Kevin Richert

Senior reporter and blogger Kevin Richert specializes in education politics and education policy. He has more than 35 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. He can be reached at krichert@idahoednews.org

Statehouse roundup, 2.15.19: Senate passes turnaround schools bill; rules fight heats up

Sen. Dean Mortimer’s voluntary turnaround bill now heads to the House, where a similar bill stalled out a year ago.

Monday’s big K-12 budget hearing: what to watch for

Lawmakers will make decisions that could dictate where the state’s public school dollars go — and set the stage for other spending bills down the road.

Statehouse roundup, 2.14.19: Charter administrators bill heads to Senate floor

In other news, a Nampa student gets a hearing on a bill to give high-achieving students a more flexible high school schedule.

Blaine County disputes Ybarra’s mastery ‘waiting list’

Superintendent GwenCarol Holmes is the third administrator to question the list, which state superintendent Sherri Ybarra has touted in her push to expand Idaho’s mastery pilot.

Idaho’s ‘go-on rate’ shows no improvement

Fewer than 45 percent of the state’s high school graduates went straight to college last fall. Despite a multimillion-dollar campaign to encourage students to continue their education, this number has remained stagnant.

Report: Funding formula ‘wealth adjustment’ could put more financial pressure on schools

The Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy issued a report Tuesday on the possible outcomes of a “noble goal.”

Boise’s Marian Pritchett school to shift to hybrid model

The school has served pregnant teens since 1964. But enrollment has dropped sharply in the past two years, and the district will cut back on the school’s on-site faculty.

Statehouse roundup, 2.11.19: New immunization opt-out bill surfaces

In other Statehouse news, an East Idaho school district says an Idaho Falls legislator jumped the gun on a sex education bill.

Superintendent Ybarra’s schedule: Feb. 11-15

Here’s the schedule, as released Monday morning.

More grim budget news: January tax collections fall far short of projections

All told, tax collections for this budget year now sit $128.3 million short of projections. And against this backdrop, lawmakers will begin writing budgets for education and other state agencies.