School redesign eased; PE plan out for now

BOISE – The state Board of Education has scaled back its school redesign plan and dropped for this year a proposal to beef up physical education.

The board on Wednesday approved most of a task force’s scaled-back recommendations for the much-debated redesign plan. It yielded to parents, teachers and administrators who protested that many of the proposals had asked too much of students, or would force them to forego valuable electives in order to meet graduation requirements.

But, also in response to public comments, the board kept intact a plan to require four years of math and three years of science for high school graduation – shifting the requirement to start in 2013 instead of 2012.

“There was considerable support for increased math and science, recognizing that these are the skills that are needed in the marketplace,” said the leader of the task force, Sue Thilo of Coeur d’Alene.

The task force released its recommendations earlier this year for improving Idaho’s middle and high schools and encouraging students to go on to higher education. The move came in response to reports that only 45 percent of Idaho’s high school graduates went on to higher education in 2000 – compared to a national average of 56 percent.

The task force recommended strengthening math and science requirements, requiring more “career focused” electives, and making college-oriented courses such as Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate available at every Idaho high school.

It called for middle-school students, parents and counselors to work together on a plan for each student to discuss the options for work or more schooling after high school. Among other things, it also called for requiring students to carry a C average in language, math, science and social studies before they could move on to high school.

The board held several public hearings around the state on the redesign plan this autumn.

At those hearings, they heard sharp criticism from parents, students, teachers and administrators. For example, many people said requiring middle-schoolers to carry a C average would encourage students to drop out and lead to grade inflation.

The board voted Wednesday to drop that provision.

Board member Milford Terrell said he supported keeping the requirement in.

“I have always found working with kids if I put a challenge before them, they accept that challenge,” Terrell said. “I honestly think it’s sending the wrong message to our kids.”

The board retained the requirement that high school students have access to AP or other advanced courses.

It dropped all of the requirements relating to middle-schoolers.

“They’ll evaluate middle school on a separate plan,” said Luci Willets, a board spokeswoman.

The board also voted to delay action on the physical education plan until next year. Teachers and administrators had asked for more details about how the plan would be put in place, Willets said.

“It doesn’t mean that there won’t be a PE requirement at some point, but the board would like to have a continuing dialogue about that before they send it to the Legislature,” Willets said.

Also on Wednesday, the board released some cost estimates for the plan.

The cost would start at $1.5 million annually and gradually increase to $17 million by 2013, when all the added math and science classes were in place. Idaho’s annual education budget is now about $1 billion.

“The state will get a big bang for their buck in ensuring that every student has math all four years, and every student has science for three years,” Willets said. “Board members said the benefits of having the students prepared for the work force far outweigh the cost.”