Idaho law hands parents more power in choosing school curriculums. It’s led to major changes

In some districts, the law has brought parents and teachers in closer alignment. In others, it's poised to harden divisions

When JD Davis, the department chair of English at a high school in Twin Falls, Idaho, was told last year that half of the committee he was leading to pick new texts and materials for the district's English language arts classrooms would be parents and community members, he objected.

I said, I'm not going to have parents involved! They don't know what we're doing. They don't know what we need in a textbook," recalled Davis, who also teaches journalism, leads the school newspaper and advises the Gay-Straight Alliance.