HB 493, the education 'mastery' bill, has cleared the Senate Education Committee on a 7-1 vote, and now moves to the full Senate. "I've been looking for downsides, and I don't see it," said Sen. Russ Fulcher, R-Meridian. "We don't see too many bills that give us a chance to save money. Let's give it a chance to work. ... If it doesn't, then we pull the plug."  Sen. Monty Pearce, R-New Plymouth, said his last two years of high school were "totally wasted," after he was one credit short and wasn't allowed to graduate as a junior. "I took four study halls," he said. "I think this is a good piece of legislation, and I'm excited to see it come."

The bill would set up a pilot project, in select school districts and charter schools, to encourage students to test out of classes and move through schools more quickly; those who graduate from high school at least a year early would get a scholarship, with the idea that it'd come from money saved by not having to educate that student for an additional year. Sen. Gary Schroeder, R-Moscow, cast the lone vote against the bill. "I'm certainly not in a frame of mind to spend money on a program before we know if it's going to work or not," he said.

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