February 11, 2023

The “three-strikes-and-you’re-out” rule is a regulation in baseball that states that a batter is out if he or she gets three strikes during their turn at bat. This rule is controversial because some people believe it gives the pitcher an unfair advantage.

Let’s look at this scenario in another context: the State of Idaho’s Legislature, Governor, and parents are up to bat. Each one gets one pitch. The teachers’ union is the pitcher, and the game is “school choice in Idaho”.

In this situation, Idaho strikes out every time, since we are one of very few states that can’t hit any of the “pitches” for school-choice success:

  1. The parents must be well organized (strike one);
  2. They need to enjoy solid champions in the Legislature (strike two); and
  3. They require strong support from their Governor (strike three).
To add to these can’t-win circumstances; the pitcher (teachers’ union) does, in fact, have an unfair advantage: a duplicitous combination of fastball/breaking ball/off-speed pitches called “propaganda programming” of our children.
The outcome: Three strikes, and an elusive pitch from a shrewd pitcher, and the State of Idaho’s attempts at school choice for the students is OUT, every time!
Let’s dissect these circumstances:

STRIKE ONE: PARENTS – Trying to organize parents who don’t want to know, or are not privy to, the truth is difficult.

STRIKE TWO: IDAHO LEGISLATURE – The Idaho House Education Committee is now chaired by a former teacher/administrator who worked in the education/union arena for 32 years, together with other Committee members with long-term education/union-influenced backgrounds.

STRIKE THREE: GOVERNOR – In 2022, Governor Little supported the “Empowering Parents Grant Bill”, which was funded by Federal, COVID-relief dollars and backed by the Association of School Administrators. This Bill didn’t offer true school choice. Rather, it awarded $1K/student, up to $3K/family, for parents to use for limited expenses.

The winning 2022 school-choice Bill was HB669, the “Student Hope and Opportunity
Scholarships Program”, which included eligibility for 65% of students and returned
~$5,950/student for families to completely personalize their students’ education. The Bill
died in the Education Committee.
PITCHER: UNIONS – Idaho students are not safe from the unions’ identity politics and
racially divisive concepts. In November, 2022, at Taylorview Middle School in Idaho Falls,
an Idaho Education Association (IEA) Union representative left “Types of Racism” bookmarks in the teachers’ mailboxes. Like most Idaho K-12 schools in Idaho, Taylorview
teachers are also told to teach the controversial, child-intrusive “social emotional learning”
(SEL) philosophy to its students.
QUESTION: With Idaho’s academic scores at an all-time low, why are K-12 teachers, who
acquired their teachers’ certificates in college to teach academics, now being instructed
(many against their will) to waste precious time teaching psychologist-degree, college-type
courses on high-level, behavioral assessment, and divisive programs to our kids?
Unlike Florida, Arizona, and Virginia, to name only a few states who hit school-choice
home runs, every time, “IDAHO, THREE STRIKES—YOU’RE OUT!”

 

Sincerely,

Carolyn Harrison,
Bonneville County Precinct #24 Committee Officer;
Co-Founder, Idaho Parents for Educational Choice

 

 

 

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