From the State Department of Education

GOVERNOR SIGNS FIRST TWO EDUCATION REFORM BILLS INTO LAW Governor C. L. “Butch” Otter signed Senate Bills 1108 and 1110 into law this morning, completing the first two-thirds of his effort with Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna to enact their Students Come First proposals for Idaho public schools. After signing the bills, the Governor issued the following statement:
“I had the privilege of signing into law today two bills that have been a long time coming, have been publicly vetted and debated to an unprecedented degree, and will improve the ability of our public schools to fulfill their mission of educating Idaho’s children. But our work is not done. We are committed to continuing our work with lawmakers and stakeholders on legislation to provide students and educators with the technology and flexibility they need to be successful in an increasingly competitive world.”
The Idaho House approved Senate Bills 1108 and 1110 last week. Senate Bill 1108 will restore authority to locally elected school boards, and Senate Bill 1110 will implement pay-for-performance across the state of Idaho above the teacher’s base salary.
Governor Otter and Superintendent Luna have been working closely with the Senate on changes to the third bill, Senate Bill 1113, which addresses classroom reforms by stabilizing the public schools budget, investing in teacher base salaries, and infusing more technology in the classroom. The revised version of Senate Bill 1113 is expected to be introduced Friday morning.  For more information on the Students Come First plan, visit http://www.sde.idaho.gov/site/studentsComeFirst/.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
Here is an update on education-related bills in the Idaho Legislature this session. All of these bills can be accessed online at http://legislature.idaho.gov/legislation/2011/minidata.htm for more information.
• Senate Bill 1108, the labor relations bill, was delivered to the Governor’s desk March 14, 2011.
• Senate Bill 1110, the pay for performance bill, has not yet reached the Governor’s desk.
• Senate Bill 1113, the classroom reform bill, is in the Senate Education Committee. A new bill with proposed changes to Senate Bill 1113 will likely be introduced Friday.
• Senate Bill 1111 would allow school districts to sell advertising on school buses. The bill, introduced by Senator Winder at the request of the Meridian School District, passed the Senate Education Committee, Senate floor, and the House Education Committee overwhelmingly. However, during debate on the House floor March 14, the bill was sent back to the House Education Committee. Those in opposition to the bill said there weren’t enough sideboards as to what could be advertised and debated against the concept in general. It’s expected the House Education Committee will work with the bill’s sponsor to put additional sideboards to answer the questions raised on the floor.
• Senate Bill 1149 would allow school districts to receive ADA for students who return to the district if a charter school closes in the middle of the school year. The bill was approved in the Senate Education Committee.
• House Bill 104 would prohibit school districts from using taxpayer dollars to pay for union representatives. The bill passed the House and has not yet come before the Senate Education Committee.
• House Bill 123 would reduce the funding mechanism for kindergarten by $33 million. Superintendent Luna opposes the legislation. However, with the budget shortfall that state currently faces, these are the other types of ideas that are on the table. HB 123 was introduced but is still in committee.
• House Bill 21 was signed by the Governor and removes the requirement that State Board of Education keep master agreements on file. Keep in mind that Senate Bill 1108 requires school districts to publish master agreements online.
• House Bill 78 removes the number of districts required for the Master Advancement Pilot Program. The bill passed both the House and Senate floor and is on the Governor’s desk.
• Senate Bill 1105 requires districts to create policies that include a series of consequences for bullying and to report bullying incidents to the State Department of Education. The amended bill passed the Senate floor and will head to the House Education Committee.