The Senate Education Committee has approved legislation from House Assistant Majority Leader Scott Bedke, R-Oakley, to remove the expiration date from a program that allows school districts to rehire retired teachers or administrators full-time, the Associated Press reports. The Senate Education Committee sent the House-passed bill, HB 579, to the full Senate with a recommendation that it pass. The rehire program was created in 2007 amid concerns about teacher shortages; the AP reports that Bedke told the panel 60 teachers and administrators have used it to re-enter the profession. Sen. John Goedde, R-Coeur d'Alene, told Bedke he received a note from a young teacher who suggested the program was depriving her of a job as retired educators fill slots; Bedke countered these retired teachers were some of the most effective.