Committee debate: ‘My concerns … were acted upon’

So far, Sens. John Andreason, R-Boise, and Nicole LeFavour, D-Boise, have spoken of their opposition to the bill, and Sens. Dean Mortimer, R-Idaho Falls, and Mitch Toryanski, R-Boise, have spoken of their support. Andreason said the main reason he serves in the Senate is because of his concern for education, and his constituents are telling him “this isn’t good legislation.” LeFavour said, “Before us we have a huge commitment on a grand scale to an experiment that we haven’t tested, and a tradeoff that I think is going to hurt Idaho kids and schools in really dire ways, that people have very clearly expressed their opposition to.”

Sen. Mitch Toryanski, R-Boise, said, “It seems to me that my concerns and the concerns of many of my constituents were heard and were acted upon.” He said in his view, the bill is “good for kids, good for parents and good for teachers.”