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Senate Education Committee accepts pending rules docket with narrow exceptions to social studies and communications
Summary
The Senate Education Committee voted to accept a State Department of Education rules docket that updates content standards, graduation requirements and the Special Education Manual while carving out changes to grade 4 social studies, grades 6–12 U.S. history and a communications credit change.
The Senate Education Committee on Wednesday voted to accept the State Department of Education—pending rules docket 0802032401 with specific exceptions for two social studies content areas and a communications credit change.
Greg Wilson, chief of staff at the State Department of Education, told the committee the docket includes updates to the special education manual, five Idaho content standard areas and statewide graduation requirements and argued approval was "critical" to ensure continuity of special education services and to honor the work of volunteer reviewers.
The committee adopted a motion to accept the pending docket while excluding the proposed changes to grade 4 social studies and the grades 6 through 12 U.S. history standards that are incorporated by reference under the pending rule, and excluding the proposed change to the communications credit requirement (section 105.01.d). Senator Lori Woodward moved the motion; Senator Burton (Burton Shaw) seconded. A voice vote was held and the chair said "the ayes have it." The department had asked the committee to retain a one-credit communications requirement while narrowing the portions of the content standards removed.
Earlier in the discussion, Senator Steven Carlson offered an alternative motion to strike the social studies adoption in full and revert to prior language. That motion failed on a voice vote.
Committee members and Wilson discussed that the content-standards review reflected months of work and public comment, and that the department sought a surgical approach so that other standards (including financial literacy within the economics standard) would remain in place rather than reverting statewide standards to prior versions.
The action preserves most of the 2024 cycle standards and the special education manual while allowing the department to rework the two social-studies components the committee removed for further review.
The committee did not record roll-call vote counts in the transcript; outcomes were decided by voice vote recorded as the ayes having it or the nays having it.
