Repeals and adds to existing law to provide for strategic performance plans and training.

LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO Sixty-eighth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2026 IN THE SENATE SENATE BILL NO. 1339 BY STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE AN ACT1 RELATING TO EDUCATION; REPEALING SECTION 33-320, IDAHO CODE, RELATING TO2 CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT PLANS AND TRAINING; AMENDING CHAPTER 3, TITLE3 33, IDAHO CODE, BY THE ADDITION OF A NEW SECTION 33-320, IDAHO CODE, TO4 PROVIDE FOR STRATEGIC PERFORMANCE PLANS AND TRAINING; AND DECLARING AN5 EMERGENCY AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.6

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:7

SECTION 1. That Section 33-320, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby8 repealed.9

SECTION 2. That Chapter 3, Title 33, Idaho Code, be, and the same is10 hereby amended by the addition thereto of a NEW SECTION, to be known and des-11 ignated as Section 33-320, Idaho Code, and to read as follows:12 33-320. STRATEGIC PERFORMANCE PLANS AND TRAINING. (1) Each school13 district and public charter school in Idaho shall develop and submit to the14 state department of education a strategic performance plan that has a con-15 tinuous focus on innovating and improving:16 (a) Student academic proficiency;17 (b) Student academic growth;18 (c) College and career readiness at the high school level;19 (d) Outcomes of at-risk and economically disadvantaged students as de-20 fined in section 33-1001, Idaho Code; and21 (e) Local school board performance and stewardship of monitoring stu-22 dent performance, including compliance with all applicable laws, reg-23 ulations, and any terms of a public charter school's performance cer-24 tificate.25 (2) The local governing board and the school district superintendent26 or charter administrator shall collaborate to develop the strategic perfor-27 mance plan by coordinating outreach to students, parents, educators, local28 industry partners, and the business community, as appropriate.29 (3) The strategic performance plan shall:30 (a) Set clear and measurable goals for student outcomes and postsec-31 ondary achievements, including key indicators for monitoring perfor-32 mance, and consider student growth and proficiency goals established by33 the state board of education;34 (b) Include strategies based on evidence-based research to meet each35 goal;36 (c) Be data-driven and include student outcomes and growth data in lit-37 eracy, math, graduation rates, achievement of individual postsecondary38 goals, and any other metric required by the state board of education;39 (d) Include a clearly developed and articulated vision and mission;40

2 (e) Outline a plan for the local governing board's continued learning1 regarding school board and leadership development in monitoring stu-2 dent performance;3 (f) Utilize a template developed by the state department of education4 or submit required data points in a manner consistent with the state5 template; and6 (g) At the local governing board's direction, include other areas of7 strategic performance that may be necessary to achieve other goals of8 the school district or public charter school.9 (4) A school district or public charter school may apply to use alterna-10 tive student success measures if it demonstrates that a combined twenty-five11 percent (25%) or greater of its students include special education students,12 homeless students, economically disadvantaged students, students enrolled13 in an alternative high school, or English language learners.14 (5) Beginning with the 2027-2028 school year, the local governing board15 shall adopt and submit its strategic performance plan to the state depart-16 ment of education no later than October 1 of each year. In each subsequent17 year, the strategic plan shall include an annual progress report on all18 established goals. The plan shall cover a period of no less than four (4)19 years, including the fiscal year in which the plan is submitted, and shall be20 updated annually each summer.21 (6) The state board of education shall adopt a matrix to be used by the22 state department of education to evaluate a school district's or public23 charter school's progress toward the student-outcome goals in its strategic24 performance plan. The matrix shall give determinative weight to locally ap-25 proved goals and alternative success measures. The matrix shall be adopted26 no later than September 1, 2026.27 (7) For the purposes of this section, "progress" means measurable im-28 provement toward goals identified in a school district's or public charter29 school's strategic performance plan. Demonstration of progress may include30 but is not limited to student success measures, baselines, benchmarks, and31 implementation evidence selected by the school district or public charter32 school. Evidence of progress may include but is not limited to:33 (a) Year-over-year improvement in student academic growth, profi-34 ciency, graduation rates, or postsecondary readiness, as applicable;35 (b) Measurable improvement among identified student subgroups, in-36 cluding at-risk students and economically disadvantaged students;37 (c) Implementation of evidence-based strategies identified in the38 strategic performance plan, including documented changes to curricu-39 lum, instruction, assessment, professional development, or resource40 allocation; and41 (d) Demonstrated improvement toward interim benchmarks or milestones42 established in the strategic performance plan, provided that long-term43 outcome targets may not have been fully achieved yet.44 (8)(a) The local governing board shall, at least quarterly, review,45 discuss, and approve progress reports on two (2) or more key areas of the46 strategic performance plan at a regular or special board meeting.47 (b) The state department of education shall evaluate the progress re-48 ports to:49

3 (i) Identify high-performing school districts and public char-1 ter schools and determine best practices to incorporate into2 statewide professional development training; and3 (ii) Identify school districts and public charter schools that4 are not demonstrating improved student performance.5 (9) During an annual evaluation of progress reports, the state de-6 partment of education shall recognize the top ten percent (10%) of school7 districts and public charter schools that meet or exceed the goals of the8 respective strategic performance plans as "schools or districts of educa-9 tional excellence."10 (10) Flexibility may be granted within the accountability framework for11 school districts and public charter schools that demonstrate sustained high12 levels of academic achievement. For such districts or charters, account-13 ability determinations may include but are not limited to multi-year perfor-14 mance trends and overall performance relative to established goals, recog-15 nizing that annual growth may not be statistically significant when achieve-16 ment levels are consistently high.17 (11) If during its annual evaluation of progress reports the state18 department of education finds that a school district or public charter19 school has not demonstrated progress in achieving a majority of the goals20 identified in its strategic performance plan, the superintendent of public21 instruction shall:22 (a) Support the local governing board and school district superinten-23 dent or charter administrator in reassessing and adjusting, if neces-24 sary, the plan's strategies while focusing on improved student perfor-25 mance;26 (b) Support the local governing board and school district superinten-27 dent or charter administrator in reviewing school district or public28 charter school performance, including in the areas of local budget,29 curricula, and professional development, to identify areas hindering30 student performance;31 (c) Offer recommendations to the local governing board and school dis-32 trict superintendent or charter administrator intended to improve the33 areas hindering student performance; and34 (d) Provide a list of high-performing school districts and public char-35 ter schools of similar size and student demographics to offer opportu-36 nities for mentorship in areas of evidence-based practices, peer sup-37 ports, or locally implemented strategies from high-performing school38 districts or public charter schools that may assist in the development39 of revised goals or strategies for improvement.40 (12) If the state department of education finds that the school district41 or public charter school has not demonstrated progress in achieving a major-42 ity of the goals identified in its strategic performance plan after two (2)43 consecutive annual evaluations of progress reports, the superintendent of44 public instruction shall:45 (a) Support the local governing board and school district superinten-46 dent or charter administrator as required in subsection (11)(a) of this47 section;48 (b) Direct the state department of education to approve ISAT reme-49 diation funds, professional development and literacy budgets, pro-50

4 fessional development plans, and curricular materials that are in1 alignment with the school district's or public charter school's student2 performance goals; and3 (c) Assist the local governing board and school district superinten-4 dent or charter administrator with formal training in areas directly5 related to the deficiencies in meeting strategic performance plan6 goals.7 (13) If the state department of education finds that a school district8 or public charter school has not demonstrated progress in achieving a major-9 ity of the goals identified in its strategic performance plan after three (3)10 consecutive annual reviews of progress reports, the superintendent of pub-11 lic instruction shall:12 (a) Support the local governing board and school district superinten-13 dent or charter administrator as required in subsection (11)(a) and (b)14 of this section; and15 (b) Direct the state department of education to conduct a comprehensive16 review of school district and public charter school operations, includ-17 ing a review of instructional calendars. The state department of educa-18 tion shall have final approval of instructional calendars for the next19 school year.20 (14) Regarding a public charter school's performance, the superinten-21 dent of public instruction shall consult with the charter school's autho-22 rizer in addition to the local governing board.23 (15) Upon request, the superintendent of public instruction shall24 present an annual report to the house of representatives and senate edu-25 cation committees regarding school districts and public charter schools26 with high performance based on the respective strategic performance plans27 adopted pursuant to this section.28 (16) The strategic performance plan provided for in this section shall29 be made available to the public and posted on the school district or public30 charter school website.31 (17) Of the moneys appropriated in the public school educational sup-32 port program, up to six thousand six hundred dollars ($6,600) shall be dis-33 tributed to each school district and public charter school to be expended for34 school board and leadership development training. Funds utilized for ad-35 ministrator mentorships shall be capped at twenty-five percent (25%) of such36 distribution. Funds shall be distributed on a reimbursement basis based on a37 process prescribed by the superintendent of public instruction. To qualify38 for reimbursement, training shall cover strategic performance planning, fi-39 nance, ethics, governance, superintendent evaluations, and public charter40 administrator evaluations.41 (18) A public charter school may use its performance certificate crite-42 ria and framework toward fulfilling the requirements provided in subsection43 (1) of this section.44 (19) The state department of education is authorized to withhold a por-45 tion of funds for any school district or public charter school that does not46 submit its strategic performance plan by the date required in this section.47 The amount of withheld funds shall be proportional to the administrative48 burden and state resources expended due to the noncompliance. The withheld49

5 funds shall be returned to the school district or public charter school upon1 the submission of the outstanding strategic performance plan.2 (20) Any reporting requirements for school districts and public char-3 ter schools as of July 1, 2026, that are not federally mandated, necessary4 for public school finance purposes, or related to the professional standards5 commission shall be eliminated.6

SECTION 3. An emergency existing therefor, which emergency is hereby7 declared to exist, this act shall be in full force and effect on and after8 July 1, 2026.9