Amends and adds to existing law to provide for alternative authorization for administrators and to authorize the use of funds for related mentoring.

LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO Sixty-eighth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2026 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HOUSE BILL NO. 711 BY EDUCATION COMMITTEE AN ACT1 RELATING TO EDUCATION; AMENDING CHAPTER 12, TITLE 33, IDAHO CODE, BY THE AD-2 DITION OF A NEW SECTION 33-1204A, IDAHO CODE, TO ESTABLISH PROVISIONS3 FOR ALTERNATIVE AUTHORIZATION OF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS; AMENDING SEC-4 TION 33-320, IDAHO CODE, TO AUTHORIZE THE USE OF FUNDS FOR ADMINISTRA-5 TOR MENTORING AND TO MAKE TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS; AND DECLARING AN EMER-6 GENCY.7

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

SECTION 1. That Chapter 12, Title 33, Idaho Code, be, and the same is9 hereby amended by the addition thereto of a NEW SECTION, to be known and des-10 ignated as Section 33-1204A, Idaho Code, and to read as follows:11 33-1204A. ALTERNATIVE AUTHORIZATION PROGRAM -- ADMINISTRATORS. (1)12 An individual who does not otherwise hold an administrator certificate13 required for employment as a school principal or superintendent may sat-14 isfy the standards of employment for such positions, or similar positions,15 through the alternative authorization program, which is hereby established16 to provide a nontraditional pathway to certification under an interim cer-17 tificate. The alternative authorization program permits a school district18 board of trustees to request issuance of a three (3) year interim certificate19 for a qualified candidate. The program shall include two (2) pathways for20 authorization:21 (a) A "grow your own" pathway for experienced Idaho educators requiring22 leadership development; and23 (b) An "executive leadership" pathway for individuals transitioning24 from business, military, government, nonprofit, or other sectors who25 possess leadership and management expertise and require preparation in26 education systems.27 (2) To be eligible for alternative authorization as provided in this28 section, an applicant shall:29 (a) Pass a criminal history check as provided in section 33-130, Idaho30 Code;31 (b) Hold, at a minimum, a bachelor's degree or its equivalent from a re-32 gionally or nationally accredited college or university;33 (c) Submit a letter from the school district board of trustees affirm-34 ing that the applicant demonstrates leadership knowledge and skills,35 stating the district's intent to employ the applicant, and committing36 to provide mentoring as required pursuant to subsection (5) of this sec-37 tion; and38 (d) Complete coursework consisting of no less than three (3) semester39 credits in the statewide framework for teacher evaluations, including a40 laboratory or applied component.41

2 (3) An applicant who meets the eligibility requirements set forth in1 subsection (2) of this section shall also satisfy one (1) of the following2 experience pathways to be eligible for alternative authorization:3 (a) The "grow your own" pathway, which requires no less than five (5)4 years of certified teaching experience in one (1) or more Idaho public5 schools; or6 (b) The "executive leadership" pathway, which requires demonstrated7 professional competency in management or leadership through no less8 than five (5) years of experience in one (1) or more of the following:9 (i) Higher education;10 (ii) Government service;11 (iii) Nonprofit organization service;12 (iv) Private sector service;13 (v) Military service at the officer level; or14 (vi) Equivalent experience as determined by the state department15 of education.16 (4) Prior to the issuance of an interim certificate, the sponsoring17 school district, in collaboration with the state department of education,18 shall conduct an initial competency assessment using criteria aligned with19 Idaho administrator standards as adopted by the state board of education to20 identify any gaps in the applicant's knowledge or skills. If deficiencies21 are identified, the applicant shall complete targeted coursework, profes-22 sional development, or learning experiences consisting of no less than six23 (6) semester credits or the equivalent. Such instruction may include but24 is not limited to school law, public school finance, special education, and25 instructional leadership.26 (5)(a) An individual authorized for an interim certificate pursuant to27 this section shall receive structured, embedded mentoring from a cer-28 tified administrator throughout the three (3) year term of the interim29 certificate. Such mentoring shall include:30 (i) Assignment by the sponsoring school district, subject to cri-31 teria established by the state department of education, of a men-32 tor who holds an Idaho administrator certificate and has no less33 than five (5) years of experience in a comparable administrative34 role;35 (ii) A minimum of seventy (70) clock hours of mentoring during36 the first two (2) years aligned to a personalized learning plan37 addressing areas identified for growth in the initial competency38 assessment, including budgeting, student achievement analysis,39 employee evaluation, strategic planning, conflict management,40 school board relations, and special education law;41 (iii) Ongoing evaluation and support throughout the interim cer-42 tificate period; and43 (iv) Submission of an annual mentoring summary by the mentor to44 the state department of education that includes an assessment of45 the individual's progress toward required competencies. The de-46 partment shall review such summary for program oversight purposes47 and provide feedback to the mentor regarding mentoring effective-48 ness.49

3 (b) The sponsoring school district shall compensate the mentor and may1 use funds appropriated pursuant to section 33-320, Idaho Code, for this2 purpose.3 (6) An individual authorized for interim certification pursuant to4 this section shall be subject to oversight by the professional standards5 commission as provided in section 33-1208, Idaho Code. The state board of6 education may deny issuance of an interim certificate for any reason that7 would constitute grounds for suspension or revocation of a certificate.8 (7) An interim certificate issued pursuant to this section may be re-9 newed annually for a period not to exceed three (3) years, contingent on re-10 ceipt of proficient performance evaluations from the school district board11 of trustees and satisfactory completion of the mentoring requirements set12 forth in subsection (5) of this section. Upon completion, the individual13 shall be eligible for issuance of a standard administrator certificate with14 principal or superintendent endorsements.15 (8) An individual who successfully completes the alternative autho-16 rization program and is issued a standard administrator certificate shall17 remain subject to ongoing review, including annual professional development18 requirements aligned with state standards.19

SECTION 2. That Section 33-320, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby20 amended to read as follows:21 33-320. CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT PLANS AND TRAINING. (1) Each school22 district and public charter school in Idaho shall develop an annual plan23 that is part of a continuous focus on improving the student performance of24 the district or public charter school. A public charter school may use its25 performance certificate in lieu of a separate continuous improvement plan.26 (2)(a) The board of trustees and the superintendent shall collaborate27 on the plan and engage students, parents, educators, and the community28 as appropriate. The board of directors and the administrator of a pub-29 lic charter school shall collaborate on the plan and engage students,30 parents, educators, and the community as appropriate. All continuous31 improvement plans must be approved by the local governing board.32 (b) The annual continuous improvement plan shall:33 (i) Be data-driven, specifically in student outcomes, and shall34 include, but not be limited to, analyses of demographic data, stu-35 dent achievement and growth data, graduation rates, and college36 and career readiness;37 (ii) Set clear and measurable targets based on student outcomes;38 (iii) Include a clearly developed and articulated vision and mis-39 sion;40 (iv) Include key indicators for monitoring performance;41 (v) Include student literacy proficiency goals and targets and42 how progress toward those outcomes will be measured;43 (vi) Include, as applicable to the grade ranges served, trajec-44 tory growth targets toward literacy proficiency;45 (vii) Include, as applicable to the grade ranges served, college46 and career advising and mentoring goals and how progress toward47 those outcomes will be measured;48

4 (viii) Include the individual staff performance on each of the1 performance criteria as defined in section 33-1001, Idaho Code,2 including measurable student achievement and student success3 indicator targets and the percentage of students meeting those4 targets. Data will be aggregated at the grade range, subject, or5 performance indicator, as determined by the commission and al-6 lowed pursuant to section 33-133, Idaho Code;7 (ix) Include, at a minimum, the student achievement and growth8 metrics for the state accountability framework. Student achieve-9 ment and growth will be reported on each school and district's re-10 port card as required by the state board of education and published11 by the state department of education; and12 (x) Include a report of progress toward the previous year's im-13 provement goals.14 (c) The annual continuous improvement plan must be reviewed and updated15 annually no later than October 1 of each year.16 (d) The board of trustees or the board of directors shall continuously17 monitor progress toward the goals by utilizing relevant data to measure18 growth. The progress shall be included in evaluations of the district19 superintendent or administrator of a public charter school.20 (3) The plan must be made available to the public and shall be posted on21 the school district or charter school website.22 (4) Of the moneys appropriated in the public schools educational sup-23 port program, up to six thousand six hundred dollars ($6,600) shall be24 distributed to each school district and public charter school to be expended25 for training purposes for district superintendents and boards of trustees,26 public charter school administrators, and boards of directors. Funds shall27 be distributed on a reimbursement basis based on a process prescribed by the28 superintendent of public instruction. Qualified training shall include29 training for continuous improvement processes and planning, strategic plan-30 ning, finance, superintendent evaluations, public charter administrator31 evaluations, ethics, and governance.32 (5) Funds appropriated pursuant to this section may be used to support33 administrator mentoring programs, including mentoring provided in section34 33-1204A, Idaho Code.35 (5) (6) The state board of education shall be granted rulemaking36 authority to establish appropriate procedures, qualifications, and guide-37 lines for qualified training providers and shall prepare a list of qualified38 training providers within the state of Idaho.39 (6) (7)(a) There is hereby established in the office of the state board40 of education a state commission for education excellence, the purpose41 of which will be to study and discuss continuous improvement plans es-42 tablished pursuant to this section and measurable student achievement43 and student success indicators described in section 33-1001, Idaho44 Code, that have been submitted to the state. The members of the commis-45 sion shall include:46 (i) One (1) representative of the state board of education, ap-47 pointed by such board;48 (ii) One (1) representative of the state department of education,49 appointed by such department;50

5 (iii) One (1) representative of the office of the governor, ap-1 pointed by the governor;2 (iv) One (1) representative of business and industry, appointed3 by the division of career technical education;4 (v) Two (2) members of the majority caucus and one (1) member of5 the minority caucus in the senate, appointed by the president pro6 tempore of the senate;7 (vi) Two (2) members of the majority caucus and one (1) member of8 the minority caucus in the house of representatives, appointed by9 the speaker of the house of representatives;10 (vii) One (1) parent of a public school student, appointed by the11 governor;12 (viii) One (1) person who has been recognized as the Idaho teacher13 of the year, appointed by the governor;14 (ix) One (1) representative of the Idaho school boards associa-15 tion, appointed by such association; and16 (x) One (1) representative of the Idaho association of school ad-17 ministrators, appointed by such association.18 (b) The commission shall be staffed by the office of the state board of19 education. Additional staff support from the legislative services of-20 fice may be provided as needed.21 (c) It is the intent of the legislature that the state commission for22 education excellence analyze the measurable student achievement data23 and continuous improvement plans in the various districts and pub-24 lic charter schools in Idaho and then discuss and consider changes in25 statute or rule that could enhance outcomes. The commission shall de-26 termine some high-performing schools and districts, work to leverage27 their best practices to the rest of the state, and listen to ideas re-28 garding defining and celebrating successes in student achievement. The29 commission shall meet at least twice annually. One (1) meeting shall30 be held in the fall for the purpose of studying and discussing the con-31 tinuous improvement plans' performance measures and benchmarks, and32 one (1) meeting shall be held in the summer, after data for the prior33 academic year have been compiled and submitted to the commission, to34 review reports on statewide student success indicator achievement met-35 rics submitted to the commission by the state department of education36 and to discuss possible ways to improve desired student outcomes. All37 such data and related statewide reports shall also be provided to all38 legislators in Idaho not serving on the commission. A school district's39 or public charter school's continuous improvement plan shall show how40 the measurable student achievement and student success indicator tar-41 gets are aligned with the continuous improvement plan described in this42 section. The continuous improvement plan shall be submitted to the43 state board of education or the board's designee no later than October44 1 of each year.45

SECTION 3. An emergency existing therefor, which emergency is hereby46 declared to exist, this act shall be in full force and effect on and after its47 passage and approval.48