Legislation Week 9 and IEA's Delegate Assembly.

This week: a legislative update and discussion about IEA's annual Delegate Assembly with IEA President Layne McInelly. Delegate Assembly, the highest governing body of the largest union in Idaho, will be held April 4-5 in Boise.

Transcript

Mike Journee: 0:11

Music. Welcome to the IEA reporter podcast, a regular discussion about the news and events important to Idaho Education Association members and those who value public education. IEA members are public school educators from all over the state and members of the largest union in Idaho. They're Idaho's most important education experts, and they use their influence to fight for a free, quality and equitable public education for every student in the state. I'm Mike Journee, communications director DIA and I'll be your host for this episode. Today, we talk to IAEA President Blaine mcinelli About IAEA annual delegate assembly, which will be held April 4 and fifth in Boise this year. But first a look at what happened this week at the Idaho legislature with IAEA Associate Executive Director Matt Compton. Matt Compton, thanks for joining to this quick round up of the happenings at the state house this past week, I wanted to talk quickly about a bill brought forward by Representative Wendy hormond out of Idaho Falls. This is a bill that changes the the responsibility for graduation standards in the state of Idaho, and takes it out of the hands of the the Department of Education and puts it in the hands of the legislature. Can you talk a little bit about House Bill 298,

Matt Compton: 1:36

yeah, yeah. Absolutely. Like you said, this is a piece of legislation that is brought to us by Representative Wendy Horman out of Idaho Falls she's the same representative who brought us House Bill 93 which was the voucher legislation the bill that you're referring to, House Bill 98 the graduation requirements are typically done through a negotiated rule making process through the State Department In the State Board of Education, where experts and policy makers and parents can all get together and talk about what those requirements ought to look like for for graduation, what House Bill 298 proposes to do is actually wrestle that away from the local control or away from impact for the input from Interest holders, and puts it in the the partisan and highly political hands of of lawmakers. And that's really what the risk is here.

Mike Journee: 2:30

Yeah, that bill has been heard in the house and House Committee. It was passed out of committee, and it awaits the full deliberation on the House floor that could happen any day could happen today as a matter of fact, and and then it would travel over to the Senate side. We'll be keeping a close eye on that bill, and members can can take a look at IEA reporter on our website and get the latest on that, Matt. Another bill we want to talk about is House Bill 41 a bill brought forward by Representative Ted Hill out of Eagle. And this legislation is intended to to limit the way educators display pennants and flags in their classroom. The impetus, of course, was the rainbow flag, the pride flag, for bringing this forward. And the bill has has passed both houses and it's mended, but it was mended into sin. So it's going back to to the house for final approval, and then we'll go to be passed on to the governor. Talk a little bit about about house before you won even

Matt Compton: 3:32

So Ted hills, a representative out of legislative district 14, he brought this legislation last year, which would prohibit any kind of political flags or banners in classrooms, because what he says is that they are they create a disruptive environment through learning, through debate, it became evident that the legislation aimed to prohibit any kind of display of flags that the legislature doesn't like. So what the what the Senate did is asked for the House to explicitly outline what it is that is being banned in the bill and sent it back to the house for full adoption. So there's a great opportunity here for members or the general public to reach out to lawmakers on House Bill 41 and just encourage them to vote this down,

Mike Journee: 4:20

another bill that we've been paying attention to that really has been bottled up is the union busting bill that we have written about in the past and have talked about on this podcast, that bill still is awaiting hearing on the Senate side. You're

Matt Compton: 4:33

right it. We haven't heard much of the union busting bill. That's House Bill 98 but what Chris and I have seen at the capitol is that the number of lobbyists, the out of state lobbyists who are working on this legislation, continue to grow. I think at this point we have six or seven lobbyists from different firms who are working on this legislation to try to interfere with the union activities on school property. So this is definitely something that we're keeping an eye on, because this would. Be a real issue for our members if it were to pass.

Mike Journee: 5:05

There's a lot of pressure, lot of pressure on folks similar to what we saw with the voucher legislation, a lot of lobbyist pressure on lawmakers to to pass this bill. Again, we've got some we've got some stalwart folks who understand the value that this union has in public schools and but that's not the only bill that's been been targeting unions. There's another bill out there targeting the collective bargaining rights of firefighters. So there's definitely an anti union sentiment in this legislature.

Matt Compton: 5:33

That's absolutely true.

Mike Journee: 5:36

Lastly, Matt, just want to bring up this time of the session, we start talking about budget bills. Now that the committees have been working on their policy, those policies are now being funded through budget bills. One of those budget bills that I want to bring up, of course, we have education funding, education funding bills, and that's a different process this year than it has been passed. So I ask you to talk about that, but we also I want to ask you quickly about what you're hearing. Where the pay rate bills for state employees, including educators, sits.

Matt Compton: 6:04

Yeah, really good question. This is a really squirrely part of the legislative session when budget bills began begin being used as political pawns, or exchanged between the House and the Senate, determining on that, determining what other pieces of legislation they're trying to leverage for passage. So budget bills are always the last bills to make their way through the legislative session because lawmakers are trying to figure out how much money to put in a particular line item, or they're jockeying for additional resources for other pieces of legislation. Now, what we are hearing from the legislature right now is that jfac is being held up on these budget bills because the proponents from House Bill 93 which was the voucher legislation that just passed, are now trying to dig into this year's legislation to find an additional $50 million for next year's appropriations, so that effectively would double from $50 million for the tax credit voucher to $100 million so that's what we're seeing at the legislature play out, and that's that's why we're asking for folks to be so diligent through the the end of this session as as lawmakers really tried to reinforce their win that they got on House Bill 93 for their voucher this year.

Mike Journee: 7:26

So we knew, we knew about the proponents were going to be digging in and trying to get more money for that bill, but we had no idea that it was going to going to happen before, before the gavel at the end of the session. That's pretty phenomenal, that they're already digging in and trying to find more money for that bill.

Matt Compton: 7:41

That's absolutely true there. There are a number of tax like income tax breaks or different types of property tax breaks that the legislature is trying to give back to taxpayers this year, but they're looking at ways to how do they how do they minimize those returns to taxpayers by pulling an additional 50 million for next year. So yeah, this, this is look like it's going to cost taxpayers a significant amount of money going into year over year, for education budgets, for to fund House Bill 93 which was that much the voucher bill,

Mike Journee: 8:17

the voucher bill that 1000s upon 1000s of Idahoans called into the legislature, into the governor's office to encourage them to reject and unfortunately, Governor little signed the bill a little over a week ago. So Matt, what are you hearing about the pay raise bill for state employees, which would include educators?

Matt Compton: 8:37

Yep, that bill is making its way through the process. It will be one that we hear, probably likely on the House floor or midweek next week, late next week, it will be one of the later bills that will that will be heard in the house again, using it as one of these political pawns or exchange, or some folks call hostages that for an exchanging for other legislation. So we'll be continue to following the educator pay bill through the process, but we're not seeing any real blockades for that right now.

Mike Journee: 9:09

That's great to hear Politics does play odd games at the end of the session, but it's good to hear that so far, the road goes clear for that bill. Matt, thanks again for joining us and talking about what's happening at the legislature this week. Next up on the IAEA reporter podcast, a discussion with IAEA president, Lane Micheal, about IEA annual delegate assembly, the highest governing body of Idaho's largest union. This year, Delegate assembly will be held April 4 and fifth in Boise lane. Micheal, thanks for joining us for another episode of the IEA reporter podcast. We're talking today about the delegate assembly. Our delegate assembly is coming up early next month, and. But we want to just talk about the delegate assembly its place in the union and what purpose it serves.

Unknown: 10:05

Thanks, Mike, so the delegate assembly is the highest governing body of our association. It's where members get to come together and decide how we should move forward with the Association for the next year. That's through doing new business items, through the legislative guide, through resolutions, through all different ways the members get to decide what direction we want to move as an association.

Mike Journee: 10:30

But we talk a lot about ies democratic nature. This is really kind of where the rubber meets the road, as far as that goes, right? I mean, it's where rank and file members or I guess these are probably more engaged members than most members, but it's where members have their voice and can really guide the direction of their union.

Unknown: 10:50

It really is. It's an opportunity for all voices to be heard in the room. Every member has the chance to stand up and speak for or against any item, and voice their concerns and voice how they fill it should happen in their local, in their building, in their classroom, every voice, like I said, has a voice in that room.

Mike Journee: 11:12

That's right. Well, how are delegates to the delegate assembly? Select each local

Unknown: 11:17

holds elections. So if you ever want to go to go to delegate assembly like next year, you would submit your name to the local President or the elections chair within your local and tell them that you're interested in running for delegate assembly and your local should have an election, and you would be elected to attend and represent your local at delegate assembly.

Mike Journee: 11:39

And each local has a certain amount of seats that they're afforded based upon the size of their local. And one isn't that correct?

Unknown: 11:47

That is correct. Every local is guaranteed one delegate, but then it goes up per membership. So as your membership grows, you have more opportunities to have delegates attend delegate assembly, and

Mike Journee: 12:00

we'll talk a little bit about new business items and resolutions and in the legislative guide here in a minute, but, but before we get to that. And of course, the budget is part of this process too, but the delegate assembly isn't all business. This event is, is one of the ways that really, most our most engaged members can connect with one another. Da is also about camaraderie, isn't it?

Unknown: 12:24

It really is. It's about an opportunity for educators from around the state to get together and discuss education topics that is going on in their local brainstorm, bounce ideas off of each other, and then make a new friend, be able to contact them throughout the year and say they have a question or they have a concern and bounce an idea off of them. And so it's a great way to make connections from all over the state with educators that get to do the same job that you do, just in a different location.

Mike Journee: 12:56

So lane, first, I got two questions for you. First, how many das had you attended and then, and what is your favorite part of the event?

Unknown: 13:07

So I think this will be my 16th da that I've attended. So I've been doing it for a while. I've been in state leadership since 2014 with Delegate assembly. So it's been, it's been a while since I've been doing this. So my favorite part, I'm going to say there are two things that I really, really enjoy about delegate assembly. The first is our children's fun silent auction, going through and seeing the baskets that our members put together, the time and effort that they put into building these baskets, and then seeing the generosity of our members on bidding on those baskets. Knowing that all of that money is going to support the children in Idaho is so amazing. I just I am always flabbergasted at how amazing our educators are with their generosity with the Children's Fund. My other favorite part is our awards presentation, getting to highlight the amazing work that our educators around the state are doing every single day is just phenomenal. We as educators are really bad about tooting our own horns sometimes, and so having the opportunity for people to nominate others for these awards and then recognizing them and honoring them is just so inspirational, and it makes me remember why I wanted to be an educator. So those are two of my favorite things about delegate assembly. Yeah, the

Mike Journee: 14:24

Children's Fund option is my one of my favorite parts, too. And I think, I think it's the highlight of the highlights for everybody. As a matter of fact, right now you are out and about. Mistake visiting different parts of the state for what we call mini Das, which are our regional das DA is that, are that that delegate assemblies, that are that are held at the regional level, and you're talking with members about kind of helping them understand what's going to be coming. You're talking about the budget, which is a big part of the of the business that is done in delegate assembly, the approval of the budget. But tell us a little about about what you're doing, traveling around, right? It now in advance of the of our delegate assembly in

Unknown: 15:04

April, sure, so the many das are an opportunity for our members to come together and get a preview of what's going to happen at delegate assembly, so they don't feel blindsided when they're in the big meeting hall with 400 other educators from around the state. So they get to do a little preview of the budget and of the legislative legislative guide, as well as resolutions or any of the other information that we have. It's an opportunity in a small group to ask questions and figure out what they want to do or how to participate at delegate assembly. There are lots of different opportunities at delegate assembly to meet up and work with other educators. And so the many days also give them the opportunity to really start thinking about which caucuses do I want to go to, because on Friday we have special interest caucuses, they're all held at the same time, and so you have to kind of decide which one is more beneficial for you to attend. So the many days are it really is just prep, getting you ready for that big delegate assembly in Boise.

Mike Journee: 16:07

That's great. And we've, we've talked about the budget, mentioned the budget, that is something I know that the board works on the budget that is brought forward to delegates so that they can approve the operating budget for the the the coming year that work is going on. Kind of you're doing that as as well as part of the of the mini DA is right?

Unknown: 16:29

That's right. So the Vice President, John hawks, he did a video. So you'll all be able to watch the budget video at your mini da s or it is linked on my NEA 360 so you on our group site, so you could go there and watch it as well. We will have a budget presentation at delegate assembly, and this is a year where we actually approve two years worth of budgets. So you'll be presented with our audited results for our last year's budget. You'll see our current budget, and then you'll see two out years where you get to approve and look at how we're going to budget and spend the money of the IEA.

Mike Journee: 17:04

That's great and I and that's one of the more technical aspects, I think, of things as far as the operations go. And John does a great job of presenting that budget every year. One of the kind of the highlights, I guess you, if you will, around around the delegate assembly every year is an item. They're called New Business items, or NB eyes and those that is. That's probably the most democratic part of the work of the Union. News business items. Tell us a little bit about what those are.

Unknown: 17:37

Yeah. So new business items, they are the ideas that our members have on what what direction we should move as an association. So, for example, last year, we had a member, Heidi from Jefferson County, bring a new business item about a library committee. She saw a need for our library and members to have a resource to get together and talk and provide professional development for them. And so she brought this new business item to delegate assembly, and we got to debate it. We got to hear the pros and the cons. And ultimately, that new business item passed. And so throughout this year, the library committee has been meeting and been putting together resources for other librarians throughout the state. So the new business items are an opportunity for you, if you have a an idea or a suggestion that could help further the association to put it down in writing and then debate it and talk about the merits of your idea, and then the delegates will get to vote for it or against it, and then if it is voted in, then we have that next year to continue to work on your idea and hopefully have it be successful within the association. So this year, it's one of the brand new opportunities for us. If you are a delegate, you can actually submit a new business item online. You can go to idahoea.org under our Members section, the governing documents, and you can submit a new business item right there. That's

Mike Journee: 19:00

right, and that's for delegates. You must be a delegate to present a new business item and and also, you mentioned previously that delegates can have access to an an online forum for for all the things da. And so as delegates get ready, get closer to delegate assembly, they'll be logging into NEA 360 and the communities portion of Nea 360 which which is that that forum for us and all the documents will be there and ready to go. Regular members can also look into any 360 and see some of the see some of the governing documents there as well. And if they go to that governing documents page, they can see directions for how to log into NEA. 360 we're hoping to make that a little bit easier for folks than it has been in years past. And it looks like hopefully we've hit the right note with that.

Unknown: 19:51

Just did that. Sorry, just one piece of that delegates will have access to, the delegate assembly 2025 site that has all. The documents our general membership can join the IEA membership page that will have information on there, but we do have a specific site laid out just for delegates to have all the delegate information in it. Thanks

Mike Journee: 20:13

for that clarification there. That's right. Thanks for that. So we've talked about the budget, we've talked about new business items, one of the other portions of of the delegate assembly is, is what we call resolutions. There's a committee that is charged with kind of basically drafting the union's very fundamental principle statements about a wide variety of different topics that that affects the union and affect educators in the classroom, like students, families and and and, and that committee will meet the two days prior to the delegate assembly and bring and then they will bring forward the their proposed resolutions to the committee. Can you talk a little bit about some of the types of things that the resolutions committee works on, I know that you're, you're a chairperson of that committee for person years and so, so tell us a little bit about that committee.

Unknown: 21:08

So the resolutions committee, they come together and they look at our resolutions, and our resolutions are our belief statements. They're things that we, in a perfect world, would want to have happen in public education. So our committee will come together, like you said, the two days before delegate assembly to review our resolution, see if we need to update anything, but then also bring new resolutions to our guide, because as our public education changes, we need to make sure that we're living up to the best standards that we can by having our belief statements updated. So they'll be bringing those recommendations before the delegates, but before they bring it to the delegates, you actually can go to an open hearing on Friday morning to hear the different proposed changes that they're bringing. And then if you have a proposed change for our resolutions, you can go to that hearing and you can present it there, and they might find your proposal friendly, and then Greg, our resolutions chair, would help you present that to the delegates. If you they found it unfriendly, then you would then have to present it on your own to try and get the delegates persuaded to believe what your belief statement is saying. So resolutions really are a guiding document for us when we're lobbying over at the legislature, not only do we look at our legislative guide, but we also look at our resolutions to make sure that we're living up to the belief statements that all of our delegates have approved year after year. What

Mike Journee: 22:32

would you say to members who might be hesitant to bring forward an MBI at

Unknown: 22:37

our at this event? What I tell a member is to do it. It's a very friendly crowd, even when people disagree with you and they don't see what you're saying about your new business item, they're going to be respectful. They're going to come up and thank you for bringing it, even if they voted against it. So it really is an opportunity for us to shed light into different parts of our our world that members may not necessarily know or see because being such a diverse state, there are different parts of our state that have certain things happening to them that's not happening in the other parts of the state, and so bringing new business items that really reflects what's happening in your school or your district or your local other members might not see that, but you are bringing light to it, so then people will be aware and they'll help you move forward with it. So while it can be a little bit nerve wracking, standing up in front of about 400 delegates bringing your new business item, just remember that they're all friendly educators in that room, and they're excited for you, and they'll help you through the process, for sure.

Mike Journee: 23:45

That's great. So you mentioned the legislative guide as well, and that has been kind of the third thing that delegates discuss and bring forward. The legislative guide is really the guide for the lobby theme, and our members who come to lobby day, it's their guide posts, if you will, around the kind of legislation that that IEA members support or do not support. You talk a little bit about the process for developing the ledge guide and what happens at delegate assembly.

Unknown: 24:15

So the government relations political action committee for education, they meet regularly, and they look through our legislative guide, and they bring proposed changes to the IEA board of directors. The IEA Board of Directors then reviews those changes, suggested changes, and agrees or doesn't agree with them, and approves the report to go to delegate assembly. And then, like I said, Because delegate assembly is the highest governing body, you all will get the opportunity to review the legislative guide and see the updates that the committee brought, and then the board has brought, and then you all can bring as well. So from the floor, you can see the delegate the legislative guide and decide you want to amend it with either a new bullet or. We're just changing verbiage or language in it, but like Mike said, it is the guiding document that we use when we're lobbying, where we look to see if we should oppose or support certain legislation because of what's in our legislative guide

Mike Journee: 25:17

lane. You probably have the most high profile place at delegate assembly. You actually run the meeting. You follow Robert's Rules, and you're very good at it. It's a pretty impressive thing. And I imagine at the end of those two days, you're exhausted. What do you prepare for delegate assembly? When you're getting ready for this and getting ready to stand up in front of folks and do what you do for those those two days, a

Unknown: 25:42

lot of the prep work happens during these many days, hearing what our members need, hearing what our members want, able to be prepared and know what's coming, really helps. And so that's the important thing about traveling around the state and going to all of these meetings, is, while it's taxing, it's very important for me to listen to our members, because we are a member driven organization, and we need to do what our members want. And so meeting with them and hearing what's going on is what's super important. A while I am super tired after delegate assembly is over, it's super invigorating as well, standing up there and seeing the excitement on all of our delegate spaces, hearing the passion behind the debate, seeing the the willingness to step forward and move this association in a direction that is not only going to benefit educators, but really benefit our students in Idaho, and so it's, it's really energizing also to be up there and help move this association forward.

Mike Journee: 26:39

That's great. You know, it's been, it's been politically, it's been a challenging time this winter for the Idaho Education Association for Public Schools in general. And there's also been quite a bit of activity at the at the national level, around, around with, with the new administration around education policy, there, can I ask you, what do you do you feel like that's going to impact this delegate assembly with, with what members bring forward, what their perspective is? That kind of thing you've, you've been to quite a few delegate assemblies in the past, and so I wanted to, wanted to see if you feel like, how that kind of shakes out in delegate assembly.

Unknown: 27:25

Yeah, what's happening in the world, in our nation, at our state, it definitely is going to impact what happens at our delegate assembly. But what I can tell you about delegate assembly also is that educators are going there, looking out for what's best for public education in Idaho. And so ultimately, the goal is to provide a safe, secure learning environment for all students and educators are going to do the best that they can. And like I said, in each part of the state, it's going to be different, and so people are going to be bringing different ideas based off of the realities that they're living. And so yeah, I do see that the reality we're living right now within the state and the nation, it is going to impact our delegate assembly. But ultimately, what I also know is our delegates are respectful, thoughtful educators that are really looking out for what's best for education and our students.

Mike Journee: 28:16

Well, Wayne, thanks for joining me for this discussion about delegate assembly. Again, we've got a few weeks coming up. You you'll be traveling around, visiting with members in different places around the state as we get ready for that. Lots of work happening right now here at ie headquarters to get ready for this. And we're we're out. We always look forward to it. It's always one of those events that really recharges people and and, and, of course, get some business done too. Thank

Unknown: 28:40

you, Mike. I'm super excited about delegate assembly and doing the work of the association. I can't wait to see everyone in Boise in a few short weeks. So thanks again, Mike.

Mike Journee: 28:54

Thank you for listening to this episode of The IEA reporter podcast, and thanks to IEA president, Lane mcinilly and IAEA Associate Executive Director Matt Compton, for joining us, please watch for updates about new podcast episodes on IAEA social media channels or sign up to receive IAEA reported email updates on our website@idahoea.org I'm Mike Journee, and as always, I hope you join me in thanking Idaho's public school educators for everything they do for our State students, families and public schools, you.