Rep. Paul Amador appointed to K-12 standards committee

Coeur d’Alene Rep. Paul Amador has been appointed to the Idaho Legislative K-12 Academic Standards Interim Committee.

The committee was the product of a February compromise before one of the more hot-button issues to hit the last two sessions came to a vote. The House and Senate both came to an impasse in 2019 over whether to toss science, math and English standards that follow in the footsteps of Common Core.

That debate carried over into the 2020 session, with the House voting to repeal the standards before the Senate Education Committee voted to keep them in. The compromise to form the interim committee was what broke the stalemate, at least for the time being.

The interim committee will examine the state’s education standards and make its recommendations to the 2021 Legislature. Its first meeting will be held Monday in Boise.

Amador has a Ph.D. in educational leadership from the University of Nevada, and he has worked extensively in the field of educational research.

“It is an incredible honor to be chosen to serve on this committee,” Amador said. “I believe any new content standards should set high standards for Idaho students with the support of the community, should help prepare students for a competitive future and improve their proficiency.”