After a state Board of Education subcommittee approved a couple of changes to wording regarding students who fail online courses and alternatives for districts, the new online-class graduation requirement will now head to the State Board of Education, which will consider it in a special meeting between now and Sept. 9. If approved, it'd take effect immediately as an administrative rule; it'd go before lawmakers review during the legislative session that starts in January, at which point they could reject it or let it stand. As proposed, the committee went with requiring Idaho high school graduates to take two online courses, one of them 'asynchronous,' despite overwhelming opposition at seven public hearings around the state. The requirement applies to next year's freshmen, the high school class of 2016.

Subcommittee member Anne Ritter, a Meridian School District trustee, said, "I have huge concerns. I think it's too far too fast. I think flexibility would have been a much better approach."