under the Luna school reform plan, school districts would designate which online courses their students would be required to take, but couldn't specify from which provider the students take the class, Luna aide Jason Hancock told the Senate Education Committee. "They can certainly suggest, they…
"If a local school district wants to keep their class sizes the same, then they're going to have to do one of two things," Jason Hancock, aide to state schools Supt. Tom Luna, told the Senate Education Committee. First option, he said: Taking the reductions…
Asked about the proposal to increase class sizes by Sen. John Andreason, R-Boise, Luna aide Jason Hancock said, "Nobody wants to increase these divisors. Nobody wants to see class sizes get bigger." But, he said, "Keep in mind that until the mid-90s, Idaho's class sizes…
There's no money in the Luna school reform plan for purchasing or replacing any textbooks, Luna aide Jason Hancock told the Senate Education Committee as he went over SB 1069. Instead, there's only money for technology in anticipation of virtual textbooks in the future. "The…
Sen. Nicole LeFavour, D-Boise, said, since she didn't get an opportunity to ask any questions on the new Luna bills, she wants to make sure that when the committee takes them up, more information is available on the impacts of the bills on property taxes;…
State Superintendent of Schools Tom Luna told the Senate Education Committee, "The testimony that was given to this committee over those three days was not window-dressing to us. We heard good ideas and good comments, and we've responded accordingly." The Senate Education Committee then quickly…
State Superintendent of Schools Tom Luna has switched his list of five new bills to just three: One on labor conditions, one on reform, and a separate bill on pay for performance. Introducing the new measures, Luna said, "Ultimately because of this legislation, class sizes…
The Senate Education Committee has voted unanimously to introduce legislation to require community college trustee candidates to file sunshine reports on their campaign finances just as do other candidates for elective office; and to strengthen Idaho's anti-bullying laws. Now it's moving on to the new…
Minority Democrats on the Senate Education Committee have issued a statement opposing SB 1068 and 1069, state Superintendent of Schools Tom Luna's education reform plan. Senate Minority Leader Edgar Malepeai, D-Pocatello, said the plan was "flawed from the beginning" because of the lack of input…
The House Transportation Committee, voting along party lines, rejected proposed legislation from Rep. Tom Trail, R-Moscow, to require a public hearing before permitting megaloads of more than 500,000 pounds to travel on Idaho roads, refusing even to introduce the bill. Trail said afterward that he…
Senate Education Committee Chairman John Goedde, R-Coeur d'Alene, has scheduled five new bills for introduction at his committee hearing this afternoon to replace SB 1068 and 1069, state schools Supt. Tom Luna's proposed school reform package. However, Goedde's committee, which meets at 3 p.m. today,…
The Idaho House is holding its Lincoln Day commemoration today; the Senate held its on Friday. In the House, the program led off with bagpipes and drums from the Treasure Valley Professional Firefighters Pipes and Drum corps; also on the program are remarks by Rep.…
Every Idaho state agency has received a memo from the Legislature's joint budget committee asking it to prepare and submit information by this Thursday on how a possible general fund reduction of 5 percent could be accomplished at the agency in next year's budget. "Although…
Wayne Hammon, Gov. Butch Otter's budget director, says he's not planning to replace the recently retired chief economist of the state either this year or next year, even as the state faces potentially huge budget cuts based on questions about how much the state will…
Idaho now has the data to show that its substance abuse treatment services directly save the state money - for every $1 spent on treatment costs, Idaho avoided $1.38 in criminal justice costs, according to new research from the Washington State University Public Policy Center.…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
