Idaho
Idaho school districts move to air-conditioned bus fleets, an opportunity for others through IEPs
NAMPA, Idaho — The school year begins for many districts Wednesday and while some districts are moving to a complete fleet of air conditioned buses, other buses will be required to have A/C because of student IEPs.
- In the Gem State, school buses are not required to have air conditioning.
- Special Education teachers have the opportunity to provide air conditioning for students through IEPs.
- Two Treasure Valley Districts have fully air conditioned fleets beginning with the 2024-25 school year.
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
Big changes coming to many school districts in the Treasure Valley beginning this school year. Four day school week, cell phone bans, and for a couple school districts, air conditioning in all school buses.
In the Gem State, school buses are not required to have air conditioning. In fact, if a bus has an a/c unit that is inoperative, that bus will fail inspection.
But there is one way that some students could get air conditioning: individualized education plans.
“Accommodations on an IEP are there to help students access curriculum, instruction, socialization, so if a kiddo needs an accommodation on the bus to be able to get to school, then yes, we would write that in there,” says Nampa School District’s Director of Special Education Dr. Cyndi Cook.
An IEP begins as a team effort between specialists, special education teachers, and parents. IEPs are used for learning goals as well as behavior but the State Department of Education tells me that air conditioning can also be put into IEPs, making A/C units in the bus for some students compulsory based on need.
“You don’t do it just because,” Dr. Cook explains, “there’s a couple different reason mostly around medical things. Some students have a disorder or disability that does not allow their body to regulate temperature and that could cause seizure, grand mal seizures, it can cause other medical issues that by the time they get to school, they’re done.”
After switching to First Student, the Nampa School District will have an entire fleet of 89 buses with air conditioning. West Ada has also made the move to an entirely air conditioned fleet through their partnership with Durham School Services.
Kuna and Emmett School Districts have just over 30 buses and none of them are equipped with A/C. They tell me this is because they do not have any student’s requiring it through IEPs nor do they have the funding to equip their buses.
Mountain Home has 34 buses with 3 of those having A/C because of an IEP and Vallivue School District has 4 buses with A/C through Brown Bus Company.
The Boise School District maintains a fleet of 19 of their 122 buses to be air conditioned which is also their wheelchair-lift equipped buses.
But air conditioning might not just be put into an IEP because of a health or learning reason, behaviors could play a part for many students.
“It could, that’s where I was going,” Dr. Cook says excitedly. “It could be a behavioral thing. Typically that is tied to that medical piece because fluctuating temperatures can cause our ability to self regulate to be a little different than typical.”
Shanea Fulks is the owner of Seven Sisters Closet Revival, a new consignment store at 260 South Woodruff in Idaho Falls. Take a look inside in the video above. | Rett Nelson, EastIdahoNews.com
Do you want to know what’s happening in the eastern Idaho business scene? We’ve got you covered. Here is a rundown of this week’s business news across the valley.
BIZ BUZZ
IDAHO FALLS
New consignment shop in Idaho Falls offers vintage clothes for customers and booth space for sellers
IDAHO FALLS – Curating vintage clothing is Shanea Fulks’s passion, and she’s sharing it with the community through a new business venture.
Seven Sisters Closet Revival opens Saturday at 260 South Woodruff inside Parkwood Plaza in Idaho Falls. It offers racks of vintage clothes for customers and booth space for others to sell their items.
“You get a rack with shelves, and you can come in throughout the week and sell things,” Fulks tells EastIdahoNews.com. “The things you’ll see in the middle of the store are pieces that I have curated. I hand-pick all the things I bring to the store.”
See some of the items in the video above.
Fulks says she’s had multiple people walk in already who are excited about the shop.
The store will have a grand opening this weekend. Fulks is partnering with the Greater Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce for a ribbon-cutting and open house at noon on Friday. A local band will be performing during the event.
Then on Saturday, a grand opening celebration will begin at 2 p.m. Several vendors and live entertainment will be available. Fulks says she’s looking forward to interacting with the community.
Fulks has been selling items from her personal collection online for years. After helping a mother and daughter find a formal dress during an interaction at another shop in town several years ago, Fulks says she realized there was a need for a store like this.
After about a year of working with real estate agents, Fulks says the Parkwood Plaza space formerly occupied by a beauty salon called Blush became available, and it was an ideal fit.
“It’s just been a whirlwind and we’re just trying to get it going,” says Fulks.
Fulks’ interest in fashion stems back to childhood. She lost her dad and stepdad to suicide at a young age and grew up in a household that struggled to make ends meet. As a result, she says they bought clothes at Goodwill and other secondhand stores.
She remembers being made fun of because of the clothes she wore. In time, she learned to embrace her uniqueness and developed an interest in vintage clothes.
“I’ve just always been attracted to old sweaters, military jackets (her dad served in Vietnam),” Fulks says. “I like to help people feel confident wearing something unique, even if it’s not trendy. Be bold and wear whatever you want.”
The idea of making the most of your circumstances and embracing who you are is inspired by her experience with suicide, and it’s reflected in the art that’s on display in her store.
“Part of the theme in my store is ‘Stay. We need you,’” she says.
The business name refers to her family. She comes from a blended family of six girls and four boys. When she and her husband were married, they had a daughter — the seventh sister.
Fulks says she’s looking forward to offering great deals to customers. She has two sons with autism who love art, and she wants to host art-themed events for people with special needs. She’d also like to host tea parties and other events in the future.
“I want people to come and feel like they belong,” she says. “I’m going to allow people to do karaoke. When you’re here, I want you to feel like you can have fun.”
Seven Sisters Closet Revival will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
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Gov. Brad Little has signed House Bill 533, which would remove the need for license plate stickers on Idaho vehicles.
The legislation, introduced earlier this session by Rep. Jon Weber (R) of Boise, eliminates the requirement for registration stickers on Idaho license plates. Weber stated during the bills intorduction that officers can verify the status of license plates without the stickers, potentially saving the state around $300,000.
During the bill’s introduction, some lawmakers argued that it could increase the workload for law enforcement.
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The new law is set to take effect in July.
For the second year in a row, House lawmakers will consider urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn its ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.
The nonbinding resolution, which carries no legal weight, says the decision in Obergefel v. Hodges violates the longstanding religious definition of marriage between one man and one woman.
“The current definition of marriage that allows for same-sex marriages is a defilement of the word marriage,” said Rep. Tony Wisniewski (R-Post Falls), who sponsors the measure.
The resolution further states that the Obergefel decision “arbitrarily and unjustly” rejects the historical definition of marriage.
Idaho voters passed a constitution amendment in 2006 that defines marriage as between one man and one woman, which was invalidated by the Obergefel ruling.
Wisniewski said regulating marriages should be a power left to the states.
Rep. Brent Crane (R-Nampa) agrees.
“If you want to get things … closer to the people with respect to some of these more complex social issues, I think the best place for those things to happen is in the states,” Crane said.
Doing so is a risk, he said.
“You may have states that choose to acknowledge [polyamorous relationships]. You may have states that choose to have relationships between adults and younger children,” Crane said.
Cities in neighboring Oregon and Washington, for example, are considering giving those in polyamorous relationships legal recognition.
But he said that risk is worth it to allow other states that choose to only recognize traditional marriages.
Four lawmakers on the House State Affairs Committee opposed the resolution.
Rep. Erin Bingham (R-Idaho Falls) said she’s tried to balance her own religious beliefs with those of others while considering the measure.
“I do feel like that it is important for us to work together, to find ways to compromise and to live together in peace and mutual respect,” Bingham said.
The resolution now goes to the House floor for consideration.
House lawmakers last year passed a similar measure, but it never received a hearing in a Senate committee.
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