In 2017, the League of Women Voters of Pocatello sponsored a statewide high school essay contest on climate change and mailed copies of the winning essays to Idaho Legislators. Extremist groups are once again targeting the Idaho Content Standards during this legislative session. The entire K-12 Standards are under attack and specifically the Science Standards for statements about climate change and evolution. The House Education Committee will be holding hearings with public comment opportunities next week. Public comments through email are being accepted.
Suggestions to include in your email are from the Idaho Education Association Hotline - January 10, 2020
Contact members of the education committees by email to let them know you support the Idaho Content Standards—and why.
Preface your statement with “My comments are in support of IDAPA Rule 08.02.03 Rules Governing Thoroughness, Section 4, Subsection 1”.
Click here for a sample template of how emails can be constructed. There are plenty of good reasons for retaining the standards.
1. The current Idaho Content Standards were developed by Idaho education professionals and are automatically reviewed every few years on a rotating basis.
2. The standards are aligned with college and career expectations, which paves the way for students to succeed in post-secondary education and in the workplace.
3. They detail what students should know and be able to do at various stages of their academic careers, but do not prescribe specific curricula or how educators should present material.
4. The standards are not tied to any political agenda or ideology.
For more information and context about the upcoming legislative battle over the Idaho Content Standards, read this story from Clark Corbin and Kevin Richert of Idaho Education News.
To comment on science standards or common core, contact the House Education Committee below to hedu [at] house.idaho.gov or individual members:
lclow [at] house.idaho.gov; rkerby [at] house.idaho.gov; pshepherd [at] house.idaho.gov; jboyle [at] house.idaho.gov; rmendive [at] house.idaho.gov; gdemordaunt [at] house.idaho.gov;dmoon [at] house.idaho.gov; behardt [at] house.idaho.gov; bgoesling [at] house.idaho.gov; gmarshall [at] house.idaho.gov;jraymond [at] house.idaho.gov; twisniewski [at] house.idaho.gov; jmccrostie [at] house.idaho.gov; cabernathy [at] house.idaho.gov; sberch [at] house.idaho.gov
To comment on science standards or common core, contact the Senate Education Committee below to: sedu [at] senate.idaho.gov%20o" target="_blank">sedu [at] senate.idaho.gov or individual members:
dmortimer [at] senate.idaho.gov; sthayn [at] senate.idaho.gov; cwinder [at] senate.idaho.gov; lenhartog [at] senate.idaho.gov; ccrabtree [at] senate.idaho.gov; jwoodward [at] senate.idaho.gov; dlent [at] senate.idaho.gov; cbucknerwebb [at] senate.idaho.gov; jwardengelking [at] senate.idaho.gov
