HB 219: Emasculating the State Board of Education

Bob Sanders continues his excellent review of the 56 bills retained by the House that have been flying “under the radar” but could come up for a vote in January. One that caught my eye is HB 219 (as amended), a brazen attempt to both usurp the role of the executive branch and continue the process of gutting public schools, one bad bill at a time.

HB 219 started out as a study committee that would abolish the Department of Education. The amended bill may not sound as radical, but it would do more. It would prevent the state Board of Education from passing any rule unless it is necessary to comply with federal minimum standards. Otherwise, only the legislature would be able to do that.