Amends existing law to revise provisions regarding public charter school admissions.

LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO Sixty-eighth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2026 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HOUSE BILL NO. 657 BY EDUCATION COMMITTEE AN ACT1 RELATING TO EDUCATION; AMENDING SECTION 33-5206, IDAHO CODE, TO REVISE PRO-2 VISIONS REGARDING ADMISSIONS AT PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOLS; AND DECLARING3 AN EMERGENCY AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.4

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:5

SECTION 1. That Section 33-5206, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby6 amended to read as follows:7 33-5206. REQUIREMENTS FOR OPERATING A PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL. (1) A8 public charter school shall be nonsectarian in its programs, affiliations,9 admission policies, employment practices, and all other operations, shall10 not charge tuition, levy taxes, or issue bonds, and shall not discriminate11 against any student on any basis prohibited by the federal or state consti-12 tution or any federal, state, or local law. Public charter schools shall13 comply with the federal individuals with disabilities education act. Ad-14 mission to a public charter school shall not be determined according to the15 place of residence of the student or of the student's parent or guardian16 within the district.17 (2) No board of trustees of a public school district may require:18 (a) Any employee of the school district to be involuntarily assigned to19 work in a public charter school; or20 (b) Any student enrolled in the school district to attend a public char-21 ter school.22 (3) Employment of charter school teachers and administrators shall be23 on written contract.24 (4) Administrators may be certified pursuant to the requirements set25 forth in chapter 12, title 33, Idaho Code, pertaining to traditional public26 schools or may hold a charter school administrator certificate, which re-27 quires that the administrator:28 (a) Holds a bachelor's degree from an accredited four (4) year institu-29 tion;30 (b) Submits to a criminal history check as described in section 33-130,31 Idaho Code;32 (c) Completes a course consisting of a minimum of three (3) semester33 credits in the statewide framework for teacher evaluations, which shall34 include a laboratory component;35 (d) Submits a letter of support from a charter holder; and36 (e) Has one (1) or more of the following:37 (i) Four (4) or more years of experience administering a public38 charter school;39 (ii) A postbaccalaureate degree and a minimum of five (5) years40 of experience in school administration, public administration,41 business administration, or military administration;42

2 (iii) Successful completion of a nationally recognized charter1 school leaders fellowship; or2 (iv) Four (4) or more years of teaching experience and a commit-3 ment from an administrator at a charter school in academic, op-4 erational, and financial good standing, according to its autho-5 rizer's most recent review, to mentor the applicant for a minimum6 of one (1) year.7 (5) A charter school administrator certificate is valid for five (5)8 years and renewable thereafter. Administrators shall be subject to over-9 sight by the professional standards commission. Certificates may be revoked10 pursuant to the provisions of section 33-1208, Idaho Code. Issuance of a11 certificate to any applicant may be refused for such reason as would have12 constituted grounds for revocation.13 (6) Certified teachers in a public charter school shall be considered14 public school teachers. Educational experience shall accrue for service in15 a public charter school and be counted by any school district for any teacher16 who has been employed in a public charter school. The staff of the public17 charter school shall be considered a separate unit for the purposes of col-18 lective bargaining.19 (7) Charter school teachers may be certified pursuant to the require-20 ments set forth in chapter 12, title 33, Idaho Code, pertaining to tradi-21 tional public school districts or may hold a charter school-specific teach-22 ing certificate.23 (a) Criteria for a charter school-specific teaching certificate shall24 be in writing and require that teachers satisfy the provisions set forth25 in section 33-1202 1., 3., and 4., Idaho Code, and meet the following26 minimum educational or professional qualifications:27 (i) Hold a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution; or28 (ii) If instructing students in the fields of career technical29 education, satisfy the provisions of section 33-2205(6)(a), Idaho30 Code. Career technical education programs taught by teachers31 with a charter school-specific teaching certificate shall receive32 added-cost funding set forth in section 33-2215, Idaho Code, in an33 amount equal to programs taught by teachers with an occupational34 specialist teaching certificate.35 (b) Teachers with a charter school-specific teaching certificate shall36 receive mentoring and professional development as approved by the char-37 ter holder.38 (c) The state board of education shall issue charter school-specific39 teaching certificates to teachers upon recommendation of the individ-40 ual charter school, unless denied on the grounds set forth in section41 33-1208, Idaho Code.42 (d) For teachers holding a charter school-specific teaching certifi-43 cate, a charter school may substitute its own ongoing education and pro-44 fessional development requirements in place of those set forth in rule45 by the state board of education if the same number of credit hours is46 required as that of teachers holding a standard instructional certifi-47 cate.48 (8) Public charter schools may contract with educational services49 providers subject to the following provisions:50

3 (a) Educational services providers shall be third-party entities sepa-1 rate from the public charter schools with which they contract and shall2 not be considered governmental entities, provided that such contracts3 may be evaluated by the authorizer;4 (b) No more than one-third (1/3) of the public charter school's board5 membership may be comprised of nonprofit educational services provider6 representatives. Nonprofit educational services provider repre-7 sentatives may not be employees of the public charter school or the8 educational services provider and may not hold office as president or9 treasurer on the public charter school's board. For-profit educational10 services providers may not have representatives on the public charter11 school's board of directors;12 (c) Charter holders shall annually disclose any existing and potential13 conflicts of interest, pecuniary or otherwise, with affiliated educa-14 tional services providers;15 (d) Charter holders shall retain accountability for academic, fiscal,16 and organizational operations and outcomes of the school and may not re-17 linquish this responsibility to any other entity;18 (e) Contracts must ensure that school boards retain the right to termi-19 nate the contract for failure to meet defined performance standards af-20 ter notice and a reasonable cure period has expired and if material de-21 ficiencies have not been cured prior to that time period expiring;22 (f) Contracts must ensure that assets purchased by educational ser-23 vices providers on behalf of the school, using public funds, shall24 remain assets of the school. The provisions of this paragraph shall25 not prevent educational services providers from acquiring assets using26 revenue acquired through management fees;27 (g) Charter holders shall consult legal counsel independent of the28 party with whom they are contracting for purposes of reviewing the29 school's management contract and facility lease or purchase agreements30 to ensure compliance with applicable state and federal law, including31 requirements that state entities not enter into contracts that obligate32 them beyond the terms of any appropriation of funds by the state legis-33 lature;34 (h) Charter holders must ensure that their facility contracts are sepa-35 rate from management contracts; and36 (i) A virtual school shall be deemed financially sufficient if there is37 an agreement that requires an educational services provider to assume38 the virtual school's financial risk when it does not have sufficient39 residual funds to pay the educational services provider. Where this40 paragraph is applicable, the educational services provider shall make41 its audited financial statements available, unless the educational42 services provider already makes such audited financial statements pub-43 licly available for compliance with other federal or state laws.44 (9) Admission procedures, including provision for over-enrollment,45 shall provide that the initial admission procedures for a public charter46 school will be determined by lottery or other random method, except as oth-47 erwise provided in this section. A charter holder shall strive to ensure48 that citizens in the primary attendance area are made aware of the enrollment49 opportunities and deadline. The public notice must include the enrollment50

4 deadline, the public charter school's total enrollment capacity for the next1 school year, and an advisory that all prospective students will be given2 the opportunity to enroll in the public charter school regardless of race,3 color, national origin, ethnicity, religion, gender, socioeconomic status,4 or special needs.5 (a) If initial capacity is insufficient to enroll all pupils who submit6 a timely application, then the admission procedures may provide that7 preference shall be given in the following order: first, to children8 of founders, provided that this admission preference shall be limited9 to not more than ten percent (10%) of the capacity of the public charter10 school; second, to siblings of pupils already selected by the lottery11 or other random method; third, including children in foster care, as12 that term is defined in section 16-1602, Idaho Code, who are placed13 in a home with pupils already selected by the lottery or other random14 method; third, to children of families with at least one (1) parent or15 legal guardian who is on active duty or on active guard and reserve duty,16 as those terms are defined in 10 U.S.C. 101; fourth, to pupils seek-17 ing to transfer from another Idaho public charter school or authorizer18 at which they have been enrolled for at least one (1) year, provided19 that this admission preference shall be subject to an existing writ-20 ten agreement for such preference between the subject charter schools21 or authorizer; fourth fifth, to students residing within the primary22 attendance area of the public charter school; and fifth sixth, by an23 equitable selection process such as a lottery or other random method.24 A public charter school may weight the school's lottery to preference25 admission for the following educationally disadvantaged students:26 students living at or below one hundred eighty-five percent (185%) of27 the federal poverty level, students who are homeless or in foster care,28 children with disabilities as defined in section 33-2001, Idaho Code,29 students with limited English proficiency, and students who are at-risk30 as defined in section 33-1001, Idaho Code. A public charter school31 may include the children of full-time employees of the public charter32 school within the first priority group, subject to the limitations33 therein.34 (b) If capacity is insufficient to enroll all pupils who submit a timely35 application for subsequent school terms, then the admission procedures36 may provide that preference shall be given in the following order:37 first, to pupils returning to the public charter school in the second38 or any subsequent year of its operation; and then as provided in para-39 graph (a) of this subsection. The sibling preference in subsequent40 school years applies to siblings of a returning pupil and of a pupil41 selected by the lottery or other random method. A new lottery shall be42 conducted each year to fill vacancies that become available. A public43 charter school may weight the school's lottery to preference admission44 as provided in this paragraph and paragraph (a) of this subsection and45 for children who attended the public charter school within the previous46 three (3) school years but withdrew as a result of the relocation of a47 parent or guardian due to an academic sabbatical or an employer or mili-48 tary transfer or reassignment.49

5 (c) Each public charter school shall establish a process under which a1 child may apply for enrollment or register for courses, regardless of2 where such child resides at the time of application or registration, if3 the child is a dependent of a member of the United States armed forces4 who has received transfer orders to a location in Idaho and will, upon5 such transfer, reside in an area served by the public charter school.6 If capacity is insufficient as described in paragraph (a) or (b) of this7 subsection, a child described in this paragraph shall be treated as a8 student residing within the primary attendance area of the public char-9 ter school for purposes of preference. Otherwise, such children shall10 be included in the highest priority group for which they would otherwise11 be eligible.12 (d) Admission to a public charter school shall be determined by a selec-13 tion process held within seven (7) days of the enrollment deadlines es-14 tablished by the charter holder. The selection process must take place15 in a public setting, the date and time of which must be noticed to the16 public at least forty-eight (48) hours in advance.17 (e) Within seven (7) days after conducting the selection process, the18 charter holder shall send an offer to the legal guardian who submitted a19 written request for admission on behalf of a student notifying such per-20 son that the student has been selected for admission to the public char-21 ter school. An offer must be signed by such student's parent or guardian22 and returned to the public charter school by the date designated in such23 offer letter. Remaining students shall be notified that they may be el-24 igible for admission at a later date if a seat becomes available.25 (f) If a school exceeds its projected student count in a lottery and26 a sufficient wait list exists, the school may increase enrollment by27 adding additional students per grade, not to exceed the total amount of28 students authorized by the charter.29

SECTION 2. An emergency existing therefor, which emergency is hereby30 declared to exist, this act shall be in full force and effect on and after31 July 1, 2026.32