Adds to existing law to provide for school district and public charter school earned autonomy regarding spending.

LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO Sixty-eighth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2026 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HOUSE BILL NO. 883 BY EDUCATION COMMITTEE AN ACT1 RELATING TO EDUCATION; AMENDING CHAPTER 10, TITLE 33, IDAHO CODE, BY THE AD-2 DITION OF A NEW SECTION 33-1035, IDAHO CODE, TO ESTABLISH PROVISIONS RE-3 GARDING SCHOOL DISTRICT EARNED AUTONOMY; AMENDING CHAPTER 52, TITLE 33,4 IDAHO CODE, BY THE ADDITION OF A NEW SECTION 33-5207A, IDAHO CODE, TO5 ESTABLISH PROVISIONS REGARDING PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL EARNED AUTONOMY;6 AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.7

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

SECTION 1. That Chapter 10, 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 33-1035, Idaho Code, and to read as follows:11 33-1035. SCHOOL DISTRICT EARNED AUTONOMY. (1) Notwithstanding any12 provision of law to the contrary, a school district that satisfies the re-13 quirements set forth in this section may spend its allocated state funding,14 including but not limited to discretionary funds, categorical funds, and15 salary apportionment, in the manner it deems best serves its students and16 schools.17 (2) A school district shall have the option to participate in the flexi-18 bility provided in this section if it:19 (a) Meets the following academic benchmarks:20 (i) The school district's composite proficiency rate on the Idaho21 standards achievement test is in the top twenty percent (20%) of22 school districts statewide or the school district exceeds the23 state proficiency average by at least fifteen (15) percentage24 points in both English language arts and math;25 (ii) Seventy-five percent (75%) or more of the school district's26 K-3 students score proficient on the spring administration of the27 Idaho reading indicator or the school district demonstrates a fif-28 teen percent (15%) reduction in students scoring below basic annu-29 ally; and30 (iii) The school district maintains an adjusted cohort graduation31 rate that is three (3) percentage points higher than the state av-32 erage or the percentage of graduates who earn a college and career33 readiness indicator that includes career technical education com-34 pletion, an associate's degree, qualifying advance placement, an35 international baccalaureate, or a dual credit course is five (5)36 percentage points higher than the state average;37 (b) Provides the following evidence demonstrating financial stability38 for each of the previous three (3) fiscal years:39 (i) An unqualified audit opinion or a qualified opinion qualified40 solely on the basis of not reporting the actuarial value of the41 public employee retirement system of Idaho sick leave plan pur-42

2 suant to statement no. 45 of the governmental accounting stan-1 dards board;2 (ii) An audit devoid of significant findings and conditions, ma-3 terial weaknesses, or significant internal control deficiencies;4 and5 (iii) An audit that does not include a going concern disclosure in6 the notes or an explanatory paragraph within the audit report.7 (3) Participating school districts shall be exempt from the reporting8 requirements, including those established through rulemaking authority,9 of sections 33-119, 33-135, 33-1002B, 33-1004E, 33-1028(1)(f) and (2),10 33-1405, 33-1632, 33-1805, 33-1811, 33-2004, and 33-4805, Idaho Code, with-11 out incurring a penalty or a reduction in funding.12 (4) Participating school districts shall automatically maintain13 spending flexibility from year to year, except that the state department of14 education may revoke eligibility if:15 (a) The school district fails to receive an annual unmodified audit16 opinion or if the auditor's report on internal controls reports one (1)17 or more material weaknesses or significant deficiencies; or18 (b) The school district fails to satisfy the academic requirements set19 forth in subsection (2) of this section for two (2) or more years.20 (5) In 2029, the state board of education shall report to the legisla-21 ture the number of participating school districts and changes, if any, in22 student growth or proficiency on the Idaho standards achievement test. Ad-23 ditionally, the report shall include information regarding whether any par-24 ticipating school districts collected a levy, and any disclosures required25 pursuant to section 33-802B, Idaho Code, shall be appended to the report.26

SECTION 2. That Chapter 52, Title 33, Idaho Code, be, and the same is27 hereby amended by the addition thereto of a NEW SECTION, to be known and des-28 ignated as Section 33-5207A, Idaho Code, and to read as follows:29 33-5207A. PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL EARNED AUTONOMY. (1) Notwithstanding30 any provision of law to the contrary, a public charter school that is not a31 virtual school, as defined in section 33-5202A, Idaho Code, and that sat-32 isfies the requirements set forth in section 33-5218(2)(b), (e), and (g),33 Idaho Code, may spend its allocated state funding, including but not limited34 to discretionary funds, categorical funds, and salary apportionment, in the35 manner it deems best serves students and the public charter school. Partici-36 pation shall not require a revision to the public charter school's charter or37 performance certificate.38 (2) Participating public charter schools shall be exempt from report-39 ing requirements established in statute or through rulemaking authority40 that are not federally mandated or required for public school finance41 purposes. This exemption includes but is not limited to reporting require-42 ments established pursuant to sections 33-119, 33-135, 33-1002B, 33-1004E,43 33-1028(1)(f) and (2), 33-1405, 33-1632, 33-1805, 33-1811, 33-2004, and44 33-4805, Idaho Code, without incurring a penalty or a reduction in funding.45 (3) Participating public charter schools shall automatically maintain46 spending flexibility from year to year, except that the state department of47 education may revoke eligibility if:48

3 (a) The school fails to receive an annual unmodified audit opinion or if1 the auditor's report on internal controls reports one (1) or more mate-2 rial weaknesses or significant deficiencies;3 (b) The school fails to satisfy the academic requirements set forth in4 section 33-5218(2)(g), Idaho Code, for two (2) or more years; or5 (c) The school's charter is subsequently revoked, not renewed, or re-6 newed with conditions.7 (4) In 2029, the state board of education shall report to the legisla-8 ture the number of participating public charter schools and changes, if any,9 in student growth or proficiency on the Idaho standards achievement test.10

SECTION 3. An emergency existing therefor, which emergency is hereby11 declared to exist, this act shall be in full force and effect on and after12 July 1, 2026.13