A bill that would give the Legislature direct control over high school graduation requirements is heading to the House. 

House Bill 298 would move graduation requirements from the Idaho Department of Education’s  rules to state code, where the Legislature and governor would be able to change them by passing a bill. 

The legislation was prompted by IDE’s proposed removal of a speech class from the graduation requirements, co-sponsoring Rep. Wendy Horman, R-Idaho Falls, told the House Education Committee Thursday. Horman said a constituent asked her to preserve the speech class requirement, knowing that Horman’s daughter was involved in speech and debate and “what a big supporter of that…I would be.”

“When we’re talking about making very substantial changes to our graduation requirements, you have to have more than eight people agree to make them,” Horman said, referring to the eight-member State Board of Education, which voted to approve the pending graduation changes last year. 

The Legislature already has final say on the graduation requirements, among other administrative rules, and the Senate Education Committee exercised this authority Wednesday. The committee declined to drop the speech requirement while approving IDE’s other proposed changes, including the addition of a required digital literacy class.

Horman said Thursday that she didn’t know the Senate had taken action on the requirements. 

Testifying before the committee Thursday, Republican state superintendent Debbie Critchfield defended the rulemaking process, which included about 20 public meetings across the state over several months last year. Wednesday’s vote in the Senate showed “that process is working as intended,” Critchfield said, and she urged lawmakers to slow down before making major changes. 

“If this bill is in reaction or in response to one part of the graduation requirement recommendations, then I would ask that the committee hold the bill until we can work through what a new process would be like.”

The House Education Committee voted 8-6 to advance HB 298. 

Committee debates public access

Two other people testified during a public hearing Thursday. Leslie Baker, a board member at Moscow Charter School, was part of the 25-member committee work group that studied the graduation requirements last year. HB 298 would eliminate opportunities for these experts to weigh in, Baker said. 

“It appears to remove all input into the high school graduation requirements from anyone who works directly with students or is involved directly in education or workforce training and development,” she said.

But Marcy Curr, a speech and debate teacher at Pocatello High School, said IDE and the State Board were “inaccessible” to the public while considering the changes to graduation requirements. 

“There is a breakdown in communication with the State Department of Education that is rectified with this legislation,” Curr told the House Education Committee. “On the other hand, our Legislature is extremely accessible in this room.”

Curr’s comments spurred a committee debate about whether the rulemaking process or legislative process are more accessible to the public. 

“We’re broadcasting live on television,” said Rep. Dale Hawkins, R-Fernwood, who made the successful motion to advance HB 298. “Everything we do is open to the public throughout the entire state every single day, every hour that we work.”

IDE first publicized plans to update the graduation requirements in April 2024, during Critchfield’s annual meetings with school administrators following the legislative session. The department convened the work group in May, then conducted a statewide survey and held public outreach meetings to solicit feedback in June. 

The State Board approved the pending changes in August, and IDE held additional public meetings to explain them throughout the fall, leading to the Legislature’s final consideration during this year’s legislative session. 

Rep. Lance Clow said rulemaking is a “good process,” even though resulting decisions can be “flawed.” When lawmakers consider a bill, on the other hand, “we don’t give much time for anyone to reply or respond.” Bills typically have two public hearings, one in the House and one in the Senate.

“This bill was introduced just a few days ago,” said Clow, who made an unsuccessful motion to table HB 298. “I didn’t realize it was going to be on the agenda until last night.”

Bill would change government requirement

Clow objected to one other aspect of the bill — implementing new graduation requirements that would take effect in July and apply to next school year’s high school seniors. IDE’s proposed changes would take effect in 2028. 

HB 298 co-sponsor Sen. Ben Toews said the bill would split a two-credit government requirement in half. Students would have to take one credit in government and one credit in the history of western civilization. This change came from a history teacher, said Toews, R-Coeur d’Alene. 

“He was just pointing out how important it is to understand the history of western civilization, to really grasp how our country came about, how our form of governance came about.” 

HB 298 now heads to the full House.

Senate approves bill requiring fetal development video in schools

The Senate overwhelmingly approved a bill that would require schools to show “early fetal development” videos.

Senate Bill 1046 would direct schools to show fifth through 12th graders a “high-definition ultrasound video, at least three minutes in duration,” when classes discuss human biology, contraception or sexually transmitted diseases.

Sponsoring Sen. Tammy Nichols has said one of the goals is to present students with abortion alternatives. During a committee hearing this month, Nichols showed an example of a three-minute video produced by Live Action, an anti-abortion nonprofit based in Virginia.

“This bill is aimed to providing scientifically accurate instruction on biological process and development of the fetus from fertilization, which is the beginning of human development,” said Nichols, R-Middleton.

Thursday’s 27-8 vote followed a continuation of a Senate floor debate that started Wednesday. Senate Minority Leader Melissa Wintrow was among six Democrats and two Republicans who opposed it.

“I’m concerned now that we’re taking physicians and nurses out of the human sexuality education realm and putting in movie producers,” said Wintrow, D-Boise.

SB 1046 now heads to the House.

Bill on enrollment policies for severe behavior sent to amending order

Senators want to make small changes to a House bill that would give public school boards more discretion on whether to enroll students with severe behavior issues.

House Bill 236 would allow trustees to deny enrollment to students who disenrolled from prior schools rather than face expulsion. It would also allow school boards to deny enrollment to students with convictions and adjudications for certain violent crimes, including murder, assault and sex crimes.

Senate Minority Caucus Chair Janie Ward-Engelking recommended relocating a couple sentences of existing code that ensures districts follow federal disability protections when disciplining a student. Ward-Engelking, D-Boise, said this provision should have its own section so it’s clear that it applies to the entire section of code.

“Because it deals with kids, we want to make sure we’ve got all our I’s dotted and our T’s crossed.”

The Senate Education Committee unanimously voted to send Melba Republican Rep. Shawn Dygert’s bill to the floor for possible amendments.