UPDATE, 5 p.m. Tuesday: This story was updated to remove a reference to ties between the Idaho Freedom Foundation and the Freedom Foundation. The two groups are not affiliated, according to Maxford Nelsen, director of research and government affairs at the Freedom Foundation.

The House State Affairs Committee Monday advanced a bill that bars school districts from using taxpayer resources for teachers’ union activities, including allowing union representatives to take paid time off for their duties. 

House Bill 98 would also prohibit teachers’ union members from paying their union dues through an automated payroll dedication system. School district officials who violate the prohibitions would face fines up to $2,500. 

Sponsored by Rep. Judy Boyle, the legislation is a followup to last year’s House Bill 602, which narrowly failed on the House floor. Boyle, R-Midvale, said the bill is “not taking away local control” from school districts. “They can still do whatever they want with their funds, as long as they don’t use them to support unions.”

The executive director of the Idaho Association of School Administrators disagreed. Andy Grover said the bill would override local school leaders’ authority to manage payroll deductions and work with unions. “This bill will strip our ability to manage our finances and our employee relations.”

Idaho Education Association representatives said the group doesn’t receive taxpayer funds, and executive director Paul Stark argued that HB 98 is likely unconstitutional due to “viewpoint discrimination … This legislation appears again to target only the Idaho Education Association because it doesn’t approve of its viewpoints.”

One House State Affairs Committee Republican signaled that ideology was motivating his support for the bill. Teachers’ unions “overwhelmingly … have contributed to the Democrat Party,” said Rep. Clint Hostetler, R-Twin Falls. “As Idahoans, we realize that there’s a larger issue here, and I believe that it’s relevant to our people, who may or may not agree with the ideologies” of teachers’ unions. 

Fifty-one Idaho school districts have spent more than $543,000 giving paid time off to teachers who are out of the classroom on union duties, according to a report by the Freedom Foundation, a national think tank that helped craft the bill. The group says it’s “more than a think tank” on its website. “We’re a battle tank that’s battering the entrenched power of left-wing government union bosses.”

The report showed that the Coeur d’Alene School District’s negotiated agreement gives union presidents 38 days of paid leave for union duties.

“That’s got to come to a stop,” said Rep. Joe Alfieri, R-Coeur d’Alene. “The taxpayers should not be subsidizing the union.”

Rep. Shawn Dygert of Melba was the only Republican who voiced opposition to the bill. If unions are charging school districts for an unwanted service, then school boards should say “no,” said Dygert, a high school agriculture teacher. The bill proposes “overriding an elected school board position that is entrusted with the ability of regulating and taking care of these things.”

Both Democrats on the committee opposed HB 98 as well. It now heads to the full House.

JFAC wants details on $10 million career-technical request

Idaho’s career-technical programs face two big constraints — limited faculty and limited instructional space — and an additional $10 million could help address both.

But Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee members want more details about where and how the money will be spent.

“There is a lot of homework left to do on this line item,” said Rep. Wendy Horman, JFAC’s House co-chair, during a Monday morning hearing.

Gov. Brad Little has requested $111.1 million for the Division of Career-Technical Education, a 17.4% increase. Little’s $10 million line item request accounts for much of this increase.

The request is designed “to allow technical and community colleges the ability to stand up new workforce training and in-demand career programs due to high enrollment and waitlists,” according to a summary of the budget request.

Rep. Rod Furniss wanted more of an explanation. “I just don’t see $10 million in every budget from the governor,” said Furniss, R-Rigby.

In general terms, the $10 million will help technical programs hire faculty and expand classroom space, said Joshua Whitworth, the State Board of Education’s executive director, who is doubling as CTE’s interim state administrator. That could increase capacity in high-demand programs like nursing and welding.

But since the $10 million would be an ongoing line item, the state would be able to move the money around in future years, addressing other shortages. “We really want it to be driven by demand,” Whitworth said.

The state would expect industries to put up some matching money, and that would help drive where the $10 million goes. All six of the state’s technical schools would get some of the money, but it won’t be split equally, Whitworth said.

Horman said she wanted more details before taking the $10 million request to the House.

“The ‘trust us’ thing doesn’t work so well on the floor,” said Horman, R-Idaho Falls.

Transgender athletics resolution clears final hurdle

The Senate passed a nonbinding resolution on transgender athletics.

At its surface, House Concurrent Resolution 2 praises Boise State University’s women’s volleyball team. Last fall, the team forfeited three matches with San José State University, which reportedly had a transgender player on its roster.

“They demonstrated true integrity and stuck to their principles,” said Sen. Cindy Carlson, R-Riggins, the resolution’s sponsor.

However, the resolution also calls on the Mountain West Conference and the NCAA to revoke their transgender athletics policies.

Debate was brief. Sen. James Ruchti, D-Pocatello, argued that the resolution dragged Idaho’s transgender community into “culture wars.”

The resolution passed on a voice vote. The House has already passed the resolution, and it requires no action from Gov. Brad Little, so it has now been adopted.

‘Like bellybuttons:’ Senate committee endorses PragerU curriculum

The controversial PragerU K-12 curriculum has the Senate Education Committee’s blessing.

Voting on party lines, the committee approved a nonbinding resolution endorsing the conservative curriculum — in the wake of sharp resistance from Native American educators and skepticism from the Idaho Education Association. State superintendent Debbie Critchfield approved PragerU as a supplemental curriculum in the fall; schools can use the curriculum for free, if they choose to.

In November, Nez Perce tribal leaders called on Critchfield to reconsider the PragerU Kids curriculum. “Indoctrinating students with a watered-down curriculum will only foster the growth of racism and resentment in Idaho, tribal leaders wrote.

The resolution mentions the curriculum’s controversial nature, but only in passing. “PragerU Kids’ content is pro-American and wholesome yet fair and balanced when it comes to addressing America’s shortcomings and ultimately makes the case for American exceptionalism.”

Boise Democratic Sen. Janie Ward-Engelking, a retired teacher, pressed the resolution’s sponsor, Sen. Tammy Nichols, R-Middleton. Ward-Engelking asked Nichols to respond to claims that the PragerU Kids curriculum is replete with fascist, racist, sexist and anti-LGBTQ content.

“It’s an opinion and everybody has one,” Nichols said. “Like bellybuttons.”

The committee sent the resolution to the Senate floor, for a possible vote in the coming days.

New bill would allow city councils to fire city library directors

The House Local Government Committee introduced two bills dealing with public libraries Monday. 

One bill would make city library directors employees of the city — and subject to firing by the city council. Idaho law currently only allows a city library’s board of trustees to fire the director. 

Sponsoring Rep. Jeff Cornilles, R-Nampa, said the proposal stems from a city in the Treasure Valley that “wished to get rid of a library director, and they couldn’t, because they didn’t have the authority to do that.” 

The other bill would raise the threshold for qualifying a petition to create a public library district. The current threshold to qualify a ballot question is 50 signatures from qualified electors who live within the district’s proposed boundaries. Rep. Douglas Pickett’s bill would lift the requirement to 20% of qualified electors. The proposal was inspired by a recent ballot question in Pickett’s legislative district that voters overwhelmingly rejected. 

“That election was so lopsided…in the negative that it raised the question of whether or not that threshold should not be addressed and raised,” said Pickett, R-Oakley. 

The House Local Government Committee voted to introduce the two bills, setting the stage for future public hearings.

Eight bills, no waiting: Senate Education introduces a raft of proposals

Monday was the deadline for the Senate Education Committee to introduce bills, so lawmakers wasted no time.

With no discussion, the committee introduced a whopping eight new bills. Some are likely to come back for a full hearing at a later date. In some cases, sponsors might just want to get bills printed to get them in the public record, Senate Education Chairman Dave Lent, R-Idaho Falls, said before Monday’s rapid-fire hearing,

Here are thumbnails of the eight bills:

Weighted formula. This is state superintendent Debbie Critchfield’s weighted formula proposal, which would divide a portion of state funds for K-12 public schools based on student characteristics. Read more about her proposal here. Sen. Jim Woodward, R-Sagle, is the sponsor. 

Career ladder. This bill would codify previous teacher raises funneled through the career ladder in 2023 and 2024. The career ladder’s final statutory raise went into effect this year, and lawmakers have since tied teacher raises to pay increases for state employees. 

It’s unclear what effect, if any, this bill would have on future teacher pay decisions at the Statehouse. It’s sponsored by Woodward, who was on the losing end of a budget committee battle over state employee raises, which concluded last week. 

Supplemental levies. This bill would allow school districts to seek six-year supplemental levies; the current maximum, in most cases, is two years. The change would “diminish the constant ballot measures that demand time and resources at the local level,” according to the bill’s statement of purpose. The Idaho School Boards Association has pushed for a six-year levy option. Sen. Ben Toews, R-Coeur d’Alene, is sponsoring the bill.

Teacher apprenticeships. This bill would codify that teacher apprenticeship programs lead to bachelor’s degrees and standard teaching certificates. It’s sponsored by Democratic Sens. Carrie Semmelroth and Janie Ward-Engelking, both of Boise. 

Public charter school districts. This bill would authorize any public school district to convert to a public charter district. “It gives districts more flexibility as we imagine our future schools,” the bill’s statement of purpose says. It’s sponsored by Ward-Engelking and Lent.

Accredited diplomas. The pilot program would award performance-based accredited high school diplomas for people 21 or older. The bill carries a $1.5 million price tag. Sen. Lori Den Hartog, R-Meridian, is sponsoring the bill.

Lifetime certificates. A teacher or administrator with 25 years’ experience could receive a lifetime certificate, under a bill sponsored by Den Hartog.

Broadband money. This bill cleans up language in the law, and authorizes the State Board of Education to distribute money from a school broadband program. A 2024 law had already shifted this role to the State Board.