Bill Description: House Bill 588 (H588) revises various provisions regarding how school districts can conduct virtual education programs, including reporting requirements and teacher certification and curricula standards.
Rating: 0
Does it increase government spending (for objectionable purposes) or debt? Conversely, does it decrease government spending or debt?
H588 would ensure that school districts are not expending public funds educating out-of-state residents via virtual education programs by requiring the district to maintain “records that verify proof of Idaho residency for all students enrolled in a virtual education program.”
(+1)
Does it in any way restrict public access to information related to government activity or otherwise compromise government transparency, accountability, or election integrity? Conversely, does it increase public access to information related to government activity or increase government transparency, accountability, or election integrity?
H588 would impose new reporting requirements to school districts conducting virtual education, including “all contracts and any subsequent amendments thereto between a school district and an educational services provider.” If a school district contracts with an educational service provider, the provider must provide a “written disclosure of services and costs in its contract” that identifies “the specific services provided to the school district…the cost of each service or category of service and the method used to calculate such cost, and demonstrate a clear relationship between the public funds received and the services provided.”
H588 would also ensure that “all curricular materials…meet content standards as set forth in rule promulgated by the state board of education and establish a system to document such curriculum.”
(+1)
Does it increase barriers to entry into the market? Examples include occupational licensure, the minimum wage, and restrictions on home businesses. Conversely, does it remove barriers to entry into the market?
H588 perpetuates the restrictions to entering the teaching profession by requiring “every person who is employed in the capacity of teacher in a virtual education program” to hold a teaching certificate. Though requiring public school teachers to hold a certification is not inherently unjust, the current regulations established by the state board of education are unnecessarily burdensome.
(-1)
Does it expand the government's bureaucratic monopoly on education, reduce family and student choice, or finance education based on an institution or system? Conversely, does it reduce government coercion in education, expand education choice, or finance education based on the student rather than the institution?
H588 perpetuates the practice of financing education based on the institution by prohibiting a “school district, virtual education program, or educational services provider with which they contract” from providing “any payment of state funds directly to parents or legal guardians of enrolled students.”
(-1)
