Idaho Bills

Amends existing law to revise the requirements for public charter schools.

In1998,theLegislaturecreatedpubliccharterschoolsinIdaho. Sincethattime,manyrequirementsandsteps have been added to the process of opening new charter schools. None have been removed. This has resulted in a duplicative, burdensome and often confusing process for new schools and authorizers alike. This bill would streamline the opening procedures for new charter schools by simplifying the process, compressing the timeline and clarifying expectations for schools and authorizers, while at the same time maintaining a high standard of review for petitions.

Amends existing law to revise procedures for labor negotiations between school boards and local education organizations.

Amends and adds to existing law to establish the Master Schools Premium as an alternative to the Master Teacher Premium.

This bill moves and expands a section of code that gives another option to the Master Teacher Premium Program by adding a new section 33-1004k. School districts can choose to participate in either the Master Teacher Premium Program where teachers earn premiums based upon portfolios and evaluations; or, choose to participate in the Master School Premium Program where teachers receive master premiums based upon students achieving academic goals set within the school district and approved by the State Board of Education. School districts can only participate in the Master Teacher Premium Program or in the Master School Premium Program

Amends and adds to existing law to provide for the boundaries of school trustee zones, to provide that a school district may allow districtwide voting for all trustees, and to revise the dates of a school trustee's term of office.

Adds to existing law to create the Special Education Reimbursement Act facilitating Medicaid reimbursement to schools for eligible pupils.

The purpose of this legislation is to assist public schools in accessing federal Medicaid flow-through dollars to provide federally-mandated services to special-needs students. Specifically, the legislation clarifies the difference between school-based Medicaid reimbursement program and the for-profit community-based program and sets out definitions related to this new section. This legislation also sets out what services can be provided to a special-needs student, how often the services need to be reviewed, when reimbursement for the services will begin, and who can authorize those services. This legislation sets our specific parameters for an Interagency Student Services Support Committee, specifically: the committee membership and terms of office, governance of the committee, committee voting rights, the committee's mission. The committee will report back to the legislature annually. This legislation states that public schools can receive reimbursement for Medicaid Administrative Claiming (or "MAC Claiming") which will allow public schools to seek reimbursement for provided eligible administrative services. It also sets parameters for a professional development program for staff in public schools who submit reimbursement for these services. Finally, the legislation sets out accountability measures to assure that public schools are complying with federal and state requirements as well as audit requirements.

Adds to existing law to provide funding for cost adjustments in a public school employer's portion of employee health care plans.

This bill establishes a new section of education spending titled, School District Employer Health Care. This section specifies an allocation method to provide the districts with funds for school district employee health insurance costs in an amount equitable and in the same portion as state employee health care cost adjusts. This amount is the amount appropriated for the employer cost adjustment per full-time equivalent employee for the state of Idaho state employee group insurance plan authorized under section 67-5764, Idaho Code.

Amends existing law to provide that no student instruction in public schools shall take place on election days.

The purpose of this legislation is to ensure student safety and provide for adequate polling locations for the purpose of voting on Election Day. Increasing concerns about student safety have been raised due to having both students and voters, who would not typically be at a school, using the facility at the same time. Presently, schools are the most common polling location used in Idaho. Schools are needed in order to provide adequate and accessible polling locations within residential communities throughout the state. This legislation addresses both the need for schools to be used as polling locations and addresses the student safety concerns by removing students during voting, but still allowing the facility to be used by the school districts for other purposes. There is a delayed effective date in order to ensure adequate time to adjust school calendars and contracts to facilitate this change.

Adds to existing law to authorize school improvement programs and school leadership improvement programs.

The proposed legislation would create two programs targeted toward school improvement in student outcomes. The first program would provide support for the lowest performing school in developing school district to school level improvement plans that include input from all levels, the local school board through to parents and the community. School districts and charter schools performing in the lowest ten percent of school may participate in this program. This formulizes a program started by the state board of education during the 2016-2017 school year through the higher education institutions. The current program is conducted in three phases over a three year program: Phase 1, collection of data, identification of schools, and development of school district improvement teams; Phase 2, needs assessment (training at all levels, class room supports, technical assistance, etc.), development of school district improvement plan with school district improvement team, initial implementation of improvement plan; Phase 3, evaluation of progress/implementation and updating (as needed) of school district improvement plan and additional professional development, technical assistance, and networking identified in Phase 2 and Phase 3 evaluation. Phase 1 is conducted during the first year, phase 2 overlaps with year 1 and year 2, and phase three is conducted in year 3. The second program is open to all administrators and expands on the work done as part of the school improvement program as well feedback received through other channels. The school leadership improvement program develop and provide training specific to school and district leadership in creating coherent and integrated programs across school, engaging parents, teachers and the community in planning efforts, evaluation of programs and staff as well as the creation of professional development that supports those teachers and staff.