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Boise, ID, United States (AHN) – A bill ending tenure for teachers and limiting collective bargaining rights is poised to be enacted in Idaho. The measure is part of larger legislation on education reforms, such as merit pay and layoffs, that unions and some parents and students oppose.

The Idaho state House voted 48-22 late Tuesday to pass Senate Bill 1108 despite the concerted efforts of protesters. The bill removes tenure, restricts collective bargaining to wages and benefits, and limits contracts to one year.

Nine Republicans refused to toe the party line and joined the chamber’s 13 Democrats in voting against the measure, which has been sent to Gov. C.L. Butch Otter’s desk.

Otter campaigned for the reforms and is expected to sign the bill into law. Unions and Democrats, nonetheless, are urging him to veto it.

The measure is part of a proposal from Education Superintendent Tom Luna, dubbed the “Luna plan,” that he said would save the state $500 million over the next five years.

Two other sections of the reform package, SB 1110 and SB 1113, are in the final stages of approval in the legislature.

SB 1110 introduces a pay-for-performance plan that Luna says could give teachers $8,000 in bonuses a year.

Merit pay, however, is vigorously opposed by unions nationwide. The National Education Association cites studies showing that teachers of wealthy students would unfairly receive more pay than equally effective teachers of students from low-income families.

The NEA, which has more than 3 million members, also casts doubt on value-added test scores, which are supposed to adjust student test scores for factors such as poverty.

The Idaho Education Association also criticizes SB 1110 for being unfunded.

The state House on Tuesday postponed its vote on the measure for a day due to a budget hearing. The state Senate voted 20-15 to pass it together with SB 1108 last month.

The third portion of the Luna plan, SB 1113, is still under debate in the state Senate Education Committee, where Luna said improvements are being made to the legislation.

The measure increases class sizes and removes 770 teaching positions. The bill requires every student to take four of the state minimum of 46 credits online before graduating high school. It also appropriates an unprecedented $53 million for school software and equipment.

Teachers, students and parents have been testifying in legislative hearings and rallying statewide against the reform package.

Unions say the proposal would obliterate collective bargaining rights and leave proven teachers in danger of “arbitrary firings” that do not require school districts to give a reason for the removal.

The plan “would ban negotiations regarding class sizes, lesson planning, safety, and other issues that help schools work better for everyone,” the Idaho Education Association warned.

Luna argues that his proposal does not curb labor rights but “return[s] authority and flexibility to locally elected school boards.”

According to Luna, the cost-cutting measures would ensure Idaho had “21st century classrooms” and would save $250 million that will be used to raise pay for teachers.

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