BOISE - House lawmakers on Tuesday chose not to override Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter's first veto of the 2018 legislative session.
Otter had recently announced he had blocked legislation that would have removed the state's long-standing reading test for young students from being tied to teachers' pay raises.
In announcing the veto on Monday he said the so-called Idaho Reading Indicator is still a valid measure of student growth even though lawmakers chose this year to replace the test with a more comprehensive assessment.
The early reading test is targeted toward kindergarten through third-graders students with the intent of identifying students falling behind.
Lawmakers had the option of overriding Otter's veto, but that effort failed after House members voted 34-29 to ensure the veto stayed in place.
According to the Idaho Constitution, lawmakers need a two-thirds majority to reverse a governor's veto.
Otter has until Wednesday to sign or veto the remaining bills lawmakers passed during this year's session.
