Bill Description: Senate Bill 1069 will require the Idaho Department of Education to provide professional development for all Kindergarten through Grade 3 teachers and elementary administrators “in the science of reading and evidence-based best practices.”

Rating: -1

Does it increase government spending (for objectionable purposes) or debt? Conversely, does it decrease government spending or debt?

Senate Bill 1069 will require the state department of education to provide “professional development to all teachers and elementary administrators serving students in kindergarten through grade 3” on “the science of reading.” According to the fiscal note, the program will require a “$5 million ongoing appropriation.”

Since 2017 the cost of the literacy intervention program has increased from $9.1 million a year to $72.8 million a year for a total investment of $257,737,100 over seven years. Despite the financial investment put into the literacy intervention program, no significant correlating growth in reading proficiency has been observed. From 2017 to 2024, the percentage of fourth grade students scoring proficient or above in English and language arts on the ISAT has only increased from 48.0% to 49.4%. All the while, the most recent performance reviews for Idaho’s public schools deemed 98.4% of teachers “proficient” or better. It is clear from this data that there is a failure of accountability in Idaho’s system of public education that will not be fixed by investing more in teachers with a track record of poor student performance. For this reason, additional funding for the literacy intervention program cannot be justified. 

(-1)