Protestors circle Capitol

BOISE (AP) - Hundreds of teachers, students, parents and union activists circled the Idaho Capitol in Boise in a human chain to protest education reforms now progressing to Gov. Butch Otter's desk for signing.

Protesters wore red cloth strips over their mouths.

Kelly Richmond, a history teacher at Boise's North Junior High School, said the cloth was to symbolize that teachers' "voices had been silenced."

Earlier Wednesday, the House passed a pay-for-performance plan for teachers that is opposed by the Idaho Education Association union.

This comes after Tuesday's passage of a bill to eliminate tenure and restrict teachers' collective bargaining rights.

Another key piece of public schools chief Tom Luna's reforms, to add online classes and technology to Idaho's education, remains in a Senate committee undergoing revisions.