Idaho’s culture warriors can’t resist micromanaging the public school system. Each year they propose bills to prohibit or require numerous actions by our teachers. Bans against teaching subjects such as gender identity, racial history, climate change and a host of other things are on the books. Even posters that welcome all students are prohibited due to irrational claims of indoctrination. Bills to require Bible readings and classroom display of religious texts are common fare.
In the overall scheme of things, a bill introduced by Rep. Bruce Skaug is fairly mild, but symptomatic of the legislative compulsion to micromanage public education. House Bill 623 requires a minimum 60-second moment of silence at the beginning of each day. A suggestion to allow the silent moment anytime during the day was opposed by Rep. Tony Wisniewski, who proclaimed: “If we leave it up to the teacher, and if a teacher is not in agreement with this principle, what could happen?” I can just picture those villainous teachers holding the moment of silence at noon, when the kids are in the lunchroom, or in the late afternoon when everyone has gone home. It just seems to be an article of faith with the MAGA crowd that Idaho teachers are not to be trusted.
We hear these same legislators continually bemoaning all of the health, safety and other rules and regulations that burden the private sector. There are continual cries to unburden the private sector so that it can flourish. At the same time these legislators pile laws, rules and regulations upon our schools and teachers, expecting them to excel by directing and controlling their every activity.
Well, that actually just applies to our public schools and teachers. The legislators would react in horror if anyone were to suggest that private and religious schools and their teachers should have to abide by any regulations or standards, even when they are being financed by Idaho taxpayers. The Legislature did require that private and religious schools subsidized by the $50 million tax credit program must teach “English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies.” Otherwise, the state can’t regulate when, how or why instruction takes place in private schools. Eight words is all that needs to be taught to get the $5,000 per student tax subsidy.
Public schools must teach social studies, also. But they have a bit of guidance from the state. The social studies rules that have been approved by the Legislature for public schools run for 72 pages. That’s two words for taxpayer-subsidized private schools and 72 pages of words for public schools.
Idaho’s Constitution requires public schools to provide a “thorough” education. This requirement does not apply to private schools subsidized by the tax credit. The state has 31 pages of “thoroughness” rules that apply to public schools.
In all, there are hundreds of pages of statutes, regulations and standards that apply to the public school system. Some are necessary to ensure a proper education for public school students, but many are imposed simply to score political points or simply to discredit public schools and their dedicated teachers.
Most of the criticism of public education has been orchestrated by the ill-named Idaho Freedom Foundation (IFF), which is dedicated to eradicating the public school system. As its former head honcho, Wayne Hoffman, put it: “I don’t think government should be in the education business.” The Mountain States Policy Center (MSPC) chimes in with a gentler tone, but it is basically a kissing cousin of the IFF. Both are parented by the billionaire-supported State Policy Network that wants to privatize education everywhere.
The legislative minions of the IFF do their best to discredit public schools and teachers so as to advance their privatization agenda. That includes unfounded claims against teachers of grooming, indoctrination and a list of similar malign activities.
Rep. Heather Scott, who distinguished herself in 2024 by introducing a bill to tamp down cannibalism, recently implied that there is wide-spread grooming and sexual misconduct in public schools. That is simply untrue.
Another tactic employed by the culture warriors is to burden schools and teachers with a myriad of disruptive, unnecessary statutes, rules, regulations and standards that greatly impede the educational process. Passing indecipherable legislation that bans books, classroom decor and instructional subject matter is a substantial impediment to the educational process. Instead of vilifying teachers with unfounded rules and claims, our legislators should thank them for performing an invaluable public service.
If taxpayer-subsidized private and religious schools can operate completely free of state supervision, it seems like public schools and teachers should be freed from some of the Legislature’s needless dictates.
