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Senate committee backs $5 million literacy training bill for K‑3 teachers
Summary
Senate Bill 1069 would require the Department of Education to provide professional development in the science of reading to K–3 teachers and elementary administrators, with a $5 million ongoing appropriation and prioritization for low‑performing schools; the Senate Education Committee gave the bill a due‑pass recommendation.
The Senate Education Committee voted to send Senate Bill 10 69 to the Senate floor with a due‑pass recommendation after sponsor Senator Van Burton Shaw described the bill as building on Idaho’s existing literacy laws to expand professional development in the science of reading.
"This bill mandates that the Idaho Department of Education provide professional development in science of reading and evidence based practices to all teachers and elementary administrators serving students from kindergarten through third grade," Senator Van Burton Shaw said, telling the committee the bill would fund an ongoing coaching model and prioritize districts and public charter schools in the bottom 25% on the fall Idaho reading indicator assessment.
Senator Van Burton Shaw said the bill requires a $5,000,000 ongoing appropriation to fund a three‑year rollout and sustain training thereafter. Committee members asked whether training would be one‑time or recurring; Van Burton Shaw and department staff said the program is ongoing and designed to continue training new teachers and provide follow‑up coaching.
Megan Wunderlich, director of academics, content and curriculum at the State Department of Education, told the committee the training is not intended to change current license renewal requirements but that participants can earn credits applicable to renewal. State Superintendent Debbie Critchfield said teachers and administrators who have received the coaching training see improved reading scores and described the training as grounded in phonics and ongoing coaching.
Teacher Laura Milton Hayden of Idaho Falls, a year‑one participant in the SMART (coaching) program, testified by video that the program "has been better than any professional development I've received from my district," praising monthly coaching cycles, data‑driven adjustments and administrator training.
Committee members asked whether the program includes charter schools; the department said charter teachers are already included in the coaching model and that roughly 600 teachers in charter schools participated last year. After brief additional discussion, the committee voted by voice to send the bill to the Senate floor with a due‑pass recommendation.
Votes at a glance: The committee approved the motion to send Senate Bill 10 69 to the Senate floor with a due‑pass recommendation (voice vote; no roll‑call tally recorded in the transcript).
