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Idaho Voters Scrap 'Luna Laws'

Idaho schools chief Tom Luna talks with reporters before the polls closed Nov. 6. State voters scrapped a trio of controversial education laws that he shepherded through last year.

—Matt Cilley/AP

By Jason Tomassini

In rejecting sweeping Idaho measures that would have limited teachers' collective bargaining rights, paid educators based in part on student performance, and put laptops in the hands of every high school student, voters in that heavily conservative state dealt a major blow on Election Day to an education agenda advanced by prominent state Republicans.

Voters overwhelmingly rejected Propositions 1, 2, and 3, which would have upheld laws passed by the state legislature last year with the backing of Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter and state schools Superintendent Tom Luna, both Republicans. Teachers' unions led a petition drive that put the measures on the Nov. 6 ballot for repeal by voters.

Unprecedented amounts of money for an Idaho ballot measure—more than $6 million combined—was spent on both sides of the heated campaign. Opponents characterized the measures as an affront to the teaching profession, while proponents touted a departure...