Asked by Rep. Elfreda Higgins, D-Garden City, how the sections of the bill requiring school districts to annually notify teachers of available liability insurance providers, and for the teachers to certify, on the first day of school each year, that they've received that list, and that school districts keep those certifications on file for three years, would improve student achievement, Rep. Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d'Alene, said that's one of the provisions of the bill that doesn't necessarily "put students first." He said it's needed to notify teachers of their options.

Rep. Bill Killen, D-Boise, quizzed Nonini about whether the bill violates the Idaho Constitution by seeking to end existing contracts; he said the Idaho attorney general's office has said it doesn't. Rep. John Rusche, D-Lewiston, asked Nonini how removing the 99 percent funding protection for school districts that lose enrollment "is a good deal for school districts." Nonini responded that under the bill, "it should give districts the flexibility" on their hiring that they can make "good decisions ... with their limited resources."
 

---

---