If lawmakers follow through with the lawsuit, the University of Idaho's $685 million purchase of the University of Phoenix will be in “serious jeopardy,” a member of the state Board of Education said.
“It’s going to be very difficult to have a bond with a legal threat,” state committee member Kurt Liebich told lawmakers who spent two hours mulling the possibility Thursday morning.
After lengthy hearings, the House State Affairs Committee did not vote on House Concurrent Resolution 26. The resolution urges the state board to reconsider its May 18 vote approving the Phoenix purchase. The resolution also opens the door to legislative litigation. The House State Department is scheduled to resume hearings Friday morning, and could possibly vote then.
Thursday's hearing focused on the law, a closed-door process that blindsided lawmakers.
U of I and the state board again argued that the purchase was legal and constitutional. Phoenix, a for-profit online giant that serves about 85,000 students, will fall under the umbrella of Four Three Education, a U of I-affiliated nonprofit.
The legal opinion distributed to members of the House State Affairs Committee Thursday morning argues that the state board was “merely following the rules established by Congress” by creating a nonprofit to run Phoenix. The 10-page letter comes from Hawley Troxell, a Boise-based law firm and one of the University of Illinois' high-priced consultants on the Phoenix purchase. University 1 paid more than $568,000 to Hawley Troxell for Phoenix Consulting, according to a spreadsheet sent to legislative budget writers Wednesday and obtained by Idaho Education News on Thursday.
But at the start of Thursday's hearing, the state's attorney laid out his legal argument to the committee, arguing that the state board has no legal or constitutional authority to run private colleges and universities. Legislative Counsel Elizabeth Bowen also said the U of I and the state board intentionally kept elected representatives out of the loop.
“I don’t think an unelected board should be making decisions of this magnitude,” Bowen said. “I think you are the one who should make this decision.”
On Thursday, committee members were still frustrated with the process. Lawmakers were not briefed on the potential Phoenix deal until May 17, a day before a state board approved the purchase.
“I was left in the dark about this,” said Rep. Bruce Skaug, R-Nampa.
U of I claims it only needs approval from the state board for the purchase. U of I President C. Scott Green acknowledged lawmakers' “frustration” with the process but said there was no mechanism to engage them in dialogue.
“If we had asked you to budget, you would have been on our checklist,” he said.
State committee members had only three months to review the deal to meet Phoenix and its certifying agency's deadline, but Liebich acknowledged the committee should have reached out to lawmakers. “It was a mistake on our part.”
Thursday's hearing was the second in-depth congressional discussion of Phoenix in as many days. On Wednesday, members of the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee questioned Green on financial details. Lawmakers on Thursday tried to figure out the mechanics of the partnership, and Green and Liebich did their best to sell its merits.
Committee Chairman Brent Crane, R-Nampa, expressed concern that Phoenix would become a “shiny object” that would distract from the U of I's mission and the campus community.
“The University of Phoenix will continue to operate as the University of Phoenix,” Green said. “My time will be spent at the University of Idaho.”
Rep. Heather Scott, R-Blanchard, suggested that the Phoenix partnership would turn the U of I into the “Walmart” of Idaho's online higher education sector, shutting out other state schools from the sector.
“We’re not trying to corner the market on anyone,” Green said. “We’re trying to reach out to Idahoans and provide them with options.”
Risk was another recurring theme.
Green and Liebich said the state's biggest risk is to stand still at a time when all colleges and universities will be competing for a dwindling share of traditional students. The U of I also said the state would limit financial risk. This means ensuring that annual bond payments do not exceed $9.9 million, or $50 million in total.
But Bowen said the overall risk from student loan forgiveness or other factors is still largely unknown. “I don’t think we’ll know until the Legislature can review the University of Phoenix’s financial documents.”
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A bill to establish a new early childhood education institution is being promoted.
A proposal to create a new state early childhood education agency is heading to the House of Representatives.
The House Education Committee narrowly voted to pass the bill after debating whether the state should prioritize funding early childhood services.
The bill from Rep. Britt Raybould and Rep. Megan Blanksma would consolidate existing state programs spread across multiple agencies into one office.
“This office will help families access these services that are often behind various barriers to entry,” Raybould said. “This helps reduce the regulatory burden on Idaho families.”
According to the bill, early childhood services include child care, special education, Head Start, home visiting, and other similar services to support children under 5 years of age.
The cost of setting up the offices could be up to $750,000, according to the bill's financial memo.
The committee voted 8-6 to advance the proposal. representative. Soñia Galaviz, D-Boise, who supported the bill, said:Navigating early childhood services sometimes seems “intentionally complicated.”
“The families that will be taking advantage of this are some of the most vulnerable in our community,” she said. “We appreciate that this will potentially create a framework for a one-stop shop.”
Representatives from the League of Women Voters and Voices for Children testified in support of the bill.
Ron Nate, president of the Idaho Freedom Foundation, opposed it. Nate, a former lawmaker who lost his re-election bid to Raybould in 2022, said the Idaho Constitution directs the Legislature to maintain public schools for children ages 6 to 18.
“It says nothing about early childhood education,” he said. Early childhood education “is outside the Constitution and the government’s proper role, and is plunging us into a ‘Communist Manifesto.’”
Assemblyman Dale Hawkins agreed that early childhood services are not the state's “appropriate role.” “I don’t think this is good government,” said Hawkins, R-Fernwood.
New bill would provide schools with telehealth services
A new bill introduced Thursday aims to make telehealth services available on public school campuses.
Rep. Dori Healey's bill would allow public schools to provide telehealth services to students in private rooms on school grounds. Often students must leave school for counseling appointments, but under the bill, students “could simply leave class, receive behavioral health services and then return to class,” said Healey, R-Boise.
Providing telehealth is optional for schools. But if they decide to provide it, the bill would set some parameters, including access to private rooms and technology for web conferencing. Schools must also provide parents with access to telehealth sessions.
“If (the school district) has the capacity, we give them the ability to do it,” Healey said.
The House Education Committee unanimously voted to introduce the proposal, meaning it can go back to public hearings.
IDLA funding formula changes left up to governor
The Idaho Digital Learning Academy will soon have a new funding formula.
The Senate on Thursday passed a bill that would “modernize” the formula by providing $430 per enrollee to online public schools. This is consistent with how IDLA pays part-time teachers on a per enrollee basis.
“These two things are interconnected,” said Sen. Lori Den Hartog, R-Meridian. “So this funding structure makes sense.”
House Bill 452 It would also allow the Legislature to tie IDLA teacher salaries to other state salaries so they can be included in statewide employee raises.
The change will save the state $1.3 million, Den Hartog said.
The House of Representatives has already approved the bill. Now it's headed to the governor's desk.
The Senate makes short work of three minor bills.
It took just minutes for the Senate Education Committee to move through three relatively minor bills.
House Bill 454 would allow high school students to pay up to $1,000 in Advanced Opportunity funds for career technical classes. The current limit is $500 per course.
House Bill 580 establishes a minimum of 10 days of paid leave for school employees who are military reservists.
House Bill 529 would authorize the state Treasurer to withdraw and distribute money from the state charter school revolving loan fund.
It was no surprise that the committee voted quickly and unanimously. All three bills passed the House without a single vote.
The bill now goes to the full Senate.