Week 3 of the Legislative Session began with an absolutely AMAZING Monday! Senator Cindy Carlson wrote a letter addressed to Superintendent Critchfield to support and defend Idaho’s children. It literally made this mama cry tears of joy.
Senator Carlson’s letter to Superintendent Critchfield
Our incredible Attorney General, Raul Labrador, also took a strong stand for Idaho’s parents and children by publicly stating his office was looking into policy 3281. The following is a link to Caldwell School District’s proposed Policy 3281.
Idaho Capital Sun – Attorney general questions legality of ‘dangerous’ LGBTQ+ policy used in many Idaho schools
Superintendent Debbie Critchfield responded to Senator Carlson’s letter, hoping to provide clarification. I personally believe that we could alleviate a lot of these issues if we would simply stop taking federal money for education because it seems to all come with federal government strings.
Tuesday was Idaho’s School Fair and the Faces of School Choice Rally at the Capitol hosted by the Coalition of Idaho Charter School Families. There were various booths set up within the Capitol Rotunda sharing different school choice options. They even had a large robot, my daughter found very fascinating. The Capitol steps were covered with students, parents, and community members who came out to participate in the rally. Superintendent Debbie Critchfield and Senator Lori Den Hartog were two of the speakers supporting school choice. There was also a beautiful performance from the Nampa Christian School choir. 
As the week went on, we saw even more courage from Attorney General Raul Labrador. He continued to show his Constitutional integrity as he stood for pro-life and defending immigration laws. Then, to top it off, he sent a letter to the Idaho School Board Association in regards to policy 3281. I’m looking forward to seeing the answers to the many questions AG Labrador had for them.
Link to AG Labrador’s tweet posting the letter to the Idaho School Board Association
The committee meetings on both the House and the Senate side began to pick up. The Charter Commission, WISCHE (Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education), the State Board of Education, and the 4-Year Universities all presented in the Education Committees. My summary… everyone wants more money. However, the fireworks came on Wednesday in the Senate Education Committee when Senator Brian Lenney and Senator Scott Herndon asked the university presidents some very important questions about the money they spend on DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion). Link to the Senate Education Committee (Senator Lenney and Senator Herndon’s questions come near the end of the video).
There was also excitement over the skies in Nampa and Caldwell when friends were spotted flying a banner that read, “Shameful School Policy 3281” Looking forward to other great flying banners this session. What could they say?
Thursday morning, Representative Bruce Skaug presented his House bill 22 in the Revenue and Tax Committee. It was passed and sent to the House floor. H 22 is on the House Calendar for its 3rd reading Monday, January 30th.
While waiting for our weekly 11am prayer, I met Mike DeLuna. We’ve been friends on Facebook but hadn’t met in person. I was able to introduce Mike to Ann in Senator Cindy Carlson’s office, who is working to help him get Senator Carlson’s great letter and other documents translated into Spanish. It’s very exciting what Mike is doing within the Hispanic community. Idaho Freedom Foundation presented another great Capitol Clarity. We learned more about the Idaho Second Amendment Alliance and the fight to protect our 2A rights with Senator Scott Herndon, Christy Zito, and Greg Pruett. Senator Herndon spoke about his S 1004 Stand Your Ground Enhancement Bill.
After Capitol Clarity, our Treasure Valley Republican Women Committee Chairs met in the Capitol dining hall and were joined by Representative Tony Wisniewski. What a wonderful blessing it was to be able to ask Representative Wisniewski questions and learn from his wealth of knowledge. From there, we went to the Senate Education Committee. It looked like the sky was falling due to all of the Capitol police that were present. It was very uncomfortable and became more uncomfortable when we saw the Senate Pro Tem in the front row monitoring the room. Fortunately, the meeting was quick and uneventful, just another presenter explaining why they need more money. We did receive more great news when Senator Chris Trakel announced the Council School District had removed their transgender policy 3281.
Council School District Pulls Policy 3281
The week ended fairly quiet with the exception of a lot of talk about upcoming bills. The biggest discussions involved School Choice ESAs (Education Savings Accounts). Senator Tammy Nichols and the Idaho Freedom Caucus shared her ESA bill publicly. The question now is, “Will the Chairman allow the bill to have a hearing?”
That leads us into WEEK 4:
1) Please keep praying for our legislators and executive officers. They are working around the clock.
2) Seek truth
3) Things should start moving faster, so take advantage of the legislative website. https://legislature.idaho.gov/
AND Bill Tracker
4) Watch for Representative Bruce Skaug’s H 22
5) Watch for Senator Nichols’ ESA bill
6) Watch for Senator Scott Herndon’s S 1004 Stand Your Ground Enhancement Bill
7) It looks like the Nampa School District is trying to adopt a new K-6 English Language Arts Curriculum full of SEL (Social-Emotional Learning CASEL). We need to keep our eyes on this UN driven agenda.
8) February 1st Chloe Cole will be in Caldwell
9) February 2nd Chloe Cole at Capitol Clarity