After more than a decade of talk, states could finally see some leeway from federal education mandates, state superintendent Debbie Critchfield said Monday.
Idaho will seek two specific test waivers, Critchfield told the House Education Committee Monday.
Third-grade testing. The feds require third-grade standardized tests in several topics, including English language arts. But Idaho also administers the Idaho Reading Indicator to all K-3 students. Idaho would like to use the IRI to replace this section of its third-grade Idaho Standards Achievement Test.
High school testing. The feds also require a high school exam, so Idaho requires 11th-graders to take the ISAT. Critchfield said she would like to give students alternatives — such as the SAT for college-bound students, career-technical exams or the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, a test geared toward students considering the military.
Neither of these waivers will happen immediately, Critchfield told lawmakers. But Critchfield, first appointed to the State Board of Education in 2014, said the states’ relationship with the U.S. Department of Education is changing, which makes waivers a real possibility.
“The conditions have presented themselves,” she said.
‘We’ve got something going here:’ Teacher of the Year touts Launch, scholarships
About 9,000 students have passed through Laron Johnson’s high school classrooms over 29 years.
And Idaho’s teacher of the year urged lawmakers to continue to make opportunities for high school graduates — through the Idaho Launch and Idaho Opportunity Scholarship programs.
“We’ve got something going here,” Johnson, a Rigby High School teacher, told the House Education Committee Monday.
Launch could face another round of tight scrutiny at the Statehouse this session. The program provides high school graduates with up to $8,000 for college or career-technical programs. But hardline lawmakers have opposed Launch since Gov. Brad Little unveiled it in 2023. As Idaho faces a shortfall that could run in the hundreds of millions of dollars, Launch’s $75 million budget could end up in legislators’ crosshairs.
College financial aid has made a difference in Johnson’s family. He told lawmakers that his daughter was able to stay in state and attend Idaho State University, where scholarships are readily available.
And Johnson’s students can go to college debt free, they have a better chance of returning to their community.
“You know what keeps seniors up?” he said. “It’s affording a house in Jefferson County.”
Proposal urges feds to step up special education funding
Fifty-one years ago, the federal government pledged to pick up 40% of states’ additional special education costs.
That has never happened. Idaho now receives a 12% federal match.
A nonbinding memorial would urge Congress to meet the funding commitments in its Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
“In my opinion, it’s become an unfunded mandate,” said Rep. Ben Fuhriman, R-Shelley, the memorial’s sponsor. “It’s taking resources away from all children.”
The memorial piggybacks onto a federal bill, the bipartisan IDEA Full Funding Act, which calls for the feds to hit the 40% budget benchmark by 2050. “Fully funding IDEA is not only a moral and legal obligation but also a wise financial investment,” the memorial reads, in part.
The House Education Committee voted unanimously to introduce the memorial, which could come back to the panel for a full hearing.
