Here's a news item from the Associated Press on this morning's action by the Senate State Affairs Committee to introduce a revised education reform bill: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Lawmakers have unveiled the third piece of a plan to reform Idaho's public schools and boost technology in the classroom. The legislation has undergone significant changes since it was first introduced in the 2011 Idaho Legislature. Senate Education Committee Chairman John Goedde says a provision that would have eliminated hundreds of teaching jobs and boosted class sizes is gone, leaving decisions over how to allocate state funding and how many educators to retain up to the local school districts. While a previous version of the bill would have required students to take online courses, the revamped legislation directs the state Board of Education to draft rules governing how the Internet will figure in the classroom. Ninth-graders would still eventually get laptops, but teachers will get them first, along with training.