Education

MINUTES
HOUSE EDUCATION COMMITTEE
DATE: Monday, February 16, 2026
TIME: 8:30 A.M.
PLACE: Room EW41
MEMBERS: Chairman Hawkins, Vice Chairman Handy, Representatives Mendive, Ehardt,
Wisniewski, Garner, Nelsen, Sauter, Marmon, Pickett, Hostetler, Veile, Mathias,
Galaviz
ABSENT/
EXCUSED:
Rep. Veile
GUESTS: The sign-in sheet will be retained in the committee secretary's office; following the
end of session the sign-in sheet will be filed with the minutes in the Legislative
Library.
Chairman Hawkins called the meeting to order at 8:30 am.
MOTION: Rep. Sauter made a motion to approve the minutes of February 9, 2026. Motion
carried by voice vote.
RS 32974: Rep. Vander Woude presented RS 32974, proposed legislation regarding public
schools start date.
MOTION: Rep. Ehardt made a motion to introduce RS 32974. Motion carried by voice vote.
Chairman Hawkins turned the gavel over to Rep. Pickett.
RS 33138C1: Rep. Hawkins presented RS 33138C1, proposed legislation regarding school
administration, alternative authorization.
MOTION: Rep. Ehardt made a motion to introduce RS 33138C1. Motion carried by voice
vote.
Chairman Pickett turned the gavel back over to Chairman Hawkins.
RS 33325: Rep. Veile presented RS 33325, proposed legislation regarding a State Seal of
Excellence in Civics.
MOTION: Rep. Ehardt made a motion to introduce RS 33325. Motion carried by voice vote.
H 608: Rep. Pickett presented H 608, legislation regarding the Public Schools Facilities
Cooperative Fund.
Rep. Furniss spoke about difficulty accessing funds and said this legislation would
make it easier to access for school safety improvements.
Rep. Pickett explained how this legislation makes changes and clarifies intent
of the Public Schools Facilities Cooperative Fund. He discussed the application
process and repayment.
Kevin Lancaster, Superintendent, Camas County School District, and Marc Gee,
Superintendent, Middleton School District #134, testified in support of H 608.
MOTION: Rep. Nelsen made a motion to send H 636 to the floor with a DO PASS
recommendation.
Committee members discussed other facility funding and the importance of school
safety.

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UNANIMOUS
CONSENT
REQUEST:
Rep. Nelsen asked unanimous consent to withdraw his motion. There being no
objection, the request was granted.
MOTION: Rep. Nelsen made a motion to send H 608 to the floor with a DO PASS
recommendation. Motion carried by voice vote. Rep. Furniss will sponsor the
bill on the floor.
H 636: Rep. Galaviz presented H 636, legislation regarding school districts facility funds.
She spoke about sufficient funds, savings and loans for new construction, rebuilds
and differed maintenance without burdening tax payers.
Dr. Derek Bub, Superintendent of Schools, West Ada School District, testified in
support of H 636.
MOTION: Rep. Nelsen made a motion to send H 636 to the floor with a DO PASS
recommendation.
Committee members discussed gap in rural schools, distribution of funds, and a
state revenue formula.
VOTE ON
MOTION:
Chairman Hawkins called for a vote on the motion to send H 636 to the floor
with a DO PASS recommendation. Motion carried by voice vote. Rep. Furniss
will sponsor the bill on the floor.
ADJOURN: There being no further business to come before the committee, the meeting
adjourned at 9:28 am.
___________________________ ___________________________
Representative Hawkins Amy Bengtzen
Chair Secretary
HOUSE EDUCATION COMMITTEE
Monday, February 16, 2026—Minutes—Page 2

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MINUTES
HOUSE EDUCATION COMMITTEE
DATE: Thursday, February 12, 2026
TIME: 9:00 A.M.
PLACE: Room EW41
MEMBERS: Chairman Hawkins, Vice Chairman Handy, Representatives Mendive, Ehardt,
Wisniewski, Garner, Nelsen, Sauter, Marmon, Pickett, Hostetler, Veile, Mathias
(Carlson), Galaviz
ABSENT/
EXCUSED:
None
GUESTS: The sign-in sheet will be retained in the committee secretary's office; following the
end of session the sign-in sheet will be filed with the minutes in the Legislative
Library.
Chairman Hawkins called the meeting to order at 9:00 am.
RS 33117: Rep. Leavitt presented RS 33117, proposed legislation regarding Public Charter
School Admissions.
MOTION: Rep. Mendive made a motion to introduce RS 33117. Motion carried by voice
vote.
H 599: Rep. Raymond presented H 599, legislation regarding digital content. He said this
changes fund distribution from a first come first serve, to needs based distribution.
He said the State Department of Education has a committee assigned to oversee
the application
MOTION: Rep. Nelsen made a motion to send H 299 to the floor with a DO PASS
recommendation.
In response to committee member questions, Debbie Critchfield, Superintendent
of Public Education, State Department of Education, explained the eligibility
process.
Committee members discussed specific criteria and the definition of "need."
SUBSTITUTE
MOTION:
Rep. Pickett made a substitute motion to HOLD H 299 in committee.
AMENDED
SUBSTITUTE
MOTION:
Rep. Sauter made an amended substitute motion to HOLD H 299 for time certain,
February 19, 2026. Motion carried by voice vote.
Chairman Hawkins turned the gavel over to Vice Chairman Handy.
H 516: Rep. Hawkins presented H 516, legislation regarding parental rights and K-12
sexual instruction. This bill removes "developmentally appropriate" from previous
legislation as it is no longer needed.
Committee members voiced concern over opt-in parental rights controversy,
CTE courses regarding medical instruction and FFA, and not specifying "human
sexuality" in the bill.
MOTION: Rep. Hostetler made a motion to send H 516 to the floor with a DO PASS
recommendation.
Doug Taylor, Targhee Group and Grace Howat, Idaho Family Policy, testified in
support of H 516.

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Misty DelliCarpini-Tolman, Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates, testified in
opposition to H 516.
Committee members inquired about teachers mandatory reporting and Idaho code.
VOTE ON
MOTION:
Chairman Handy called for a vote on the motion to send H 516 to the floor with
a DO PASS recommendation. Motion carried by voice vote. Rep. Hawkins
will sponsor the bill on the floor.
ADJOURN: There being no further business to come before the committee, the meeting
adjourned at 9:44 am.
___________________________ ___________________________
Representative Hawkins Amy Bengtzen
Chair Secretary
HOUSE EDUCATION COMMITTEE
Thursday, February 12, 2026—Minutes—Page 2

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MINUTES
HOUSE EDUCATION COMMITTEE
DATE: Monday, February 09, 2026
TIME: 9:00 A.M.
PLACE: Room EW41
MEMBERS: Chairman Hawkins, Vice Chairman Handy, Representatives Mendive, Ehardt,
Wisniewski, Garner, Nelsen, Sauter, Marmon, Pickett, Hostetler, Veile, Mathias,
Galaviz
ABSENT/
EXCUSED:
Reps. Wisniewski
GUESTS: The sign-in sheet will be retained in the committee secretary's office; following the
end of session the sign-in sheet will be filed with the minutes in the Legislative
Library.
Chairman Hawkins called the meeting to order at 9:01 am.
S 1225aa: Rep. Petzke presented S 1225aa, legislation regarding President search for higher
education. This legislation adds a new section of code, defining the process for
all presidents searches for the state institutions of higher education. This would
amend Idaho Code to make only the name of the sole finalist publicly available.
MOTION: Rep. Sauter made a motion to send S 1225aa to the floor with a DO PASS
recommendation.
Ken Burgess, Idaho Press Club, testified in opposition to S 1225aa.
In response to committee member questions, Rep. Petzke said this requires a
minimum of one name presented to the public, but allows for more.
VOTE ON
MOTION:
Chairman Hawkins called for a vote on the motion to send S 1225aa to the floor
with a DO PASS recommendation. Motion carried by voice vote. Rep. Petzke
will sponsor the bill on the floor.
Dawn Hall, Executive Director, IDeal, spoke about the Idaho college savings
program, said it is self funded, and is like a roth IRA for education. She said the
program is not just for Idaho and gave a list of eligible uses for funds.
RS 33205: Rep. Pickett presented RS 33205, proposed legislation amending the Public
Schools Facilities Cooperative Funding Program.
MOTION: Rep. Sauter made a motion to introduce RS 33205. Motion carried by voice vote.
ADJOURN: There being no further business to come before the committee, the meeting
adjourned at 9:30 am.
___________________________ ___________________________
Representative Hawkins Amy Bengtzen
Chair Secretary

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