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The Idaho School Boards Association advocates for Idaho students and public education with leadership and service for local school boards.

Championing Education Since 1942

ISBA’s Call for Legislative Priorities

Submit an ISBA Resolution that builds ISBA’s Legislative Platform

Our members play a critical role in helping determine ISBA’s legislative platform.

We encourage our members to identify education issues that fit within our vision of empowering local school boards for student success. Several long-standing education priorities include ensuring stable and equitable funding, strengthening and preserving local control, ensuring we have safe and adequate school facilities, identifying needs to provide every Idaho student a successful K-12 experience, and opposing legislative proposals that funnel taxpayers funds to private schools.

Our hope is that districts and charter schools will consider the themes listed above, or additional issues, and identify your priority issues in the form of a resolution.

When you consider submitting an ISBA Resolution, we ask that you consider the following:

1) Does it require legislative change? If the goal can be achieved through negotiated rulemaking[1], creating a local school policy, or other innovative solutions, it may not necessarily be suitable for an ISBA Resolution. Previous bills that your Board might have opposed, position statements you want the Association to take, or changes/additions to Idaho Code to execute your mission and vision are excellent topics for resolutions.

2) Does it directly relate to student achievement? This is a broad statement, as we know that student achievement is dependent upon a multitude of wide ranging issues. As an education organization, we want our work to benefit and serve Idaho students.

3) If achieved, will the resolution solve a problem or create positive impact across the state? ISBA resolutions are not intended to solve local or temporary issues or problems. Legislative proposals take an enormous amount of work, and we want to be cognizant of the impact they will have on all of our members.

4) Is the proposal realistic? ISBA board members and staff want to ensure our members understand the challenges of today’s political environment and how much work it takes to pass proactive pieces of legislation. While we never want to discourage our members from submitting ideas, we must also be transparent when it comes to the political realities. It can be a lot of work for a school board to bring a legislative proposal, and it is likely to be especially difficult this year. So we encourage you to reach out to ISBA staff if you’re considering an idea but aren’t sure how it might be received by the membership and the Idaho Legislature.

Want to make a difference, but not sure where to start? We recommend you talk directly with your school district or charter school staff, such as your Superintendent or Administrator or even your business manager, to discuss ways to create change.

While ISBA staff cannot draft your resolution for you, we are ready and available to make your resolution the best it can be. Don’t hesitate to reach out with questions or to seek clarification on where to start!

The Legislative (Resolutions) Priorities Process

Step 1:  Consider reviewing the expiring 2022 Resolutions and the current 2023 Resolutions, along with the list of broad permanent positions being submitted by the ISBA Executive Board:

  1. View the ISBA Resolutions HERE.
  2. Discuss the platform at your June or July board meeting. Please identify your priority issues and make note of any resolutions your board wants to submit.

 Step 2:  Draft Your Proposed Resolution.  Make sure your resolution includes these elements:

  1. District / Charter name, ISBA Region number, mailing address, subject, and presenter;
  2. At least one reasoning statement that starts with “Whereas”;
  3. A complete Statement of Purpose; and
  4. Conclude with a summarizing statement beginning with “Now, therefore be it resolved…”
  5. If applicable, include a fiscal note associated with your resolution.
  6. Have you examined the idea in light of the four considerations listed on the previous page?

Sample Resolution:  You can find a sample of a resolution HERE

Step 3:  Submit Your Board’s Proposed Resolution By July 31, 2023 to:

  1. Quinn Perry by email at quinn@idsba.org.
    (Please provide the resolution in a Word document, if possible.)

Step 4:  ISBA Reviews the Resolutions with the ISBA Resolutions Committee

  1. The ISBA Resolutions Committee and staff review all resolutions in the month of August.
  2. The Committee or staff may contact the sponsors for clarification.
  3. The Committee will also present their recommendations to the ISBA Executive Board during its September Board Meeting. The Sponsor will need to attend the September Executive Board meeting (in-person or virtually) to present their resolution to the Executive Board.  The Executive Board will then review the Resolution and vote on each Resolution with a “do pass”, “do not pass”, or “no recommendation”.

Step 5:  Distribution of ISBA Resolutions

  1. All Resolutions are sent to ISBA membership via email and are posted on the ISBA website.
  2. Your Board should review each of the Resolutions, discussing the pros and cons of them, and choose to take a position at your September or October board meeting.

 Step 6:  Business Session at the ISBA Annual Convention

  1. You and your Board will gather at the Friday Business Session during the ISBA Annual Convention where member districts can debate and vote on each Resolution.
  2. If you submit an ISBA Resolution, you will be asked to present the resolution during the ISBA Business Session.
  3. The Resolutions that are passed by the membership will become part of the ISBA Legislative Platform.

2024 Resolution Timeline

July 31: Resolutions due from school districts, charter schools, and ISBA Regions.

August 1 – 24: ISBA staff compiles and clarifies submitted resolutions.

August 26 – September 5: Board packets containing proposed resolutions are sent to Executive Board members for review.

September 8-9: Resolution sponsors present their proposals to ISBA Executive Board members. The ISBA Executive Board makes recommendations on each resolution.

September – October: Resolutions are discussed and debated at fall region meetings.

October 6: This is the deadline to transmit resolution packets to school board members.

November 17: School board members vote on resolutions at the ISBA Annual Business Session during Convention. The ISBA Convention will be November 15-17, 2023 in Boise, Idaho.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens after my resolution passes the membership?
If your resolution passes the membership, the sponsors are asked to work with us to get legislative sponsors. All draft legislation is required to have a written signature of a lawmaker, and we have found over the eight decades in legislative advocacy that legislators are typically more responsive to their local school and district needs. ISBA can help communicate with policymakers, create talking points, and arrange meetings to assist you. We can also suggest legislative sponsors if you are unable to secure them in your own region.

Is my resolution guaranteed to become law?
Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee that every resolution will become law. It takes significant time and work to pass public policy at the state house, and even the best ideas take time to come to fruition. ISBA’s Government Affairs Committee and staff work diligently throughout the legislative session – and beyond – to ensure our members priorities and values are represented using each approved resolution.

Who develops the resolutions?
Typically, the school district or charter school’s board submits resolutions directly to ISBA. Boards are encouraged to reach out to neighboring school boards to seek them as co-sponsors of resolutions. As previously mentioned, we recommend you work with your school district or charter school staff as well.

What are the Resolutions and Government Affairs Committees, and what do they do?
ISBA’s Executive Board appoints a Resolutions Committee to assist in reviewing the ISBA Resolutions and to encourage more dialogue around each resolution. Each member of this committee will also research the impact of each resolution, suggest amendments if needed, and report their information to the ISBA Executive Board as they make recommendations on each resolution.

The Government Affairs Committee creates the top legislative priorities for that year and directs how staff advocates for or against legislation at the Statehouse. It is made up of a balance between small and large districts from each region as well as charter schools.

When and how are resolutions voted on?
Resolutions are voted on at the Business Session at the ISBA Annual Convention. Each District is apportioned a number of votes based on their student enrollment and outlined in the ISBA Bylaws. Charter schools vote as one region and nominate their delegates during their region meeting at Convention. At least one Board Member from your district must be present at the ISBA Business Session for your district’s votes to be counted.

Resolutions pass on a simple majority vote by the membership  electors.

What is the timeline for resolutions to be submitted?
ISBA will send out the “Call for Legislative Priorities by Resolution” in early June. School boards should set aside time during their summer board meetings to review and discuss the priorities they would like to submit. The deadline to submit legislative priorities is Monday, July 31, 2023 by 5:00 p.m. MT.

This year, we’re asking the sponsoring district or school to present their resolution to the ISBA Executive Board before the Executive Board makes their recommendation. This can take place in-person or by digital platform and will take place on Saturday, September 9, 2023

How does my district or school submit a resolution?
Please submit them to Quinn Perry, Deputy Director & Government Affairs, in a digital Word copy. You can email it to Quinn at quinn@idsba.org.

I missed the deadline to submit priorities; can I still submit my board’s resolutions and priorities?
Unfortunately, we have to have a hard cut-off of July 31st for outside resolutions. You can, however, contact your region chair to ask them to consider submitting your resolution on behalf of the ISBA Executive Board.

You can also submit an ISBA Resolution from the floor. The requirements and process for that is outlined on Page 24 of the ISBA Bylaws: https://www.idsba.org/about/isba-bylaws/

[1] Negotiated rulemaking is a process in which the State Board of Education or the State Department of Education may propose, amend, or remove an agency rule. Rules carry the effect of law and must now be approved by each legislative chamber to go into effect.