Amends existing law to revise provisions regarding certain placement and movement on the career ladder.

LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO Sixty-eighth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2026 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HOUSE BILL NO. 849 BY EDUCATION COMMITTEE AN ACT1 RELATING TO EDUCATION; AMENDING SECTION 33-1004B, IDAHO CODE, TO REVISE PRO-2 VISIONS REGARDING THE CAREER LADDER; AMENDING SECTION 33-1201A, IDAHO3 CODE, TO REVISE PROVISIONS REGARDING IDAHO PROFESSIONAL ENDORSEMENTS;4 AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.5

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:6

SECTION 1. That Section 33-1004B, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby7 amended to read as follows:8 33-1004B. CAREER LADDER. School districts shall receive an allocation9 for instructional staff and pupil service staff based on their staffs' posi-10 tion on the career ladder as follows:11 (1) Instructional Except as otherwise provided in this section, in-12 structional staff and pupil service staff who are in their first year13 of holding an Idaho certificate shall be placed in the first cell of the14 residency compensation rung and shall move one (1) cell on the residency com-15 pensation rung for each year they hold an Idaho certificate and are employed16 in an Idaho public school thereafter for up to three (3) years, at which point17 they will remain in the third cell of the residency rung until they earn a18 professional endorsement.19 (2) Instructional staff and pupil service staff in their first year of20 holding a professional endorsement shall be placed in the first cell of the21 professional compensation rung.22 (3) Instructional Except as otherwise provided in this section, in-23 structional staff and pupil service staff on the professional compensation24 rung with four (4) years of experience shall move one (1) cell on the profes-25 sional compensation rung unless they have failed to meet the professional26 compensation rung performance criteria for three (3) of the previous four27 (4) years. Instructional staff and pupil service staff on the professional28 compensation rung who meet the performance criteria for three (3) of the29 previous five (5) years, one (1) of which must be during the fourth or fifth30 year, shall move one (1) cell. Allocations for instructional staff and pupil31 service staff who do not meet the professional compensation rung performance32 criteria for three (3) of the previous five (5) years, one (1) of which must33 be during the fourth or fifth year, shall remain at the previous fiscal year34 allocation level. This also applies to the educational allocation.35 (4) Instructional staff and pupil service staff in their first year of36 holding an advanced professional endorsement shall be placed in the first37 cell of the advanced professional compensation rung.38 (5) Instructional Except as otherwise provided in this section, in-39 structional staff and pupil service staff on the advanced professional40 compensation rung who met the performance criteria for the advanced pro-41 fessional rung in the previous year shall move one (1) cell on the advanced42

2 professional compensation rung. Allocations for instructional staff and1 pupil service staff who do not meet the advanced professional compensation2 rung performance criteria shall remain at the previous fiscal year alloca-3 tion level. This also applies to the additional education allocation.4 (6) Career technical education instructional staff holding an occupa-5 tional specialist certificate shall be placed on the career ladder as fol-6 lows:7 (a) Instructional staff new to or returning to working in an Idaho pub-8 lic school:9 (i) With two (2) or three (3) years of industry experience in a10 field closely related to the subjects they seek to teach shall be11 placed in an equivalent cell to instructional staff who have been12 on the career ladder and met the movement requirements for one (1)13 year;14 (ii) With four (4) or five (5) years of industry experience in a15 field closely related to the subjects they seek to teach shall be16 placed in an equivalent cell to instructional staff who have been17 on the career ladder and met the movement requirements for two (2)18 years;19 (iii) With six (6) or seven (7) years of industry experience in a20 field closely related to the subjects they seek to teach shall be21 placed in an equivalent cell to instructional staff who have been22 on the career ladder and met the movement requirements for three23 (3) years; and24 (iv) With eight (8) or more years of industry experience in a25 field closely related to the subjects they seek to teach shall be26 placed in an equivalent cell to instructional staff who have been27 on the career ladder and met the movement requirements for four (4)28 years; and29 (b) Existing career technical education instructional staff on the30 residency compensation rung shall have their placement updated con-31 sistent with the provisions of paragraph (a) of this subsection if the32 update would result in a rung higher than their current placement.33 (7)(a) Career technical education instructional staff holding an oc-34 cupational specialist certificate who are placed on the career ladder35 pursuant to the provisions of subsection (6) of this section and ini-36 tially placed on the professional compensation rung shall move cells on37 the professional compensation rung as follows:38 (i) Those with one (1) year of experience shall move one (1) cell39 on the professional compensation rung unless they have failed to40 meet the professional compensation rung performance criteria for41 the first year;42 (ii) Those with two (2) years of experience shall move one (1) cell43 on the professional compensation rung unless they have failed to44 meet the professional compensation rung performance criteria in45 either of the two (2) years;46 (iii) Those with three (3) years of experience shall move one (1)47 cell on the professional compensation rung unless they have failed48 to meet the professional compensation rung performance criteria49 for two (2) of the previous three (3) years; and50

3 (iv) Those with four (4) or more years of experience shall move1 according to the provisions of subsection (3) of this section.2 (b) Allocations for such instructional staff who do not meet the pro-3 fessional compensation rung performance criteria in any year shall re-4 main at the previous fiscal year allocation level.5 (7) (8) Instructional staff or pupil service staff entering their first6 year on the career ladder, but with prior certificated instructional, pupil7 service, administrative, or equivalent elementary or secondary school ex-8 perience, including in an accredited private or parochial school, shall be9 placed on the career ladder as follows:10 (a) Instructional staff and pupil service staff who have been awarded a11 professional endorsement shall be placed as follows:12 (i) Those with four (4) years of certificated experience and doc-13 umentation from the hiring school district or charter school ad-14 ministrator, attesting the individual has provided evidence that15 the individual has met the professional compensation rung perfor-16 mance criteria in two (2) of the previous four (4) years, shall be17 placed in an equivalent cell on the career ladder to instructional18 staff or pupil service staff who have met the movement criteria for19 four (4) years; or20 (ii) Those with five (5) or more years of certificated experi-21 ence and documentation from the hiring school district or charter22 school administrator, attesting the individual has provided ev-23 idence that the individual has met the professional compensation24 rung performance criteria in three (3) of the previous five (5)25 years, with one (1) year being the fourth or fifth year, shall be26 placed in an equivalent cell on the career ladder to instructional27 staff or pupil service staff who have met the movement criteria for28 the equivalent number of years as they have verified experience.29 (b) Instructional staff and pupil service staff who have been awarded30 an advanced professional endorsement with nine (9) or more years of cer-31 tificated experience and documentation from the hiring school district32 or charter school administrator, attesting the individual has provided33 evidence that the individual has met the professional compensation rung34 performance criteria in three (3) of the previous five (5) years, with35 one (1) year being the fourth or fifth year, shall be placed in an equiv-36 alent cell on the career ladder to instructional staff or pupil service37 staff who have met the movement criteria for the equivalent number of38 years as they have verified experience.39 (9)(a) Pupil service staff new to or returning to working in an Idaho40 public school who are certified in and have industry experience in a41 field closely related to the position in which they seek to be employed,42 and which position is eligible for certificated pupil service staff,43 shall be placed on the career ladder as follows:44 (i) Those with two (2) or three (3) years of industry experience45 in a field closely related to the position in which they seek to46 work shall be placed in an equivalent cell to pupil service staff47 who have been on the career ladder and met the movement require-48 ments for one (1) year;49

4 (ii) Those with four (4) or five (5) years of industry experience1 in a field closely related to the position in which they seek to2 work shall be placed in an equivalent cell to pupil service staff3 who have been on the career ladder and met the movement require-4 ments for two (2) years;5 (iii) Those with six (6) or seven (7) years of industry experience6 in a field closely related to the position in which they seek to7 work shall be placed in an equivalent cell to pupil service staff8 who have been on the career ladder and met the movement require-9 ments for three (3) years; and10 (iv) Those with eight (8) or more years of industry experience in11 a field closely related to the position in which they seek to work12 shall be placed in an equivalent cell to pupil service staff who13 have been on the career ladder and met the movement requirements14 for four (4) years; and15 (b) Existing pupil service staff on the residency compensation rung16 shall have their placement updated consistent with the provisions of17 paragraph (a) of this subsection if the update would result in a rung18 higher than their current placement.19 (10)(a) Pupil service staff holding a pupil service staff certificate20 who are placed on the career ladder pursuant to subsection (9) of this21 section and initially placed on the professional compensation rung22 shall move cells on the professional compensation rung as follows:23 (i) Those with one (1) year of experience shall move one (1) cell24 on the professional compensation rung unless they have failed to25 meet the performance criteria for the first year;26 (ii) Those with two (2) years of experience shall move one (1) cell27 on the professional compensation rung unless they have failed to28 meet the professional compensation rung performance criteria in29 either of the two (2) years;30 (iii) Those with three (3) years of experience shall move one (1)31 cell on the professional compensation rung unless they have failed32 to meet the professional compensation rung performance criteria33 for two (2) of the previous three (3) years; and34 (iv) Those with four (4) or more years of experience shall move35 according to the provisions of subsection (3) of this section.36 (b) Allocations for such pupil service staff who do not meet the profes-37 sional compensation rung performance criteria in any year shall remain38 at the previous fiscal year allocation level.39 (11) When determining the placement of instructional staff, pupil ser-40 vice staff, or career technical education instructional staff new to or re-41 turning to working in an Idaho public school, all experience calculated un-42 der subsections (6), (8), and (9) of this section shall be combined.43 (8) (12) In addition to the allocation amount specified for the applica-44 ble cell on the career ladder, school districts shall receive an additional45 allocation amount for career technical education instructional staff hold-46 ing an occupational specialist certificate in the area for which they are47 teaching in the amount of three thousand dollars ($3,000), which shall be48 designated for career technical education staff and included as part of49 their salary.50

5 (9) (13) In addition to the allocation amount specified for the applica-1 ble cell on the career ladder, school districts shall receive an additional2 allocation amount for instructional staff and pupil service staff holding3 a professional or an advanced professional endorsement who have acquired4 additional education and meet the professional or advanced professional5 compensation rung performance criteria. In determining the additional ed-6 ucation allocation amount, only transcripted credits and degrees on file7 with the teacher certification office of the state department of education,8 earned at an institution of higher education accredited by a body recognized9 by the state board of education or credits earned through an internship or10 work experience approved by the state board of education, shall be allowed.11 All credits and degrees earned must be in a relevant pedagogy or content area12 as determined by the state department of education. Additional education13 allocation amounts are not cumulative. Instructional staff whose initial14 certificate is an occupational specialist certificate shall be treated as BA15 degree-prepared instructional staff. Credits earned by such occupational16 specialist instructional staff after initial certification shall be cred-17 ited toward the education allocation. Additional education allocations18 are:19 (a) For instructional staff and pupil service staff holding a profes-20 sional or an advanced professional endorsement, a baccalaureate degree21 and twenty-four (24) or more credits, two thousand dollars ($2,000) per22 fiscal year.23 (b) For instructional staff and pupil service staff holding a profes-24 sional or an advanced professional endorsement and a master's degree,25 three thousand five hundred dollars ($3,500) per fiscal year.26 (c) Effective July 1, 2021, the allocation shall be:27 Base28 Allocation29 1 2 3 4 5 Residency30 $40,369 $40,990 $41,611 Professional31 $42,991 $44,836 $46,681 $48,526 $50,370 Advanced32 Professional33 $52,734 $53,207 (d) Effective July 1, 2022, the allocation shall be:34 Base35 Allocation36 1 2 3 4 5 Residency37 $40,742 $41,486 $42,231 Professional38 $43,488 $45,302 $47,116 $48,930 $50,743 Advanced39 Professional40 $53,478 $54,442 $55,389 (e) Effective July 1, 2023, the allocation shall be:41 Base42 Allocation43 1 2 3 4 5 Residency44 $41,118 $41,988 $42,860

6 Professional1 $43,990 $45,773 $47,555 $49,337 $51,119 Advanced2 Professional3 $54,233 $55,705 $57,165 $58,613 (f) Effective July 1, 2024, the allocation shall be:4 Base5 Allocation6 1 2 3 4 5 Residency7 $41,500 $42,500 $43,500 Professional8 $44,500 $46,250 $48,000 $49,750 $51,500 Advanced9 Professional10 $55,000 $57,000 $59,000 $61,000 $63,000 (10) (14) Effective July 1, 2025, the educator salary-based apportion-11 ment program compensation rung cell amounts shall be adjusted by an amount12 equivalent to the salary-based apportionment adjustment for administrative13 and classified staff positions.14 (11) (15) A review of a sample of evaluations completed by adminis-15 trators shall be conducted annually to verify such evaluations are being16 conducted with fidelity to the state framework for teaching evaluation,17 including each domain and identification of which domain or domains the18 administrator is focusing on for the instructional staff or pupil service19 staff member being evaluated, as outlined in administrative rule. The re-20 view shall be completed prior to November 1 of each year. The state board of21 education shall randomly select a sample of administrators throughout the22 state. A portion of such administrators' instructional staff and pupil ser-23 vice staff employee evaluations shall be independently reviewed. The ratio24 of instructional staff evaluations to pupil service staff evaluations shall25 be equal to the ratio of the statewide instructional staff salary allowance26 to pupil service staff salary allowance. The state board of education, with27 input from the Idaho-approved teacher preparation programs and the state28 department of education, shall identify individuals and a process to conduct29 the reviews. Administrator certificate holders shall be required to par-30 ticipate in ongoing evaluation training pursuant to section 33-1204, Idaho31 Code. The state board of education shall report annually the findings of32 such reviews to the senate education committee, the house of representatives33 education committee, the state board of education and the deans of Idaho's34 approved teacher preparation programs. The state board of education shall35 promulgate rules implementing the provisions of this subsection.36 (12) (16) School districts shall submit annually to the state the data37 necessary to determine if an instructional staff or pupil service staff38 member has met the performance criteria for movement on the applicable39 compensation rung. Such data shall include the individuals' performance40 on each of the performance criteria as defined in section 33-1001, Idaho41 Code, including the percentage of students meeting their measurable student42 achievement and student success indicator targets. The department of edu-43 cation shall calculate whether or not instructional staff and pupil service44 staff have met the compensation rung performance criteria based on the data45 submitted during the previous five (5) years. Individually identifiable46 performance evaluation ratings submitted to the state remain part of the47 employee's personnel record and are exempt from public disclosure pursuant48 to section 74-106, Idaho Code.49

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SECTION 2. That Section 33-1201A, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby1 amended to read as follows:2 33-1201A. IDAHO PROFESSIONAL ENDORSEMENT -- ELIGIBILITY. (1) Any in-3 structional staff employee or any pupil service staff employee will receive4 mentoring as outlined in such employee's individualized professional learn-5 ing plan during the initial three (3) years of holding such certificate.6 Upon holding a certificate for three (3) years, any such instructional staff7 or pupil service staff employee may apply for an Idaho professional endorse-8 ment. Upon holding a professional endorsement for five (5) years or more,9 any such instructional staff or pupil service staff employee may apply for an10 Idaho advanced professional endorsement. Individuals who hold an instruc-11 tional staff certificate and a pupil service staff certificate shall have12 their experience based on the overall years of experience if held consecu-13 tively or the certificate they have held the longest if dually certificated.14 (2) To be eligible for an Idaho professional endorsement, the instruc-15 tional staff or pupil service staff employee must:16 (a) Have held a certificate and been employed in a public school for at17 least three (3) years or have completed a state board of education-ap-18 proved interim certificate of three (3) years or longer;19 (b) Show they met the professional compensation rung performance cri-20 teria for two (2) of the three (3) previous years or the third year;21 (c) Have a written recommendation from the employing school district;22 and23 (d) Have an annual individualized professional learning plan developed24 in conjunction with the employee's school district supervisor.25 Instructional staff employees may provide additional evidence demonstrat-26 ing effective teaching that may be considered in exceptional cases for27 purposes of determining proficiency and student achievement in the event28 required standards for professional endorsement are not met. Pupil service29 staff employees may provide additional evidence demonstrating effective30 student achievement or success that may be considered in exceptional cases31 for purposes of determining proficiency and student achievement or success32 in the event required standards for professional endorsement are not met.33 (3) To be eligible for an Idaho advanced professional endorsement, the34 instructional staff or pupil service staff employee must:35 (a) Have held a renewable certificate and been employed in a public36 school for at least eight (8) years or more or have completed a state37 board of education-approved interim certificate of three (3) years or38 longer and held a renewable certificate and been employed in a public39 school for five (5) years or more;40 (b) Show they met the professional compensation rung performance cri-41 teria for four (4) of the five (5) previous years or the third, fourth,42 and fifth year;43 (c) During three (3) of the previous five (5) years, have served in44 an additional building or district leadership role in an Idaho public45 school, including but not limited to:46 (i) Instructional specialist or instructional coach;47 (ii) Mentor;48 (iii) Curriculum or assessment committee member;49

8 (iv) Team or committee leadership position;1 (v) Data coach; or2 (vi) Other leadership positions identified by the school dis-3 trict;4 (d) Have a written recommendation from the employing school district;5 (e) Have an annual individualized professional learning plan developed6 in conjunction with the employee's supervisor and a self-evaluation;7 and8 (f)(i) Effective July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2021, show they9 have met the advanced professional compensation rung performance10 criteria for three (3) of the five (5) previous years or the fifth11 year;12 (ii) Effective July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022, show they have13 met the advanced professional compensation rung performance cri-14 teria for three (3) of the five (5) previous years or the fourth and15 fifth year; or16 (iii) Effective July 1, 2022, show they have met the advanced pro-17 fessional compensation rung performance criteria for three (3) of18 the five (5) previous years.19 Instructional staff employees may provide additional evidence demon-20 strating effective teaching that may be considered in exceptional cases21 for purposes of determining proficiency and student achievement in the22 event required standards for the advanced professional endorsement are not23 met. Pupil service staff employees may provide additional evidence demon-24 strating effective student achievement or success that may be considered25 in exceptional cases for purposes of determining proficiency and student26 achievement or success in the event required standards for the advanced pro-27 fessional endorsement are not met.28 (4) Instructional staff and pupil service staff who have been certified29 in another state shall be eligible for the professional endorsement if they:30 (a) Have a written recommendation from the employing school district;31 (b) Have worked in a certificated position in a compact-member state32 other than Idaho pursuant to section 33-4104, Idaho Code; and33 (c) Would have been eligible to work in a certificated position in an34 Idaho public school based on that certification for three (3) to eight35 (8) years.36 (5) Instructional staff and pupil service staff who have been certified37 in another state shall be eligible for the advanced professional endorsement38 if they:39 (a) Have a written recommendation from the employing school district;40 (b) Have worked in a certificated position in a compact-member state41 other than Idaho pursuant to section 33-4104, Idaho Code; and42 (c) Would have been eligible to work in a certificated position in an43 Idaho public school based on that certification for nine (9) years or44 more.45 (6) Instructional staff and pupil service staff who have worked in46 an accredited private school and maintained their instructional or pupil47 service staff certification may use their years of private school work ex-48 perience to meet the years of experience requirements for the professional49 and advanced professional endorsement. Such staff may provide additional50

9 evidence demonstrating effective teaching that may be considered in excep-1 tional cases for purposes of determining proficiency and student achieve-2 ment requirements for professional and advanced professional eligibility3 criteria.4 (7) Pupil service staff and career technical education instructional5 staff may use the years of industry experience, as calculated pursuant to6 section 33-1004B(6) and (9), Idaho Code, to meet the years of experience7 requirements for the professional and advanced professional endorsements.8 Such staff may provide additional evidence demonstrating effective teaching9 that may be considered in exceptional cases for purposes of determining pro-10 ficiency and student achievement requirements for professional and advanced11 professional eligibility criteria.12 (7) (8) Individuals holding a professional endorsement or an advanced13 professional endorsement will be annually evaluated in at least two (2) do-14 mains in the state evaluation framework approved by the state board of educa-15 tion. All other instructional or pupil service staff employees must be eval-16 uated across all domains in the evaluation framework. Ratings in the domains17 described in section 33-1001(20)(b), Idaho Code, are required as part of the18 advanced professional compensation rung performance criteria.19 (8) (9) The state board of education shall promulgate rules implement-20 ing the provisions of this section.21 (9) (10) For the purposes of this section:22 (a) "Certificate" means an Idaho instructional certificate, pupil23 service staff certificate, or out-of-state educator certificate that24 meets the requirements for reciprocity under rules promulgated by the25 state board of education;26 (b) In conjunction with the Idaho evaluation framework, "individual-27 ized professional learning plan" means an individualized professional28 development plan based on the Idaho framework for teaching evaluation29 and includes, at a minimum, identified interventions based on the indi-30 vidual's strengths and areas of needed growth, how the individual will31 set student achievement and growth goals, and areas of identified pro-32 fessional development and mentoring that target continuous improvement33 in professional areas, future student achievement, and school building34 or district culture;35 (c) "Instructional staff" means those involved in the direct instruc-36 tion of a student or group of students and who hold a certificate issued37 under section 33-1201, Idaho Code;38 (d) "Pupil service staff" means those who provide services to students39 but are not involved in direct instruction of those students and who40 hold a certificate issued under section 33-1201, Idaho Code; and41 (e) "School district" means a school district or a public charter42 school.43

SECTION 3. An emergency existing therefor, which emergency is hereby44 declared to exist, this act shall be in full force and effect on and after45 July 1, 2026.46