Lewiston-area residents will have the chance to weigh in Thursday on a new statewide accountability system for public education.
A public forum from 6 to 8 p.m. in Room 115 of Lewis-Clark State College's Sacajawea Hall is the seventh and last hearing scheduled in the state.
The Idaho State Board of Education is seeking input on the program being developed to help measure the effectiveness of public schools.
"We think this is really important," Idaho State Board of Education spokesman Blake Youde said. "It's not every day that we hold public forums across the state on a single issue."
Youde said other sessions have been attended by teachers, school administrators, parents, elected officials, higher education representatives and business owners.
The new accountability framework will replace the five-star system employed under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. The new Every Student Succeeds Act, signed into law by President Barack Obama last year, also requires a system to review public school performance, Youde said.
The new framework must include certain factors such as proficiency and graduation rates, but allows more flexibility than the old system, Youde said.
