Idaho should continue its current system of sending money out to school districts to contract for their own broadband service for another school year, the Legislature’s Broadband Access Study Committee declared today, while longer-term proposals are enacted and implemented. The lawmakers voted unanimously in favor...
The Legislature’s Broadband Access Study Committee has passed two more motions. First, Rep. Greg Chaney, R-Caldwell, made a motion to let school districts "opt out" if they want. Other members argued that was unnecessary, as all that has been discussed was making resources available to…
State Librarian Ann Joslin told lawmakers on the Broadband Access Study Committee that libraries need assistance to provide much-used internet services to their patrons, for purposes including job hunts and more. “Clearly a lot of the public libraries have very little IT support,” she said,...
Looking at the different educational entities that were served by the now-defunct Idaho Education Network, the Broadband Access Study Panel has now passed another motion to include them: “This committee is committed to supporting the Idaho Digital Learning Academy, the Department of Juvenile Corrections Educational…
The third point of agreement for lawmakers on the Broadband Access Study Committee came with another unanimous vote: “This committee is committed to removing any barrier to school district collaboration in procurement of broadband and related services, including regionally and interstate.” Panel members said they…
After agreeing that they don’t want a repeat of the Idaho Education Network, lawmakers on the Broadband Access Study Committee moved on to debating how the state could make resources available to school districts, for everything from help with contracting processes to technical and e-rate…
After hours of discussion and debate, the Legislature’s Broadband Access Study Committee has agreed on one point with a unanimous vote: It doesn’t want to repeat the defunct Idaho Education Network. Senate Majority Leader Bart Davis, R-Idaho Falls, proposed the motion, to “move away from…
Tonight’s “Idaho Reports” looks at the expansion of the four-day school week in Idaho, as part of a joint reporting project between Idaho Reports and Idaho Education News. Among the findings of the project: Nearly 40 percent of Idaho’s school districts now have students on…
The Idaho Supreme Court has issued a substitute opinion in the instant racing case, but it doesn’t change any of its conclusions from its earlier opinion, which held that Gov. Butch Otter’s belated attempt to veto legislation repealing authorization for the slot machine-like gambling terminals...
Current broadband service in Idaho schools falls short of the latest national standards, lawmakers heard this morning. The FCC has set a recommended standard of 1 megabit per student, or 1 Mbps per student, for 2017-18. Only three of 131 school districts and charter schools…
Idaho’s unemployment rate fell to 4 percent in October, as the seasonally adjusted rate dropped two-tenths of a percent. Job growth for the month was the strongest it’s been in a decade, the Idaho Department of Labor reports. The national unemployment rate for the month…
The Legislature’s Broadband Access Study Committee is meeting this morning at the Capitol. “We’ve heard from a lot of people so far, but now it’s time for us to talk about decisions,” Co-Chairman Rep. Luke Malek, R-Coeur d’Alene, told the group. Today, he said, the…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
