Dear Friends,
We are into the fourth week of the legislative session and things are beginning to heat up. K-12 education continues to be a hot topic in the legislature. Several colleagues and I have written four bills to implement the framework for the task force’s recommendations. We have spent a considerable amount of time on these bills, gathering input from the State Department of Education, the Governor’s office, State Board of Education, several business groups, and committee chairs. Yesterday in the education committee, we had a presentation on the Smarter Balance Assessment Consortium (SBAC). Many questions were asked regarding the length of the test, sharing of data, timing of the field test, and the input Idahoans have had on this test. There will certainly be more discussion on SBAC as testing has become a controversial issue.
The Council of State Governments Justice Center also presented their report to the legislature this week. The research shows Idaho has a very high recidivism (repeat offenders who return to prison within 3 years) rate. Idaho’s rate is 53%, while the national average is 42%. The report states with a $33 million dollar investment, Idaho can save $290 million in five years with no risk to public safety.
Some of the areas addressed were:
1.) Idaho has the 2nd highest incarceration rate in the country (If this continues, it will cost the state an additional $300 million dollars by 2019)
2.) Idaho is archaic in assigning felony charges to offenses that could safely and easily be reduced to misdemeanors. 62% of Idaho’s prison population is nonviolent. This is much higher than the national average.
3.) Probation needs to be a key component going forward. Our job should be to get our offenders back into a productive place in society.
4.) Prison rates are up, but crime in Idaho is down.
Finally, I was also joined by some dear friends, Jayne Walker and Erni Stivison in the Senate Gallery this week. We had a great time! It’s great when constituents come to visit.
Thank you for your confidence and support.
Warmest regards,
Janie Ward-Engelking