House Education Chairman Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d'Alene, has opened debate on SB 1108, noting that House Speaker Lawerence Denney and Gov. Butch Otter are listed as co-sponsors of the bill. He called it a "hallmark" piece of legislation, and said, "For too long school boards have been shackled to agreements made 10, 20, or even 30 years ago." He said, "We don't bind future legislators and we shouldn't bind school board members."

He said it's difficult to dismiss a bad teacher, and said with continuing contract rights - what Idaho has sometimes called "tenure" - teachers don't prove their worth before winning those rights. "You just get it and once you've got it, you've got it forever," Nonini declared. He said, "This bill is a bill whose time has come."