The EdNews Show

From education to politics to sports to our personal lives, the coronavirus pandemic changed everything in 2020.

With the year about to end and new legislative session on the horizon, we take a step back and review what changed this year, how it changed and what might start to happen next.

This week Gov. Brad Little said legislators should seriously consider delaying the legislative session until a vaccine is available or moving to a more remote format.

House Minority Leader Illana Rubel. D-Boise, also said legislature should delay the 2021 session.

With only a month to go until the scheduled opening day, many questions remain.

The Legislature was back in Boise this week, for a few days in any way. In preparation for the upcoming 2021 session, Senate leaders named a new Senate Education Committee chairman. We'll discuss Sen. Steven Thayn's background, and explain how a House leadership race cost one lawmaker her spot on the joint budget committee.

This week Idaho set grim records for the number of new coronavirus cases and COVID-19 deaths.

Schools continue to navigate a difficult set of circumstances attempting to keep their buildings open.

But news of a vaccine offers a ray of hope. We'll break what we know about Idaho's vaccine plans.

This week we take a closer look at the the Boise School District's decision to move to full remote learning in the face of rising coronavirus cases and operational strains at every corner. Unless the pandemic is put under control, more districts may soon find themselves in Boise's position.

This week we scratch under the surface of Idaho's statewide 2020 election results.

Amid record turnout, voters delivered a deep red result that allows the Republicans to expand their supermajority in the Legislature.

We'll take a closer look at particularly interesting district in Boise. We'll also consider how a couple of county commission races can affect education.

Idaho is in a crisis with the coronavirus pandemic Gov. Brad Little said this week as he announced new restrictions for Idaho. The pushback was swift. Some Idahoans said the governor's modest response doesn't do enough to slow the spread the virus. Others said the governor has done too much to restrict liberty and harm the economy.

This week, we break down some of the numbers behind our top stories — the pandemic response, new student enrollment numbers, K-3 test results and teacher evaluations.

Hundreds of teachers called in sick Monday and Tuesday, forcing the state's largest school district to cancel school for two days. Although classes have resumed, division and challenges remain.

In many ways West Ada's story is indicative of the issues facing districts all across the state.

Idaho's largest school district is bracing for more than 700 teachers to call in sick on Monday in protest of continuing in-person learning under the highest COVID-19 risk classification.

We're not really sure what will happen yet, but the district has said it can't cover the absences as of now.

COVID-19 cases continue to increase in Idaho.

This week, a report from the White House Coronavirus Task Force recommends moving to online school in Idaho counties with high case numbers. The report suggests increases in COVID-19 cases among 12-17 year-olds may be linked to school reopening.

The White House task force also recommends moving University of Idaho, Boise State University and Brigham Young University-Idaho to online instruction.

We'll break down the latest from a busy week.