Well, that was a little weird. Senate Education Chairman John Goedde, R-Coeur d’Alene, proposed legislation to amend an existing law that requires those under 18 to prove they’re attending school, or have graduated, or are in job training or are being home-schooled, in order to get a driver’s license; his bill added that they’d have to prove “satisfactory academic progress.” Goedde’s committee killed the bill, SB 1087, on a 4-5 vote. Several committee members said they didn’t feel that strongly about it, but saw potential problems with the bill, including the fact that no definition was given for “satisfactory academic progress.” Goedde said he wanted to leave that up to local school districts to define.

After the vote, he said he only drafted the bill because it was suggested by a driver’s training instructor at a “listening session” the committee held earlier this year. “It was just one more enticement for students to stay in school,” he said.