BOISE (AP) — The Idaho House voted 49-19 to lift the state cap on charter schools while also allowing more than one to open within the boundaries of a traditional school district each year.

Republican Rep. Bob Nonini's legislation now moves to the Idaho Senate.

The bill is advancing despite opposition from the statewide teachers union, the Idaho School Boards Association and the Idaho Association of School Administrators. Critics say Idaho's scarce public education dollars are already stretched thin and now is not the time to expand the system with more charter schools.

Idaho now limits the number of new charters to six per year.

Supporters of eliminating the cap say Idaho's charter school law is outdated and harming state efforts to secure both federal and private funding for the state.