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A school kid in Indiana works at a computer.With the results tallied from Idaho’s 967 precincts, voters clearly said no to Propositions 1, 2 and 3.More than 645,000 votes were cast in each of the Propositions. Each of the propositions failed by at least 15 percent of the vote. Proposition 3, the measure that corresponds to giving each high school student a laptop, failed by the largest margin, with 66 percent of voters rejecting it.Now that voters have weighed in on the trio of election laws that were passed in 2011, it’s up to lawmakers and stakeholders to determine what happens next.BackgroundIn 2011 the Idaho Legislature passed a package of three laws which made sweeping changes to the state’s education system.The laws were introduced and championed by Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna and are known as Students Come First, though opponents call them the Luna Laws.The laws have been controversial in Idaho, with the state’s largest public teacher union, Democrats and some Republicans condemning them. School administrators and boards have been split on their support. Idaho’s second largest school district in Boise has voiced its opposition to the laws.The three laws will be split up into Proposition 1, Proposition 2, and Proposition 3. Here’s a breakdown of what each law contains:Proposition 1Proposition 1 corresponds to 2011’s Senate Bill 1108 and deals with labor relations. A ‘yes’ vote will keep SB 1108 on the books, a ‘no’ vote will repeal the law. Here are the details:District superintendents, school administrators, and teachers get an annual evaluation. At least 50 percent of it must be based on measurable student growth. Teachers’ and principals’ evaluations must include parent input.Teachers and school administrators get one or two year contracts. A category of contracts for experienced teachers that renewed automatically from year to year barring misconduct is eliminated. These renewable contracts will stay in place if signed before 2011.Steps that had to be taken to fire a teacher or not bring him or her back for the next school year are eliminated such as providing a written statement of the reasons for the decision.School districts no longer have to prove a financial emergency before reducing teacher numbers. School boards can reduce teacher numbers at their discretion but cannot consider seniority when deciding who to eliminate.Principals can decide which teachers come to their schools.Teachers are encouraged but not required to purchase liability insurance and districts must provide information about insurance providers.The state’s early retirement incentive program for teachers is eliminated.Local education organizations (labor unions) must represent a majority (more than 50 percent) of a district’s teachers in order to engage in collective bargaining. Unions must prove annually that they represent a majority of a district’s teachers.Contract negotiations can only cover compensation, defined as salary and benefits. Negotiations must be done in public meetings.If a district does not have a union that represents a majority of teachers the school board will set compensation.If no contract agreement is reached through collective bargaining by June 10 of each year, the school board will set compensation.Proposition 2Proposition 2 corresponds to Senate Bill 1110 and institutes a pay-for-performance plan. A ‘yes’ vote will keep SB 1110 on the books, a ‘no’ vote will repeal the law.Bonuses are available for student academic growth measured by statewide standardized tests given each spring. Bonuses would go to all administrators and teachers at a school with a certain amount of improvement in scores.All teachers and administrators at a school could get a bonus if the school’s average score on the spring test is in the top 50 percent of schools statewide.Local school boards will create systems by which teachers and administrators can get bonuses based on other performance measures such as graduation rates, advanced placement classes taken and parental involvement.Teachers can get bonuses for working in hard to fill positions. At least every two years the State Board of Education will determine which positions should be considered ‘hard to fill’ and rank them based on need. Local boards can choose from the state board’s list which positions are hardest to fill in their districts.If a district can’t find a qualified teacher for a hard to fill position it can use some of the bonus money to train a teacher for the position.A district can designate up to 25 percent of its teachers to get bonuses for working extra hours in leadership roles. Those could include activities like peer mentoring, curriculum development, grant writing and earning a “Master Teacher” designation.Proposition 3Proposition 3 corresponds to Senate Bill 1184 and deals with technology and funding. A ‘yes’ vote will keep SB 1184 on the books, a ‘no’ vote will repeal the law.A laptop computer will be provided for all high school teachers and students. That will happen over four years beginning with teachers in fall 2012.As determined by the Idaho Board of Education, students must take two semester-long online classes to graduate.Parents can enroll students in any qualified online course without district permission.High schools will get more money to help pay for the costs of providing more math and science classes to meet new graduation requirements.SB 1184 Creates a formula for allocating money for technology. That includes mobile computers for high school students, wireless broadband service in high schools, and professional development on using technology in class.Creates a formula for allocating money to districts that takes online classes into account.Increases the amount districts can spend to get instruction from other districts or provide virtual education.The Idaho Department of Education will post a fiscal report card for each school district on its website.Each school district must post its annual budget and master labor agreement on its website. That’s in addition to several pieces of financial information districts were already required to post.A district can employ fewer teachers than it gets money for (up to 10 percent starting in 2014) without losing the money it gets for the unfilled positions.Raises the minimum teacher salary by $355 to $30,000 a year.Eliminates a $2,000, five year bonus for “Master Teacher” designation.If a student has completed all graduation requirements by the beginning of her senior year the state will pay for her to take up to 36 college credits while still being registered as a high school student. She can also take college credits in her last semester if she meets graduation requirements by the end of the first semester.Public post-secondary schools in Idaho can operate charter high schools.

Idaho Education Task Force Starts State Tour For Public Input

Adam Cotterell
/
Boise State Public Radio

Idaho’s Task Force for Improving Education starts a whirlwind tour of the state this week. Members have been meeting since January to find education reforms with broad support. Governor Butch Otter asked the State Board of Education to put the group together after voters repealed a series of education laws last November. Now the task force wants public feedback.

If you go to the first public meeting Wednesday night at Nampa High school, you’ll see five to ten of the group’s 31 members. You’ll hear a short speech by the chairman. Then, says Marilyn Whitney with Idaho’s State Board of Education, the floor is yours.

“These sessions are to get public feedback and input and so the bulk of these forums will be to hear from the public who attends,” she says.

After Nampa, the task force goes to Twin Falls Thursday night. Then the venues shift to north Idaho then the eastern part of the state. The public meetings conclude in Boise later this month. In all the task force will have seven public sessions in 16 days. In May, Whitney says, the group gets back together to analyze what they've heard.

“We’ll do our best to categorize the comments that come in,” she says. And, you know I anticipate it will take the task force some time to go through all of that.”

The group’s ultimate goal is to make recommendations on how to improve Idaho’s education system. Those may include legislation for lawmakers to consider starting in January 2014

The state board has a set of questions for people to consider before they speak to the task force:

  • What is the basic amount of funding needed to adequately educate a student in Idaho?
  • Given the finite amount of funding, how would you like it spent in your school?
  • How should/could we balance a decentralized model with the Constitutional requirement for a uniform, thorough, common system of education?
  • Is funding based on attendance an appropriate model?
  • What should be the measure(s) to hold schools and districts accountable?
  • What should we be measuring with respect to student achievement?
  • What should be done about schools/districts that continually underperform?
  • What professional technical education skills would you like to see taught in high school?

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