Education

Idaho State University has filed a motion in federal court seeking sanctions and $75,000 in legal fees from a former professor who has been embroiled in legal disputes with the school for several years.

The Idaho State Journal reports that attorneys for the school filed the motion against Habib Sadid last week.

Student homelessness in Idaho has grown by 27 percent, putting the state in a list of 10 that have seen the largest increase in the number of kids without stable, reliable homes. That data from the U.S. Department of Education measured growth from the 2010/2011 school year to 2011/2012.

Democrats in Idaho’s Legislature unveiled four bills Wednesday they plan to introduce in the 2014 session that starts in January. The bills would implement the recommendations of the state’s education improvement task force.

A recent report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation finds more than two thirds of low income Idaho kids don’t go to preschool. But as we’ve reported before, two thirds of Idaho kids from high income families do go to preschool. That’s not surprising since Idaho is one of only a handful of states that does not have statewide, state-funded preschool.

A provost from the University of South Dakota has been tapped to become the University of Idaho's new president.

The Idaho State Board of Education announced Monday that Chuck Staben, provost and vice president of academic affairs at the University of South Dakota, was chosen out of the five finalists contending for the job.

In just four years Idaho fourth and eighth graders have gone from above average standardized test scores to average, that's according to a U.S. Department of Education study out today.

This new kindergarten classroom on eastern Idaho’s Fort Hall Indian Reservation looks and feels much like any other. Tiny tables and chairs fill the room, bright drawings and artwork hang on the walls, and small coats hang on low-to-the-ground hooks. It’s the sound of the classroom that’s truly one-of-a-kind.

About 30 five-and-six-year-olds are learning to speak Shoshone.

“Benna, ne naniha J.J.”

“Ne naniha Miley.”

Some eastern Idaho school districts are hiring new teachers to train the old teachers.

The Post Register reports the Idaho Falls School District and the Bonneville Joint School District are among those hiring instructional coaches, who help educate fellow teachers on new strategies and resources for the classroom.

Advocates for state-supported preschool hope to tackle the issue amid increased interest in changing Idaho's public education system.

One Democratic lawmaker will be pushing a $1.4 million pilot program during the 2014 Legislature.

And the Idaho Statesman reports Beth Oppenheimer, of Idaho Association for the Education of Young Children, believes more people are recognizing that taxpayer-financed preschool education programs are sorely missing from the state's education offerings.

Idaho teachers and education policy makers often talk about the importance of students' ability to compete in the global economy. A big part of that is comparing student performance across state lines and international borders. Now, a recent study gives Idaho educators data to back up their battle cries.

In the study, Idaho students rank just behind Finland and Israel in math, and slightly ahead of England and Hong Kong in science.

Idaho’s State Board of Education wants 60 percent of Idahoans 25-to-34-years-old to have a post-secondary degree or certificate by 2020.  A study released this week finds the state may be closer than people suspected to reaching that goal.

Two of Idaho's largest universities reported enrollment declines this year.

Boise State University saw its total students during the fall semester sag to 22,003 from 22,678 last year, a drop of 3 percent.

Meanwhile, the University of Idaho said its overall enrollment plunged nearly 5.2 percent to 11,844, from 12,493.

Both schools sought to put a positive spin on declining enrollments.

The University of Idaho wants to build a new house for the next school president.

The Lewiston Tribune reports that school officials presented the plan to the Idaho State Board of Education on Thursday.

The plan by the school's presidential residence study committee recommends that the president's house be rebuilt at the same location as the current residence.

Some Idaho Board of Education members fear a proposed 5.9 percent funding hike for public schools in 2015 could come at the expense of universities.

On Thursday, board member Bill Goesling of Moscow worried the $77 million increase public schools chief Tom Luna wants for K-12 schools would siphon money from colleges including the University of Idaho, Idaho State University and Boise State University.

The Blaine County School District has agreed to settle a lawsuit with a Seattle-based company contracted to do a multimillion-dollar green energy project on Sun Valley-area schools.

The district announced the settlement Tuesday with McKinstry Essention Inc. to end an 18-month legal battle.

The Times-News reports settlement includes an exchange of final payments by each side.

Idaho Virtual Academy is the state’s largest public charter school with more than 3,000 students. IDVA contracts with for profit company K12 Inc. for its curriculum and management. In 2007, K12 sent student essays from several schools to India to be edited. We now know that Idaho Virtual Academy was one of those schools.

School kids looking for something to do after class could benefit from another $1.5 million in federal funding headed Idaho's way.

The State Department of Education says it plans to divvy up the money for next year, but now is the time for districts to apply for a cut of the cash.

It's coming through the federal 21st Century Community Learning Centers program, which aims to boost art, music, sports and drug and violence prevention during the non-school hours — when some kids might otherwise get into mischief.