Idaho § 33-1201A - Idaho professional endorsement - eligibility

§ 33-1201A. Idaho professional endorsement - eligibility

(1) Any instructional staff employee or any pupil service staff employee will receive mentoring as outlined in such employee’s individualized professional learning plan during the initial three (3) years of holding such certificate. Upon holding a certificate for three (3) years, any such instructional staff or pupil service staff employee may apply for an Idaho professional endorsement. Upon holding a professional endorsement for five (5) years or more, any such instructional staff or pupil service staff employee may apply for an Idaho advanced professional endorsement. Individuals who hold an instructional staff certificate and a pupil service staff certificate shall have their experience based on the overall years of experience if held consecutively or the certificate they have held the longest if dually certificated.

(2) To be eligible for an Idaho professional endorsement, the instructional staff or pupil service staff employee must:

(a) Have held a certificate and been employed in a public school for at least three (3) years or have completed a state board of education-approved interim certificate of three (3) years or longer;

(b) Show they met the professional compensation rung performance criteria for two (2) of the three (3) previous years or the third year;

(c) Have a written recommendation from the employing school district; and

(d) Have an annual individualized professional learning plan developed in conjunction with the employee’s school district supervisor.

Instructional staff employees may provide additional evidence demonstrating effective teaching that may be considered in exceptional cases for purposes of determining proficiency and student achievement in the event required standards for professional endorsement are not met. Pupil service staff employees may provide additional evidence demonstrating effective student achievement or success that may be considered in exceptional cases for purposes of determining proficiency and student achievement or success in the event required standards for professional endorsement are not met.

(3) To be eligible for an Idaho advanced professional endorsement, the instructional staff or pupil service staff employee must:

(a) Have held a renewable certificate and been employed in a public school for at least eight (8) years or more or have completed a state board of education-approved interim certificate of three (3) years or longer and held a renewable certificate and been employed in a public school for five (5) years or more;

(b) Show they met the professional compensation rung performance criteria for four (4) of the five (5) previous years or the third, fourth, and fifth year;

(c) During three (3) of the previous five (5) years, have served in an additional building or district leadership role in an Idaho public school, including but not limited to:

(i) Instructional specialist or instructional coach;

(ii) Mentor;

(iii) Curriculum or assessment committee member;

(iv) Team or committee leadership position;

(v) Data coach; or

(vi) Other leadership positions identified by the school district;

(d) Have a written recommendation from the employing school district;

(e) Have an annual individualized professional learning plan developed in conjunction with the employee’s supervisor and a self-evaluation; and

(f)(i) Effective July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2021, show they have met the advanced professional compensation rung performance criteria for three (3) of the five (5) previous years or the fifth year;

(ii) Effective July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022, show they have met the advanced professional compensation rung performance criteria for three (3) of the five (5) previous years or the fourth and fifth year; or

(iii) Effective July 1, 2022, show they have met the advanced professional compensation rung performance criteria for three (3) of the five (5) previous years.

Instructional staff employees may provide additional evidence demonstrating effective teaching that may be considered in exceptional cases for purposes of determining proficiency and student achievement in the event required standards for the advanced professional endorsement are not met. Pupil service staff employees may provide additional evidence demonstrating effective student achievement or success that may be considered in exceptional cases for purposes of determining proficiency and student achievement or success in the event required standards for the advanced professional endorsement are not met.

(4) Instructional staff and pupil service staff who have been certified in another state shall be eligible for the professional endorsement if they:

(a) Have a written recommendation from the employing school district;

(b) Have worked in a certificated position in a compact-member state other than Idaho pursuant to section 33-4104 , Idaho Code; and

(c) Would have been eligible to work in a certificated position in an Idaho public school based on that certification for three (3) to eight (8) years.

(5) Instructional staff and pupil service staff who have been certified in another state shall be eligible for the advanced professional endorsement if they:

(a) Have a written recommendation from the employing school district;

(b) Have worked in a certificated position in a compact-member state other than Idaho pursuant to section 33-4104 , Idaho Code; and

(c) Would have been eligible to work in a certificated position in an Idaho public school based on that certification for nine (9) years or more.

(6) Instructional staff and pupil service staff who have worked in an accredited private school and maintained their instructional or pupil service staff certification may use their years of private school work experience to meet the years of experience requirements for the professional and advanced professional endorsement. Such staff may provide additional evidence demonstrating effective teaching that may be considered in exceptional cases for purposes of determining proficiency and student achievement requirements for professional and advanced professional eligibility criteria.

(7) Pupil service staff and career technical education instructional staff may use the years of industry experience, as calculated pursuant to section 33-1004B (6) and (9), Idaho Code, to meet the years of experience requirements for the professional and advanced professional endorsements. Such staff may provide additional evidence demonstrating effective teaching that may be considered in exceptional cases for purposes of determining proficiency and student achievement requirements for professional and advanced professional eligibility criteria.

(8) Individuals holding a professional endorsement or an advanced professional endorsement will be annually evaluated in at least two (2) domains in the state evaluation framework approved by the state board of education. All other instructional or pupil service staff employees must be evaluated across all domains in the evaluation framework. Ratings in the domains described in section 33-1001 (22)(b)[(23)(b)], Idaho Code, are required as part of the advanced professional compensation rung performance criteria.

(9) The state board of education shall promulgate rules implementing the provisions of this section.

(10) For the purposes of this section:

(a) "Certificate" means an Idaho instructional certificate, pupil service staff certificate, or out-of-state educator certificate that meets the requirements for reciprocity under rules promulgated by the state board of education;

(b) In conjunction with the Idaho evaluation framework, "individualized professional learning plan" means an individualized professional development plan based on the Idaho framework for teaching evaluation and includes, at a minimum, identified interventions based on the individual’s strengths and areas of needed growth, how the individual will set student achievement and growth goals, and areas of identified professional development and mentoring that target continuous improvement in professional areas, future student achievement, and school building or district culture;

(c) "Instructional staff" means those involved in the direct instruction of a student or group of students and who hold a certificate issued under section 33-1201 , Idaho Code;

(d) "Pupil service staff" means those who provide services to students but are not involved in direct instruction of those students and who hold a certificate issued under section 33-1201 , Idaho Code; and

(e) "School district" means a school district or a public charter school.

[33-1201A, added 2015, ch. 229, sec. 12, p. 719; am. 2016, ch. 245, sec. 9, p. 654; am. 2020, ch. 270, sec. 5, p. 790; am. 2021, ch. 207, sec. 4, p. 568; am. 2021, ch. 213, sec. 2, p. 585; am. 2022, ch. 83, sec. 3, p. 245; am. 2022, ch. 111, sec. 22, p. 382; am. 2026, ch. 173, sec. 2, p. 810; am. 2026, ch. 222, sec. 7, p. 991.]