Teacher pay, career ladders, per-pupil spending, construction bonds and just about every other kind of education-funding issue you can imagine have garnered gallons of newspaper ink this legislative session. And all those issues are important. But a bill that quietly passed the Legislature late last month just may turn out to have the longest-lasting and biggest effect on Idaho’s at-risk students. The Legislature plans to spend about $712,000 to expand alternative school funding to sixth-graders. (Currently, the state provides funding for alternative schools from seventh through 12th grades.) Magic Valley educators and lawmakers were behind the effort/Twin Falls Times-News. More here.