Idaho Bills

Repeals, amends and adds to existing law to establish the Education Opportunity Resource Act.

ThisbillestablishesaresourceforIdaho'seducationandlibrarysystembyprovidingbroadbandand relatedservicestostudents. Itstatesfindingsandlegislativeintentinregardstobroadbandservices. It further defines the Education Opportunity Resource Committee, it responsibilities, powers and membership. ThisbillfurtherdefinestheresponsibilitiesoftheDepartmentofEducationinregards to distribution of funds, authorization of funding and technical and other assistance.

Amends existing law to revise provisions regarding college and career advisors and reporting requirements.

The proposed amendments provide clarification that Idaho Code, §33-1212A, is specific to College and Career Advising and not the broader more traditional counseling services that are covered in Idaho Code, §33-1212. Additional amendments require school districts to establish a plan as to how they will address college and career advising for their students and provides for a minimum reporting framework. Annual reporting on college and career advising methods and district established goals will be included in their continuous improvement plan progress reports that are currently outline in Idaho Code, §33-320. The amendments add additional clarity and sideboards to assure that those funds appropriated for the purpose of college and career advising are used for those specific services.

Amends existing law to revise provisions regarding supplemental contracts.

Amends existing law to provide an additional requirement for annual continuous improvement plans, to define "statewide student readiness and improvement metrics" and to clarify certain scores.

Amend section 33-320, Idaho Code, to incorporate the Accountability and Autonomy Task Force subcommittee recommendations into the school district continuous improvement plan process. This includes the addition of definitions for terms to insure there is a common understanding of student readiness and student improvement. This includes a Career and College Readiness Score, a Career and College Readiness Improvement Score, a High School Readiness Score, a High School Readiness Improvement Score, 7th-Grade Readiness Score, and 7th-Grade Readiness Improvement Score. These scores will be applicable based on three grade bands; high school, K-8, and K-6. Improvement scores will be based on year-over-year improvement in the level of readiness produced by the school, and would be shown as a percentage of change in the applicable readiness score.

Amends and adds to existing law to provide the Idaho School Safety and Security Act, to provide the Office of School Safety and Security, the Idaho School Safety and Security Advisory Board, and to provide powers and duties of the board.

The purpose of this act is to enhance the safety and security of students and educators who use Idaho's public schools and campuses by providing for an Office of School Safety and Security within the Division of Building Safety. DBS staff is in every school building every year for safety inspections. This legislation proposes to leverage those existing resources to establish a process and resources to also assess for security vulnerabilities. The Office will provide Idaho educators with on-site security assessments and training, identify areas of vulnerability and provide technical assistance for improvement of safety and security at schools statewide. It is in the interest of students,parentsandeducatorstoprovideasafeandsecureeducationalenvironment,andtoprovide for adaptation where necessary to cope with societal changes which affect the nature of threats and vulnerabilities to which Idaho schools may be exposed.

Amends existing law to revise provisions regarding the calculation for the Educational Support Program.

Adds to existing law to establish the Local Innovation School Act and to provide eligibility requirements and eligibility exemptions and school agreements.

Thisbillwouldempowerschoolstoevaluateexistinglawsandrules,andrequestwaiversthatwould allowthemtorespondininnovativewaystolocalneedsthroughthecreationofuptotenInnovation Schools around the state each year for five years. Teachers, principals, superintendents and school boards will have the opportunity to receive waivers in exchange for clearly demonstrating student outcomes and meeting well-defined goals.

Repeals, amends and adds to existing law to revise provisions regarding the experience and education multiplier; the career ladder; a district's salary-based apportionment; and eligibility for an Idaho professional endorsement.

Amends existing law to move Pupil Service Staff onto the Career Ladder and make technical corrections to the existing requirements. These amendments include the establishment of student outcome- based criteria, in addition to the existing student achievement criteria that are applicable to the work that Pupil Service Staff perform in supporting students. The addition of these criteria willallowPupilServiceStafftomoveontheCareerLadderbasedonquantifiablestudentoutcomes, the same as Instructional Staff. Technical corrections include: • removing a reference to instructional staff which was left in a previous section of code and is no longer consistent with the use of the term, • specifying that performance criteria data must be submitted annually for the determination of movement on the Career Ladder, •addingclarificationtothecreditrequirementsfordeterminingtheadditionaleducationalallotment during implementation, to make it consistent with the language in the same section which takes effect at full implementation, and • clarifying that identifiable performance evaluation ratings are exempt from public disclosure pursuant to Section 74-106, Idaho Code. Additional language has been added to allow for the calculation of the salary based apportionment for Pupil Service Staff and Administrative Staff, when the district does not employ these individuals, but contracts for services pursuant to Section 33-1004(6), Idaho Code, and amends the administrator evaluation review process to engage the Idaho teacher preparation programs to assist in assuring the fidelity of the evaluations with the statewide framework.

Repeals, amends and adds to existing law to revise the calculation of the Educational Support Program; to provide for a reading assessment; and to establish provisions regarding literacy intervention programs.

Repeals existing Sections 33-1615 and 33-1616, Idaho Code, and replaces them with amended versions of what is now Sections 33-1614 and 33-1615, Idaho Code. Amendments to the current language in Section 33-1615, Idaho Code (Reading Intervention) would clean up existing language and expand reading interventions for students in kindergarten through grade three. Current requirements specify a minimum number of hours for students reading below grade level, but does not define below grade level. There are three levels of proficiency identified on the statewide reading assessment. Two of those levels, basic and below basic, are considered below grade level. Amendments define students who score basic and below basic as being below grade level, and specify intervention requirements for both levels by expanding interventions from the current requirement of a minimum of 40 hours of intervention for students who are below grade level to a minimum of 60 hours for those who are below basic, and a minimum of 30 hours for those who are identified as basic. The current language in section 33-1614, Idaho Code (Reading Assessment) outlines requirements for identification of student reading proficiency. The proposed changes would make technical corrections and remove unnecessary details, including specifics about which skills should be tested through the state's reading assessment, as these details are included in the Idaho Comprehensive Literacy Plan. Additional changes retain reporting requirements from what is currently outlined in Section 33-1616, Idaho Code, to the new section 33-1616, Idaho Code.

Amends existing law regarding the transfer of accrued sick leave for certain employees; and to revise provisions regarding accrued unused sick leave.

Amendments would provide clarification regarding the transfer of sick leave for state employees who have worked for a state educational entity and transfer to another state educational entity or other state agency. This would include staff who have worked for either a public four-year institution, the Idaho Digital Learning Academy, or school district who accepts a new position at a postsecondary institution or vice versa. Additional amendments define the currently undefined term "state educational agencies" and remove the 90-day leave maximum for community college and school district employees.

Amends existing law to provide an additional allocation amount for certain Career Technical Education instructional staff.

This legislation adds to provisions of the career ladder to provide an allocation of $3,000 for school district and charter school instructional staff who hold an occupational specialist certificate. This provision will assist school districts and charter schools in recruiting and retaining instructors for career technical education programs.