Anne Ritter, Meridian school district trustee, called for doing away with the "asynchronous" requirement entirely, as part of Idaho's new graduation requirement for two online courses, one of them asynchronous - meaning the teacher isn't present in the classroom and students and teachers participate in the class on their own schedules. "I think the parental concerns need to be looked at," she said.

Several other committee members then spoke out in favor of a requirement for an asynchronous course, saying students will need to be able to take that kind of class when they get to college; other committee members are undecided. Andy Grover, Melba school superintendent, said, "We have about an 80 percent passing rate for asynchronous courses." Students who fail go back into a traditional class, he said. He said he saw merits to flexibility for school districts, but also saw merit to exposing students to that type of course.

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