The Idaho Education Association on Wednesday announced that Twin Falls educator Peggy Hoy will serve as its next president.

Members of the state’s largest teachers’ union elected Hoy for a three-year term starting in August. She replaces Layne McInelly, who was named president in 2019 and re-elected in 2020 and 2023.

Hoy has worked for the Twin Falls School District for more than 30 years and has helped build union membership, according to an IEA press release. She was elected to the National Education Association board in 2019 and launched the NEA’s Rural Schools Caucus.

“I’ve spent my career championing Idaho’s educators, and I am humbled and honored to be the latest steward of our 134-year-old association,” Hoy said in the news release. “Our public school educators are devoted to the students they serve, and I will be devoted to the issues that matter most to them: fair compensation, safer schools, laws and policies that help rather than hinder, and outstanding professional development and support.”

Hoy takes the helm at a pivotal time for Idaho educators. Schools are navigating workforce shortages, educator retention, evolving state policy and efforts to strengthen public education, the press release states.

McInelly described Hoy as an “extraordinary leader.”

“As a proud IEA member, I’m excited about where she’ll lead us in the coming years and look forward to my good friend’s success in her new role,” he said in the press release. “Our members have made an excellent choice to lead them into the future.”