COEUR d'ALENE - Ten hut!

At-risk teenagers - or those who already have dropped out of high school - may soon have a new way to earn their diplomas in Idaho.

Boot camp.

Homework, front and center.

"It's about getting dropouts back into school and getting high school diplomas for them," said Sen. John Goedde, the Coeur d'Alene Republican proposing legislation that would bring the military-style school to Idaho. "There's no question we have that issue here, maybe not as bad as other states, but it's still an issue."

The bill is expected to hit the Senate next week, Goedde said, then go to the House.

If it passes, a boot-camp-style program would give dropouts a roughly 14-week crash-course in physical activity, discipline and studying as they earn their degrees, Goedde said.

The National Guard has established the program in 28 other states as well as Puerto Rico. Idaho's version would be in Pierce, around 80 miles east of Lewiston. It would mostly be paid for by a $1 million federal grant.

If it's approved, qualified students between the ages of 16 and 18 would have to apply. Parents won't be expected to foot a bill and students would be housed in barracks-style accommodations.

The state would be responsible for 25 percent of the ongoing program costs, with the federal government picking up the remainder. The intent is to use donations and corporate sponsorships to cover the state's share of the funding, rather than general fund dollars.

Already, the J.A. & Kathryn Albertson Foundation has agreed to pitch in $450,000 a year for four years as a matching grant if everything else falls in line, said Chris Latter, foundation communications officer.

The foundation supports the school "as a priority for youth, family and education," she said.

An Idaho Department of Commerce grant for $300,000 could also be available.

Nationally, 60 percent of 2009 program participants received their high school diplomas or GED, according to the U.S. National Guard. Around 28 percent continued their education and 14 percent go on to join the military.

"We're very, very earnest about seeing this program launch," said Col. Tim Marsano, Idaho National Guard spokesman, adding that the program isn't intended to be a military recruitment tool. "We think this program will have a direct correlation to reducing the prison rate."

Forty-five percent of Idaho's incarcerated population does not have a high school diploma, said Jeff Ray, Idaho Department of Correction spokesman.

He said inmates who earn their GED while behind bars are the least likely to be repeat offenders after they're released.

Meanwhile, Idaho's high school dropout rate was 1.68 percent in 2008-09, down from 1.96 percent the year before. In the Coeur d'Alene School District, it was 2.7 percent, down from 4.4 percent the previous year, according to Melissa McGrath, public information officer for the state Department of Education.

Nationally, Idaho was one of 15 states with less than 3 percent public high school dropout rate in 2008, according to national education statistics.

The program could be opening by July if everything goes smoothly, Marsano said. A yearlong follow-up period after graduation would keep school representatives in contact with graduates after completion.

Details still need to be worked out at the Legislature, including whether the diplomas would be high school diplomas or GEDs, Marsano said.

The bill includes a sunset date of 2014, giving lawmakers an opportunity to re-evaluate the program. If it's performing as expected, they could re-authorize then.