Student scores on an Idaho reading test can still influence their teacher’s paycheck. After several hours of backroom meetings, the Idaho House quickly rejected the idea of overriding Gov. Butch Otter’s veto stamp Tuesday afternoon.
The bill would’ve kept the Idaho Reading Indicator from being used to measure how well a student is doing academically.
The IRI, and other tools, can be tied to teacher salaries.
Otter wrote to House Speaker Scott Bedke (R-Oakley) Monday, saying teachers have to be accountable in order to justify recent pay raises they’ve seen over the last few years.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Julie VanOrden (R-Pingree), tells Idaho Education News that the test shouldn’t be used to measure academic achievement because it screens for early learning problems in young students.
It was Otter’s first veto of the 2018 legislative session.
