In response to a question from acting Sen. Carole McWilliam about school districts having to pay for online classes that students then fail, Otter aide Roger Brown told the Senate Education Committee that the new bill removes that concern. "The bill before the committee today is very specific about the fact that if the child is going to be registered in an online course, it must be through the registration process at their district," he said. "I can say that the concerns you're expressing are not represented in this legislation ... We have deferred to the district or the school as the gatekeeper on whether a child can register for an online course."

But SB 1184, on page 22, says, "Beginning with the 2012-2013 school year, parents and guardians of secondary students shall have the right to enroll such students in any online course, WITH OR WITHOUT the permission of the school district or public charter school in which the student is enrolled," as long as the provider is accredited and the course meets Idaho content standards. The bill does say that parents will register their students for the online course "through the school district or public charter school's normal registration process," but it requires that process to "accommodate such enrollment requests" as long as they're made by 30 days before the end of the previous term.