Idaho panel advances bill to move graduation requirements from rule into statute; debate over Western civ, speech and process

BOISE — The Idaho House Committee on Education voted 8–6 on Feb. 27 to send House Bill 298 to the full House with a "do pass" recommendation, advancing a proposal that would move high-school graduation requirements out of State Board of Education rule and into state law while adding and changing several specific course requirements.

Representative Wendy Horman, who sponsored the bill, told the committee the measure "takes graduation requirements out of rule and moves them into code," saying that change would ensure any substantial adjustments to what students must complete to graduate require the full legislature’s approval. Horman also described several specific elements added or clarified in the draft, including a provision that would allow service as a page in the Idaho Legislature to count for a government credit and a 30-hour pathway to allow math and science teachers to teach computer science courses that can count as math or science credits.

The bill drew sharp questions and…