State Policy
Analysis: A surprising school choice twist, and a tangled facilities law
Two takeaways from this week’s school administrators conference in Boise: State superintendent Debbie Critchfield repositions on private school choice, and an unexpected glitch in a new school facilities law.
As Launch moves into Year Two, AI could play a role in its future
The state might use artificial intelligence to verify pieces of students’ Idaho Launch applications.
With $7.7 million on the line, lawsuit challenges wording in school facilities law
The Oneida School District’s lawsuit appears to be the first filed over the state’s facilities funding plan. And the outcome could affect funding for other school districts.
Lawsuit challenges library law, calling it ‘wildly unconstitutional’
A coalition of private schools, libraries and their patrons says the law breaches constitutional rights to provide and access ‘non-obscene’ material.
What we learned from the U of I’s bills — and what it cost us to find out
For the second time this year, Idaho Education News spent its own money to see how the University of Idaho is spending public money.
In depth: U of I’s Phoenix-related bills reach $14.2 million, and counting
The University of Idaho has run up $3.9 million in Phoenix-related costs so far this year — as legislative opposition to the purchase has galvanized.
Analysis: Project 2025 recycles retro education reform
The 922-page conservative public policy to-do list doesn’t carve out many new ideas on education — and takes the latest run at the U.S. Department of Education.
The Launch final tally: 9,180 grads will receive grants
Close to half of the state’s 21,000 graduating seniors will receive a share of the $70.8 million in Launch money.
Money crunch: Thousands of families miss out on state grants
Nearly 29,000 students received a share of the microgrants. However, the state received more than 37,000 eligible applications.
Some Idaho libraries put restrictions on who can challenge books
“This has been our policy, and we’re not opening it up to someone who’s not a taxpaying member of our jurisdiction.”