House Education Committee reviews proposed updates to Idaho graduation rules, including digital literacy and new ‘future readiness’ project

Boise — The House Education Committee continued review of pending administrative rules that would revise Idaho's statewide high school graduation requirements, hearing detailed briefings from Greg Wilson, chief of staff at the State Department of Education.

Wilson told the committee that the state's minimum remains 46 total credits (29 core academic and 17 electives) and that the department is proposing four key updates: credit flexibility for meeting core academics, a new 1-credit digital literacy requirement, a requirement that districts post at least two localized pathways, and replacing the existing senior project with a "future readiness project."

The department proposes that the digital literacy requirement include fundamentals such as algorithms, coding, artificial intelligence, internet safety and social media best practices, and "citizenship in a digital world, including communications through digital means and navigating online news and information critically while behaving responsibly and ethically," Wilson said. The department would apply the requirement to students graduating on or after Jan. 1, 2028, providing a three-year implementation window.

Wilson said the department's work reflects three guiding principles: the last comprehensive review of statewide requirements was more than a decade ago; workforce and student needs have changed; and students follow many postsecondary paths, including two- and four-year colleges, career technical education (CTE), military service and direct entry into the workforce. "The state requires an overall 46 credits," Wilson said. "That's the state minimum requirement, and that's 29 core academic requirements and 17 elective requirements."

On communications, the department proposes to remove a standalone 1-credit communications requirement from the core academic list and instead direct that communications concepts be taught across courses while allowing districts that currently offer a standalone speech or communications course to keep it as an elective that fulfills that local expectation. Wilson told the committee the department found "there were no standalone standards for communications," that many districts deliver speech differently, and that about one-third of students who take a speech/communications course do so through the Idaho Digital Learning Academy.

On credit flexibility, the department proposes language to support districts and public charter schools in awarding core academic credit for learning that occurs outside traditional classroom settings—such as work-based learning, apprenticeships or CTE courses—provided the learning is properly "crosswalked" to Idaho content standards. Wilson said the department will assist districts in aligning outside experiences with core standards.

The future readiness project would replace the senior project for the class of 2028 and after; the existing senior project would remain in effect through the class of 2027. The proposed future readiness project is described in the rule as a culminating experiential project (work-based, service-based, research-based or portfolio-based) demonstrating the student's application of board-adopted college and career competencies and exploration of post-high-school options. Wilson said the department will provide templates and technical assistance to districts and charter schools and that many districts already run versions of this model.

The draft rules would require districts and charters to develop and publicly post at least two "localized pathways"—frameworks describing local course offerings, electives, assessments and other opportunities aligned to common postsecondary goals such as two- or four-year college entry, military readiness, apprenticeships or direct entry into a trade. Wilson said districts will decide pathways that match local offerings and student interest; the requirement is for districts to create and publish pathway options, not to sort students into programs.

Committee members asked about public comment, teacher endorsements and implementation. Wilson said negotiated rulemaking generated a small number of formal comments ("seven or eight," he estimated) and that the department conducted outreach including a meeting with the Idaho Speech and Drama Teachers Association. He said districts and charter schools vary: some impose higher local credit totals (Wilson cited one district at 57 credits and a charter at 52), and many local programs will keep speech and debate as part of local graduation rules if they choose.

Several lawmakers urged caution about dropping a standalone communications course. "Kids today are so into their texting ... Technology is almost replaced face to face," Representative Ron Nelson said, arguing for stronger communications requirements. Representative Tanner, who moved approval of the committee minutes earlier in the meeting, relayed constituent concern from Canyon County endorsing keeping speech and debate as core options. Wilson countered that the department's intent is not to diminish communication skills but to ensure they are taught and, where offered, preserved locally: "For those districts with a standalone course, continue offering it as an elective to fulfill that communications requirement," he said.

Committee members also asked which teacher endorsements would qualify educators to teach the proposed digital literacy course. Wilson said he would provide a follow-up with specifics; the department's current guidance is that holders of a standard instructional certificate with a 5'9 or a 6'12 endorsement, or a public charter school certificate, could be eligible to teach digital literacy, but the department acknowledged the requirement will need professional development and clear standards so that "the right educators are delivering this course."

Other technical edits in the draft rules include permitting engineering and computer science courses that align with state standards to count as mathematics; clarifying that most secondary science courses are laboratory-based; renaming a humanities requirement to "fine arts or world languages;" and deleting a duplicative special education section from the pending rules because the content is maintained in the Idaho Special Education Manual.

Wilson also told the committee that two temporary rules are posted: one that incorporates by reference the content standards reviewed in the 2024 cycle and another that incorporates by reference the Idaho Special Education Manual so districts begin the current year with a compliant manual while the legislature considers the pending permanent rule.

The department said it will provide the committee with meeting minutes, attendance lists and summaries of outreach on graduation requirements and the special education manual upon request.

Votes at a glance: The committee approved the minutes from Jan. 16 and Jan. 20 on a motion by Representative Tanner; the motion carried with no recorded opposition.

The committee did not take final action on any of the proposed rule changes during this meeting; members were instructed to save detailed questions for the committee's future rule-action session when the committee considers moving the pending rules.

Sources for this article are the House Education Committee proceeding and on-the-record remarks from Greg Wilson, chief of staff at the State Department of Education, and multiple state representatives as captured in the committee transcript. No items were voted into permanent rule during this session.