Idaho state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna said late today that he's still hoping some version of SB 1113 will pass, but he said, "There's a reason these were put in three separate bills. I think they're all three necessary to do the kinds of reform that we need in education, but the two bills that we've passed are monumental."

Luna called SB 1108 and SB 1110, which now are pending in the House Education Committee, "long overdue." SB 1108 removes most collective bargaining rights from teachers, while SB 1110 sets up a pay for performance plan for teachers, though it wouldn't start until 2013. "Those are two great bills," Luna said. "They'll go a long way toward reforming education. The third bill completes the package."

Luna dismissed any notion that SB 1113, the controversial bill to raise class sizes, cut teaching jobs and boost technology, was a stalking horse for the labor bills. "I've never been one to ask for a pony when what I really wanted was a puppy," he said. "We put forward what we saw was necessary to reform education."