Early reading bill spurs extended debate in House, then passes with just one ‘no’ vote

Idaho House members questioned and debated the stuffing out of an early-reading bill today, then stuffed it all back in and passed it with just one “no” vote. HB 451 was the only bill the House got to during its hour-long floor session today.

Rep. Pete Nielsen, R-Mountain Home, who cast the only “no” vote, said he worried that the bill didn’t go far enough to involve parents. The measure requires school districts to notify parents when children score low on reading tests in grades K-3, involve them in developing and carrying out improvement plans if possible, and provide intervention to “ensure students can read at or above grade level at the end of grade 3.”

Rep. Heather Scott, R-Blanchard, asked the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Julie VanOrden, R-Pingree, “Will these children that have these deficiencies in reading, will they be reclassified as another type of student because they have this deficiency, possibly as a special-needs kid or some type of disability because of this new classification?” VanOrden responded, “No, they will not.”

House Education Chairman Reed DeMordaunt, R-Eagle, told the House, “Anything we can do to engage the parent in the educational process is a good thing, and that’s all that this piece of legislation does. It provides the mechanism whereby parents can be involved. Now thankfully, many parents already are engaged. But many parents would like to be engaged and they don’t know how.”

DeMordaunt said HB 451 has no cost attached to it, but a companion bill, HB 526, which outlines the governor’s $10.7 million early literacy initiative, does. He said, “We’re saying by grade 3, you need to have that foundation in place.”