[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6127179,"mediaKeyId","2664708-f607ad7f9484f5b99d5f2109bc096f41","parentId",2664708,"title","House education committee clears bill letting districts use vans, cars for small student trips","audioSeconds",1545,"startMs",3416140,"endMs",4962001,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2664708-f607ad7f9484f5b99d5f2109bc096f41&start=3416&end=4962","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2664708-f607ad7f9484f5b99d5f2109bc096f41/thumbnail_3416140.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6127179/Idaho/House-education-committee-clears-bill-letting-districts-use-vans-cars-for-small-student-trips","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6127179-05643a1c7a7a2b53c4c9fe76cd988614/orig.mp4?Expires=1775366699&Signature=AwoSpGJJvJig5-vsbVRGth-izaJjyEUXUM0fRdammmd~5-AmQLc7kJmrATd-FuuS09tC2~IniWptUjwhyBRbW3PAL0GavWRZnR3uyqcBnkPJ9wEQi-HVZst~rmpnBavHkJxkyPimZuW~pGxqotoX1C3tWoNwLauxHiojjo1P-RPg4Hc38XykyvIXRaP2rq9k33bCfc3BidipBPFcZ0FTS5cZFHIBV35vn9A7ZQnR6Wkf4Cc8ImmzgXgD3bmZupQdH-XuODshxAjyy8DLTZkzW6Q47rZIuCly8R8ZRA~aYg6GUSwJsyU2EZ4dyYaQU4q~Ugp~zhX3~W2wUOLrq3rvNA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Idaho House of Representatives","date","2025-03-14T00:00:00Z","article","The House Committee on Education voted to send House Bill 3‑96 to the floor with a due‑pass recommendation after sponsors and witnesses debated safety, cost and existing funding inequities.

Representative Dan Garner introduced the bill as a simplification and modernization of student‑transportation funding and definitions, saying the measure “allows districts and charters to use vehicles other than the yellow school buses when transporting students” to create options and potential cost savings.

State Department of Education financial officer Gideon Tolman told the committee the bill is intended to align statutes with current practice and does not change which entity has transportation authority. “It does not make a change,” Tolman said, adding the language simply reflects how districts and charters already operate.

Safety advocates and several district representatives urged caution. Brent Carpenter of Brown Bus Company, who said he has more than 33 years of student‑transportation experience, opposed the bill on safety grounds. “The yellow school bus is a purpose built vehicle and the safest mode of transportation for school children,” Carpenter testified, urging the committee to prioritize safety over convenience.

Lynette Dow, representing the Boise School District, also urged a no vote and called for reform of the transportation funding formula rather than allowing non‑conforming vehicles. She provided a cost example showing a Ford Transit passenger van purchase price and a type‑A school bus price, and argued that depreciation and lifecycle cost make non‑conforming vans not the savings their proponents claim.

Supporters said the bill offers districts local discretion to select the safest and most appropriate vehicle for small groups or special trips and can help rural and small districts with limited bus fleets. Representative Garner said districts already use smaller “short buses” and the bill simply widens options to include seat‑belted vehicles such as SUVs and minivans.

Committee members discussed tradeoffs between compartmentalization on large school buses and seat belts in smaller vehicles; members noted a lack of head‑to‑head crash‑test data comparing large yellow school buses to non‑conforming vehicles. Representative Tanner said he was leaning against the bill because of safety concerns and absence of comparative testing. Other members, including Representative Sauter and Representative Hart, supported giving local boards discretion, and some members said modernizing funding and options would reduce pressure that drives unsafe choices.

Representative Sauter moved to send House Bill 3‑96 to the floor with a due‑pass recommendation. The motion carried; Representative Tanner was recorded as voting no. The bill will proceed to the full House for further consideration.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","House Education Meeting March 14, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","House Bill 396, which allows districts and charters to use vehicles other than yellow school buses for certain student transportation, passed the committee after testimony weighing cost and flexibility against safety concerns.","taxTitle","Education, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Committees, Legislative, Idaho","taxId",54711,"location","Idaho","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6127184,"House education committee advances bill requiring fetal development instruction in grades 5–12",3334,69185,3403255,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2664708-f607ad7f9484f5b99d5f2109bc096f41&start=69&end=3403","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2664708-f607ad7f9484f5b99d5f2109bc096f41/thumbnail_69185.jpg","/articles/6127184/Idaho/House-education-committee-advances-bill-requiring-fetal-development-instruction-in-grades-512","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6127184-717bbae2bd30f7d98eb023b88404a139/orig.mp4?Expires=1775366699&Signature=XP8TWAnPFT8yhvW5WaqQjTUidLl~gtDPT15DoO~xQepKJnU5mYftfb8gEi4G3H8cmma4K59m69dYFlHCDQiOfsAMQmXZnklAmef4oFEKi6J9dWigMLtm5RvrS4CG5K5NWuOko3Ly5EHRu3lwuNv7ZtwYdNtB~cNYV4W5NfNZrEtWip4swRFRn-b96ECqlO9tLozShS6MF~kAEnLMN93MLFc3806lfVL4LvRQgvOo3ZSHtkpDfRS2BnW20MOUt9iBWxRUz3P9YMmSzfUwX1Zf-yeahCoNH9OBC-sFcHfoBoM9et1szxjOH1s2HUFVuU4y48HVsk1TfTnBaWHiJb62Cw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The House Committee on Education approved Senate Bill 10‑46 as amended and sent it to the floor with a due‑pass recommendation by voice vote and a roll call that resulted in a 9‑4 vote with one member absent.

Senator Sarah Nichols, the bill’s Senate sponsor, told the committee the measure would add a new section to Title 33, Education, requiring instruction on human growth and development, including fetal development, in grades 5 through 12 beginning in the 2025–26 school year. “This bill helps to ensure that students are equipped with a more detailed scientifically accurate understanding of the stages of life,” Nichols said.

Sponsor Representative Heather Scott said the measure responds to what children are learning and how that shapes culture. “What we learn in schools, it basically turns into what culture becomes,” Representative Heather Scott said, recounting an anecdote about her niece and a county‑fair display.

Supporters at the hearing urged the committee to approve the bill. Terry Markcroft, representing Unplanned Good, said medically accurate animations and ultrasound images would give students tangible images of fetal development. “A picture is worth a thousand words,” Markcroft said.

Opponents raised concerns about local control, curriculum scope and medical accuracy of exemplar videos. Ashley Alloway, a parent who testified in opposition, said the bill “prescribes a narrow and very specific viewpoint that may not align with a comprehensive science based curriculum.” Health‑care students and workers who testified warned that a specific, circulated animation known as the “Baby Olivia” video contains inaccuracies. “The video…is inaccurate,” Hallie Fox, a health‑care worker and medical‑school applicant, told the committee, citing differences between the animation’s timeline and guidance from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

Committee members debated whether the instruction belongs in biology standards or in health/family‑life (\"sex ed\") courses that have opt‑in/opt‑out provisions. Senator Nichols and sponsors said the bill places the requirement under life sciences/biology standards and not under the state’s family‑life/sexual‑education statute; several representatives disagreed and said the content described in the bill matches current health standards and therefore should trigger parental notification and opt‑in/out options.

The bill requires districts to include two forms of visual material when human growth and development is discussed: A high‑definition ultrasound video of at least three minutes and a high‑quality computer‑generated animation that depicts fertilization and every stage of fetal development. Sponsors told the committee districts would choose specific materials locally and that the state’s existing “age‑appropriate” statutory language guides teachers and districts.

Representative Sauter and others asked whether the measures would be presented to students every year; sponsors said the materials would be included when the topic is taught, not necessarily annually for every grade. Committee members also asked whether the statute’s language requiring depiction of “every week of pregnancy until birth” could be met by available exemplar videos; one member noted an exemplar animation jumps between weeks and may not literally show each week.

After public testimony and sponsor remarks, Representative Hawkins moved to send the bill to the floor with a due‑pass recommendation. The motion carried on a roll call vote, 9 in favor, 4 opposed, 1 absent. The committee record shows the motion was made to send Senate Bill 10‑46 as amended to the floor with a due‑pass recommendation.

The committee discussion concluded with sponsors reiterating that specific video or curricular selections would remain local decisions and that the purpose of the bill is to add fetal development to life‑science instruction rather than to prescribe a single curriculum. The bill will now proceed to the full House for further consideration.","The House Committee on Education voted to send Senate Bill 10‑46 to the floor with a due‑pass recommendation after a debate over whether fetal development instruction belongs in biology or health classes and whether parents should be able to opt children out.","actionData","errors"]

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House education committee clears bill letting districts use vans, cars for small student trips

House education committee advances bill requiring fetal development instruction in grades 5–12