Of school reform, panic buttons, lawsuits and ranking 50th…
While I'm off enjoying time with family this week, the news marches on: The referendum on this year's school reform legislation has gathered enough signatures to make the November 2012 ballot - read a full report here from AP reporter John Miller - state Superintendent of Schools Tom Luna's office installed a third "panic button" in March, according to a report here from Twin Falls Times-News reporter Ben Botkin; a federal appeals court has revived the decades-old "Jeff D" lawsuit against the state of Idaho over substandard childrens' mental health care; you can read a full report here from AP reporter Rebecca Boone; new census numbers show Idaho ranks 50th in per-pupil spending - before the latest budget cuts - the Idaho Statesman's Kevin Richert writes about it here; and a tea party group wants a conservative Idaho publishing house's version of constitutional history taught in schools; read the AP report here.