Amends existing law to revise provisions regarding virtual public education in Idaho.

LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO Sixty-eighth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2026 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HOUSE BILL NO. 588 BY EDUCATION COMMITTEE AN ACT1 RELATING TO EDUCATION; AMENDING SECTION 33-1619, IDAHO CODE, TO REVISE2 PROVISIONS REGARDING VIRTUAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS; AMENDING SECTION3 33-5202A, IDAHO CODE, TO REVISE DEFINITIONS; AMENDING SECTION 33-5206,4 IDAHO CODE, TO REVISE PROVISIONS REGARDING REQUIREMENTS FOR OPERATING5 A PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL; AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY AND PROVIDING AN6 EFFECTIVE DATE.7

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:8

SECTION 1. That Section 33-1619, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby9 amended to read as follows:10 33-1619. VIRTUAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS. (1) School districts may offer11 instruction via the internet in a distributed environment. For programs12 meeting such definition, the school district may count and report the aver-13 age daily attendance of the program's students in the manner prescribed in14 section 33-5207, Idaho Code. School districts may also offer instruction15 that is a blend of virtual and traditional instruction. For such blended16 programs, the school district may count and report the average daily atten-17 dance of the program's students in the manner prescribed in section 33-5207,18 Idaho Code. Alternatively, the school district may count and report the av-19 erage daily attendance of the blended program's students in the same manner20 as provided for traditional programs of instruction, for the days or por-21 tions of days in which such students attend a physical public school. For the22 balance of days or portions of days, average daily attendance may be counted23 in the manner prescribed in section 33-5207, Idaho Code.24 (2) School districts offering virtual education programs pursuant to25 this section shall:26 (a) Make available to the state board of education the information re-27 quired under section 33-5205(3), Idaho Code;28 (b) Require that all contracts and any subsequent amendments thereto29 between a school district and an educational services provider as de-30 fined in section 33-5202A, Idaho Code, relating to the provision of vir-31 tual learning to students be approved by the school district board of32 trustees prior to execution;33 (c) Maintain records that verify proof of Idaho residency for all stu-34 dents enrolled in a virtual education program; and35 (d) Ensure that all curricular materials, as defined in section36 33-118A, Idaho Code, including alternative or supplemental curriculum,37 meet content standards as set forth in rule promulgated by the state38 board of education and establish a system to document such curriculum.39 (3) Any educational services provider contracting with and receiving40 public funds from a school district for a virtual education program shall41

2 provide a written disclosure of services and costs in its contract that1 shall:2 (a) Identify the specific services provided to the school district;3 (b) Identify the cost of each service or category of service and the4 method used to calculate such cost; and5 (c) Demonstrate a clear relationship between the public funds received6 and the services provided.7 (4) Any virtual education program and educational services provider8 with which a school district contracts shall establish policies regarding9 conflicts of interest for individuals who are employed by both the school10 district and the educational services provider with which the district11 contracts. Such policies shall include mechanisms for accountability and12 oversight.13 (5) No school district, virtual education program, or educational ser-14 vices provider with which they contract shall furnish any payment of state15 funds directly to parents or legal guardians of enrolled students. Any state16 funds determined by the school district to be used as supplemental learning17 funds shall be used only for eligible education expenses as provided in sec-18 tion 33-5206(8)(m), Idaho Code. "Supplemental learning funds" has the same19 meaning as in section 33-5206(8)(m), Idaho Code. Eligible education ex-20 penses shall be available for all courses, including elective courses. Such21 funds shall be expended through direct order by the school district only,22 except as otherwise provided in section 33-5206(8)(m), Idaho Code.23 (6) Every person who is employed in the capacity of teacher in a vir-24 tual education program provided for in this section shall hold a certificate25 as required under section 33-1201, Idaho Code. A school district shall re-26 tain the authority to hire, oversee, and evaluate all teachers delivering27 instruction in a virtual education program.28

SECTION 2. That Section 33-5202A, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby29 amended to read as follows:30 33-5202A. DEFINITIONS. As used in this chapter, unless the context re-31 quires otherwise:32 (1) "Application" means the document submitted to the authorizer to re-33 quest the creation of a public charter school.34 (2) "Authorizer" means any of the following:35 (a) A local board of trustees of a school district;36 (b) The public charter school commission;37 (c) An Idaho public college, university, or community college; or38 (d) A private, nonprofit, Idaho-based, nonsectarian college or univer-39 sity that is accredited by the same organization that accredits Idaho40 public colleges and universities.41 (3) "Charter" means the grant of authority approved by the authorizer42 to the charter holder.43 (4) "Charter holder" means the public charter school's board of direc-44 tors to which a charter is granted.45 (5) "Educational services provider" means a nonprofit or for-profit46 entity that contracts with a public charter school or a school district for a47 fee to provide educational services and resources, including administrative48 support and educational design, implementation, or management.49

3 (6) "Founder" means a person who makes a material contribution toward1 the establishment of a public charter school and who is designated as such by2 the charter holder.3 (7) "Performance certificate" means a fixed-term, renewable certifi-4 cate between a public charter school and an authorizer that outlines the ne-5 gotiated roles, powers, responsibilities, and performance expectations for6 each party to the certificate.7 (8) "Public charter school" means a school that is authorized pursuant8 to this chapter to deliver public education in Idaho.9 (9) "Public charter school commission" or "commission" means the pub-10 lic charter school commission established pursuant to section 33-5213,11 Idaho Code.12 (10) "Traditional public school" means any school that is operated and13 controlled by a school district in this state.14 (11) "Virtual school" means a public charter school that delivers15 a full-time, sequential program of synchronous and/or asynchronous in-16 struction primarily through the use of technology via the internet in a17 distributed environment. Schools classified as virtual must have an online18 component to their school with online lessons and tools for student and data19 management. Students enrolled in a virtual school may meet at the same loca-20 tion and time while receiving virtual instruction.21

SECTION 3. That Section 33-5206, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby22 amended to read as follows:23 33-5206. REQUIREMENTS FOR OPERATING A PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL. (1) A24 public charter school shall be nonsectarian in its programs, affiliations,25 admission policies, employment practices, and all other operations, shall26 not charge tuition, levy taxes, or issue bonds, and shall not discriminate27 against any student on any basis prohibited by the federal or state consti-28 tution or any federal, state, or local law. Public charter schools shall29 comply with the federal individuals with disabilities education act. Ad-30 mission to a public charter school shall not be determined according to the31 place of residence of the student or of the student's parent or guardian32 within the district.33 (2) No board of trustees of a public school district may require:34 (a) Any employee of the school district to be involuntarily assigned to35 work in a public charter school; or36 (b) Any student enrolled in the school district to attend a public char-37 ter school.38 (3) Employment of charter school teachers and administrators shall be39 on written contract.40 (4) Administrators may be certified pursuant to the requirements set41 forth in chapter 12, title 33, Idaho Code, pertaining to traditional public42 schools or may hold a charter school administrator certificate, which re-43 quires that the administrator:44 (a) Holds a bachelor's degree from an accredited four (4) year institu-45 tion;46 (b) Submits to a criminal history check as described in section 33-130,47 Idaho Code;48

4 (c) Completes a course consisting of a minimum of three (3) semester1 credits in the statewide framework for teacher evaluations, which shall2 include a laboratory component;3 (d) Submits a letter of support from a charter holder; and4 (e) Has one (1) or more of the following:5 (i) Four (4) or more years of experience administering a public6 charter school;7 (ii) A postbaccalaureate degree and a minimum of five (5) years8 of experience in school administration, public administration,9 business administration, or military administration;10 (iii) Successful completion of a nationally recognized charter11 school leaders fellowship; or12 (iv) Four (4) or more years of teaching experience and a commit-13 ment from an administrator at a charter school in academic, op-14 erational, and financial good standing, according to its autho-15 rizer's most recent review, to mentor the applicant for a minimum16 of one (1) year.17 (5) A charter school administrator certificate is valid for five (5)18 years and renewable thereafter. Administrators shall be subject to over-19 sight by the professional standards commission. Certificates may be revoked20 pursuant to the provisions of section 33-1208, Idaho Code. Issuance of a21 certificate to any applicant may be refused for such reason as would have22 constituted grounds for revocation.23 (6) Certified teachers in a public charter school shall be considered24 public school teachers. Educational experience shall accrue for service in25 a public charter school and be counted by any school district for any teacher26 who has been employed in a public charter school. The staff of the public27 charter school shall be considered a separate unit for the purposes of col-28 lective bargaining.29 (7) Charter school teachers, including teachers in virtual schools,30 may be certified pursuant to the requirements set forth in chapter 12, title31 33, Idaho Code, pertaining to traditional public school districts or may32 hold a charter school-specific teaching certificate.33 (a) Criteria for a charter school-specific teaching certificate shall34 be in writing and require that teachers satisfy the provisions set forth35 in section 33-1202 1., 3., and 4., Idaho Code, and meet the following36 minimum educational or professional qualifications:37 (i) Hold a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution; or38 (ii) If instructing students in the fields of career technical39 education, satisfy the provisions of section 33-2205(6)(a), Idaho40 Code. Career technical education programs taught by teachers41 with a charter school-specific teaching certificate shall receive42 added-cost funding set forth in section 33-2215, Idaho Code, in an43 amount equal to programs taught by teachers with an occupational44 specialist teaching certificate.45 (b) Teachers with a charter school-specific teaching certificate shall46 receive mentoring and professional development as approved by the char-47 ter holder.48 (c) The state board of education shall issue charter school-specific49 teaching certificates to teachers upon recommendation of the individ-50

5 ual charter school, unless denied on the grounds set forth in section1 33-1208, Idaho Code.2 (d) For teachers holding a charter school-specific teaching certifi-3 cate, a charter school may substitute its own ongoing education and pro-4 fessional development requirements in place of those set forth in rule5 by the state board of education if the same number of credit hours is6 required as that of teachers holding a standard instructional certifi-7 cate.8 (8) Public charter schools may contract with educational services9 providers subject to the following provisions:10 (a) Educational services providers shall be third-party entities sepa-11 rate from the public charter schools with which they contract and shall12 not be considered governmental entities, provided that such contracts13 may be evaluated by the authorizer;14 (b) No more than one-third (1/3) of the public charter school's board15 membership may be comprised of nonprofit educational services provider16 representatives. Nonprofit educational services provider repre-17 sentatives may not be employees of the public charter school or the18 educational services provider and may not hold office as president or19 treasurer on the public charter school's board. For-profit educational20 services providers may not have representatives on the public charter21 school's board of directors. The board of directors of public char-22 ter schools, including virtual schools, and the educational services23 providers with which a school contracts shall establish policies for24 individuals who are employed by both the public charter school and the25 educational services provider with which the school contracts. Such26 policies shall include protocol regarding conflicts of interest, mech-27 anisms for accountability and oversight, and guidelines for employees;28 (c) Charter holders shall annually disclose any existing and potential29 conflicts of interest, pecuniary or otherwise, with affiliated educa-30 tional services providers;31 (d) Charter holders shall retain accountability for academic, fiscal,32 and organizational operations and outcomes of the school and may not re-33 linquish this responsibility to any other entity;34 (e) Contracts must ensure that school boards retain the right to termi-35 nate the contract for failure to meet defined performance standards af-36 ter notice and a reasonable cure period has expired and if material de-37 ficiencies have not been cured prior to that time period expiring;38 (f) Contracts must ensure that assets purchased by educational ser-39 vices providers on behalf of the school, using public funds, shall40 remain assets of the school. The provisions of this paragraph shall41 not prevent educational services providers from acquiring assets using42 revenue acquired through management fees;43 (g) Charter holders shall consult legal counsel independent of the44 party with whom they are contracting for purposes of reviewing the45 school's management contract and facility lease or purchase agreements46 to ensure compliance with applicable state and federal law, including47 requirements that state entities not enter into contracts that obligate48 them beyond the terms of any appropriation of funds by the state legis-49 lature;50

6 (h) Charter holders must ensure that their facility contracts are sepa-1 rate from management contracts; and2 (i) A virtual school shall be deemed financially sufficient if there is3 an agreement that requires an educational services provider to assume4 the virtual school's financial risk when it does not have sufficient5 residual funds to pay the educational services provider. Where this6 paragraph is applicable, the educational services provider shall make7 its audited financial statements available, unless the educational8 services provider already makes such audited financial statements pub-9 licly available for compliance with other federal or state laws.;10 (j) All contracts and any subsequent amendments thereto between a vir-11 tual school and an educational services provider relating to the provi-12 sion of virtual learning to students shall be approved by the school's13 board of directors prior to execution. Such virtual schools shall pro-14 vide proof of Idaho residency for all enrolled students to the autho-15 rizer, upon request;16 (k) Curricular materials, as defined in section 33-118A, Idaho Code,17 including any alternative or supplemental curriculum, shall meet con-18 tent standards as set forth in rule promulgated by the state board of ed-19 ucation, and a system shall be established to document such curriculum;20 (l) Any educational services provider contracting with and receiving21 public funds from a virtual school shall provide a written disclosure of22 services and costs in its contract that shall:23 (i) Identify the specific services provided to the virtual24 school;25 (ii) Identify the cost of each service or category of service and26 the method used to calculate such cost; and27 (iii) Demonstrate a clear relationship between the public funds28 received and the services provided; and29 (m)(i) No public charter school, virtual school, or educational30 services provider with which they contract shall furnish any31 payment of state funds directly to parents or legal guardians32 of enrolled students. Any state funds determined by the virtual33 school to be used as supplemental learning funds shall be used only34 for eligible education expenses as provided in this paragraph.35 "Supplemental learning funds" means state funds that are locally36 determined to be used to enhance educational services or resources37 and to cover educational costs for students learning outside tra-38 ditional classrooms and learning at home. Eligible education39 expenses shall be available for all courses, including elective40 courses. Such funds shall be expended through direct order by the41 virtual school only, except as otherwise provided in this para-42 graph.43 (ii) Eligible educational expenses, for the purposes of this sec-44 tion, includes:45 1. Computer hardware, internet access, or other technolog-46 ical devices or services that are primarily used to meet a47 student's educational needs, provided that expenses for in-48 ternet access shall be eligible for reimbursement;49

7 2. Textbooks, curricula, or other instructional materials,1 including educational software and applications;2 3. Fees for national standardized assessments, advanced3 placement examinations, examinations related to college or4 university admissions, or industry-recognized certifica-5 tion examinations;6 4. Therapies, including but not limited to occupational,7 behavioral, physical, speech-language, and audiology ther-8 apies, or other services or therapies specifically approved9 by the state board of education; and10 5. Other educational expenses and services as approved by11 the state board of education.12 (iii) The state board of education shall promulgate rules, subject13 to legislative approval, to implement the provisions of this para-14 graph. Such rules shall include a list of allowable items for eli-15 gible educational expenses.16 (9) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, authorizers shall not17 contract with any public charter schools, including virtual schools, that18 such authorizers approved.19 (10) A virtual school shall retain the authority to hire, oversee, and20 evaluate all teachers delivering instruction in the virtual school.21 (9) (11) Admission procedures, including provision for over-enroll-22 ment, shall provide that the initial admission procedures for a public char-23 ter school will be determined by lottery or other random method, except as24 otherwise provided in this section. A charter holder shall strive to ensure25 that citizens in the primary attendance area are made aware of the enroll-26 ment opportunities and deadline. The public notice must include the enroll-27 ment deadline, the public charter school's total enrollment capacity for the28 next school year, and an advisory that all prospective students will be given29 the opportunity to enroll in the public charter school regardless of race,30 color, national origin, ethnicity, religion, gender, socioeconomic status,31 or special needs.32 (a) If initial capacity is insufficient to enroll all pupils who submit33 a timely application, then the admission procedures may provide that34 preference shall be given in the following order: first, to children35 of founders, provided that this admission preference shall be limited36 to not more than ten percent (10%) of the capacity of the public charter37 school; second, to siblings of pupils already selected by the lottery38 or other random method; third, to pupils seeking to transfer from an-39 other Idaho public charter school or authorizer at which they have been40 enrolled for at least one (1) year, provided that this admission prefer-41 ence shall be subject to an existing written agreement for such prefer-42 ence between the subject charter schools or authorizer; fourth, to stu-43 dents residing within the primary attendance area of the public charter44 school; and fifth, by an equitable selection process such as a lottery45 or other random method. A public charter school may weight the school's46 lottery to preference admission for the following educationally dis-47 advantaged students: students living at or below one hundred eighty-48 five percent (185%) of the federal poverty level, students who are home-49 less or in foster care, children with disabilities as defined in sec-50

8 tion 33-2001, Idaho Code, students with limited English proficiency,1 and students who are at-risk as defined in section 33-1001, Idaho Code.2 A public charter school may include the children of full-time employees3 of the public charter school within the first priority group, subject to4 the limitations therein.5 (b) If capacity is insufficient to enroll all pupils who submit a timely6 application for subsequent school terms, then the admission procedures7 may provide that preference shall be given in the following order:8 first, to pupils returning to the public charter school in the second9 or any subsequent year of its operation; and then as provided in para-10 graph (a) of this subsection. The sibling preference in subsequent11 school years applies to siblings of a returning pupil and of a pupil12 selected by the lottery or other random method. A new lottery shall be13 conducted each year to fill vacancies that become available. A public14 charter school may weight the school's lottery to preference admission15 as provided in this paragraph and paragraph (a) of this subsection and16 for children who attended the public charter school within the previous17 three (3) school years but withdrew as a result of the relocation of a18 parent or guardian due to an academic sabbatical or an employer or mili-19 tary transfer or reassignment.20 (c) Each public charter school shall establish a process under which a21 child may apply for enrollment or register for courses, regardless of22 where such child resides at the time of application or registration, if23 the child is a dependent of a member of the United States armed forces24 who has received transfer orders to a location in Idaho and will, upon25 such transfer, reside in an area served by the public charter school.26 If capacity is insufficient as described in paragraph (a) or (b) of this27 subsection, a child described in this paragraph shall be treated as a28 student residing within the primary attendance area of the public char-29 ter school for purposes of preference. Otherwise, such children shall30 be included in the highest priority group for which they would otherwise31 be eligible.32 (d) Admission to a public charter school shall be determined by a selec-33 tion process held within seven (7) days of the enrollment deadlines es-34 tablished by the charter holder. The selection process must take place35 in a public setting, the date and time of which must be noticed to the36 public at least forty-eight (48) hours in advance.37 (e) Within seven (7) days after conducting the selection process, the38 charter holder shall send an offer to the legal guardian who submitted a39 written request for admission on behalf of a student notifying such per-40 son that the student has been selected for admission to the public char-41 ter school. An offer must be signed by such student's parent or guardian42 and returned to the public charter school by the date designated in such43 offer letter. Remaining students shall be notified that they may be el-44 igible for admission at a later date if a seat becomes available.45 (f) If a school exceeds its projected student count in a lottery and46 a sufficient wait list exists, the school may increase enrollment by47 adding additional students per grade, not to exceed the total amount of48 students authorized by the charter.49

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SECTION 4. An emergency existing therefor, which emergency is hereby1 declared to exist, this act shall be in full force and effect on and after2 July 1, 2026.3