This time, Otter signs student mobility bill

Gov. Butch Otter has signed a stopgap “student mobility” bill — designed to provide money for schools that add students during the school year.

House Bill 603 will provide about $1 million to schools that experience student growth of at least 3 percent. The money will help a handful of virtual charters and alternative schools that pick up transfer students later in the school year.

Press Club Otter
Gov. Butch Otter

Otter vetoed a $1.7 million student mobility bill in 2015.

Since then, the student mobility issue has become an element in a larger debate over the state’s school funding formula. A legislative committee will review the formula, last rewritten in 1994; the committee could make recommendations to the 2017 Legislature.

Lawmakers met informally Wednesday to discuss the process that awaits them. Click here for full coverage.

Kevin Richert

Kevin Richert

Senior reporter and blogger Kevin Richert specializes in education politics and education policy. He has more than 30 years of experience in Idaho journalism. He is a frequent guest on "Idaho Reports" on Idaho Public Television and "Idaho Matters" on Boise State Public Radio. Follow Kevin on Twitter: @KevinRichert. He can be reached at [email protected]

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