Amends existing law to revise provisions regarding the career ladder for superintendents and building-level administrators.

LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO
Sixty-eighth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2026
IN THE SENATE
SENATE BILL NO. 1358
BY STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
AN ACT	1
RELATING TO EDUCATION; AMENDING SECTION 33-1004B, IDAHO CODE, TO REVISE	2
PROVISIONS REGARDING THE CAREER LADDER; AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY AND	3
PROVIDING RETROACTIVE APPLICATION.	4
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:	5
SECTION 1. That Section 33-1004B, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby	6
amended to read as follows:	7
33-1004B. CAREER LADDER. School districts shall receive an allocation	8
for instructional staff and pupil service staff based on their staffs' posi-	9
tion on the career ladder as follows:	10
(1) Instructional staff and pupil service staff who are in their first	11
year of holding an Idaho certificate shall be placed in the first cell of the	12
residency compensation rung and shall move one (1) cell on the residency com-	13
pensation rung for each year they hold an Idaho certificate and are employed	14
in an Idaho public school thereafter for up to three (3) years, at which point	15
they will remain in the third cell of the residency rung until they earn a	16
professional endorsement.	17
(2) Instructional staff and pupil service staff in their first year of	18
holding a professional endorsement shall be placed in the first cell of the	19
professional compensation rung.	20
(3) Instructional staff and pupil service staff on the professional	21
compensation rung with four (4) years of experience shall move one (1) cell	22
on the professional compensation rung unless they have failed to meet the	23
professional compensation rung performance criteria for three (3) of the	24
previous four (4) years. Instructional staff and pupil service staff on the	25
professional compensation rung who meet the performance criteria for three	26
(3) of the previous five (5) years, one (1) of which must be during the fourth	27
or fifth year, shall move one (1) cell. Allocations for instructional staff	28
and pupil service staff who do not meet the professional compensation rung	29
performance criteria for three (3) of the previous five (5) years, one (1) of	30
which must be during the fourth or fifth year, shall remain at the previous	31
fiscal year allocation level. This also applies to the educational alloca-	32
tion.	33
(4) Instructional staff and pupil service staff in their first year of	34
holding an advanced professional endorsement shall be placed in the first	35
cell of the advanced professional compensation rung.	36
(5) Instructional staff and pupil service staff on the advanced profes-	37
sional compensation rung who met the performance criteria for the advanced	38
professional rung in the previous year shall move one (1) cell on the ad-	39
vanced professional compensation rung. Allocations for instructional staff	40
and pupil service staff who do not meet the advanced professional compensa-	41

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tion rung performance criteria shall remain at the previous fiscal year al-	1
location level. This also applies to the additional education allocation.	2
(6) Career technical education instructional staff holding an occupa-	3
tional specialist certificate shall be placed on the career ladder as fol-	4
lows:	5
(a) Instructional staff new to working in an Idaho public school:	6
(i) With two (2) or three (3) years of industry experience in a	7
field closely related to the subjects they seek to teach shall be	8
placed in an equivalent cell to instructional staff who have been	9
on the career ladder and met the movement requirements for one (1)	10
year;	11
(ii) With four (4) or five (5) years of industry experience in a	12
field closely related to the subjects they seek to teach shall be	13
placed in an equivalent cell to instructional staff who have been	14
on the career ladder and met the movement requirements for two (2)	15
years;	16
(iii) With six (6) or seven (7) years of industry experience in a	17
field closely related to the subjects they seek to teach shall be	18
placed in an equivalent cell to instructional staff who have been	19
on the career ladder and met the movement requirements for three	20
(3) years; and	21
(iv) With eight (8) or more years of industry experience in a	22
field closely related to the subjects they seek to teach shall be	23
placed in an equivalent cell to instructional staff who have been	24
on the career ladder and met the movement requirements for four (4)	25
years; and	26
(b) Existing career technical education instructional staff on the	27
residency compensation rung shall have their placement updated con-	28
sistent with the provisions of paragraph (a) of this subsection if the	29
update would result in a rung higher than their current placement.	30
(7) Instructional staff or pupil service staff entering their first	31
year on the career ladder, but with prior certificated instructional, pupil	32
service, administrative, or equivalent elementary or secondary school ex-	33
perience, including in an accredited private or parochial school, shall be	34
placed on the career ladder as follows:	35
(a) Instructional staff and pupil service staff who have been awarded a	36
professional endorsement shall be placed as follows:	37
(i) Those with four (4) years of certificated experience and doc-	38
umentation from the hiring school district or charter school ad-	39
ministrator, attesting the individual has provided evidence that	40
the individual has met the professional compensation rung perfor-	41
mance criteria in two (2) of the previous four (4) years, shall be	42
placed in an equivalent cell on the career ladder to instructional	43
staff or pupil service staff who have met the movement criteria for	44
four (4) years; or	45
(ii) Those with five (5) or more years of certificated experi-	46
ence and documentation from the hiring school district or charter	47
school administrator, attesting the individual has provided ev-	48
idence that the individual has met the professional compensation	49
rung performance criteria in three (3) of the previous five (5)	50

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years, with one (1) year being the fourth or fifth year, shall be	1
placed in an equivalent cell on the career ladder to instructional	2
staff or pupil service staff who have met the movement criteria for	3
the equivalent number of years as they have verified experience.	4
(b) Instructional staff and pupil service staff who have been awarded	5
an advanced professional endorsement with nine (9) or more years of cer-	6
tificated experience and documentation from the hiring school district	7
or charter school administrator, attesting the individual has provided	8
evidence that the individual has met the professional compensation rung	9
performance criteria in three (3) of the previous five (5) years, with	10
one (1) year being the fourth or fifth year, shall be placed in an equiv-	11
alent cell on the career ladder to instructional staff or pupil service	12
staff who have met the movement criteria for the equivalent number of	13
years as they have verified experience.	14
(8) In addition to the allocation amount specified for the applicable	15
cell on the career ladder, school districts shall receive an additional al-	16
location amount for career technical education instructional staff holding	17
an occupational specialist certificate in the area for which they are teach-	18
ing in the amount of three thousand dollars ($3,000), which shall be des-	19
ignated for career technical education staff and included as part of their	20
salary.	21
(9) In addition to the allocation amount specified for the applicable	22
cell on the career ladder, school districts shall receive an additional	23
allocation amount for instructional staff and pupil service staff holding	24
a professional or an advanced professional endorsement who have acquired	25
additional education and meet the professional or advanced professional	26
compensation rung performance criteria. In determining the additional ed-	27
ucation allocation amount, only transcripted credits and degrees on file	28
with the teacher certification office of the state department of education,	29
earned at an institution of higher education accredited by a body recognized	30
by the state board of education or credits earned through an internship or	31
work experience approved by the state board of education, shall be allowed.	32
All credits and degrees earned must be in a relevant pedagogy or content area	33
as determined by the state department of education. Additional education	34
allocation amounts are not cumulative. Instructional staff whose initial	35
certificate is an occupational specialist certificate shall be treated as BA	36
degree-prepared instructional staff. Credits earned by such occupational	37
specialist instructional staff after initial certification shall be cred-	38
ited toward the education allocation. Additional education allocations	39
are:	40
(a) For instructional staff and pupil service staff holding a profes-	41
sional or an advanced professional endorsement, a baccalaureate degree	42
and twenty-four (24) or more credits, two thousand dollars ($2,000) per	43
fiscal year.	44
(b) For instructional staff and pupil service staff holding a profes-	45
sional or an advanced professional endorsement and a master's degree,	46
three thousand five hundred dollars ($3,500) per fiscal year.	47
(c) Effective July 1, 2021, the allocation shall be:	48

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Base	1
Allocation	2 1 2 3 4 5
Residency	3 $40,369 $40,990 $41,611
Professional	4 $42,991 $44,836 $46,681 $48,526 $50,370
Advanced	5
Professional	6 $52,734 $53,207
(d) Effective July 1, 2022, the allocation shall be:	7
Base	8
Allocation	9 1 2 3 4 5
Residency	10 $40,742 $41,486 $42,231
Professional	11 $43,488 $45,302 $47,116 $48,930 $50,743
Advanced	12
Professional	13 $53,478 $54,442 $55,389
(e) Effective July 1, 2023, the allocation shall be:	14
Base	15
Allocation	16 1 2 3 4 5
Residency	17 $41,118 $41,988 $42,860
Professional	18 $43,990 $45,773 $47,555 $49,337 $51,119
Advanced	19
Professional	20 $54,233 $55,705 $57,165 $58,613
(f) Effective July 1, 2024, the allocation shall be:	21
Base	22
Allocation	23 1 2 3 4 5
Residency	24 $41,500 $42,500 $43,500
Professional	25 $44,500 $46,250 $48,000 $49,750 $51,500
Advanced	26
Professional	27 $55,000 $57,000 $59,000 $61,000 $63,000
(10) Effective July 1, 2025, the educator salary-based apportionment	28
program compensation rung cell amounts shall be adjusted by an amount equiv-	29
alent to the salary-based apportionment adjustment for administrative and	30
classified staff positions.	31
(11) A review of a sample of evaluations completed by administrators	32
shall be conducted annually to verify such evaluations are being conducted	33
with fidelity to the state framework for teaching evaluation, including	34
each domain and identification of which domain or domains the administrator	35
is focusing on for the instructional staff or pupil service staff member	36
being evaluated, as outlined in administrative rule. The review shall be	37
completed prior to November 1 of each year. The state board of education	38
shall randomly select a sample of administrators throughout the state. A	39

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portion of such administrators' instructional staff and pupil service staff	1
employee evaluations shall be independently reviewed. The ratio of in-	2
structional staff evaluations to pupil service staff evaluations shall be	3
equal to the ratio of the statewide instructional staff salary allowance to	4
pupil service staff salary allowance. The state board of education, with	5
input from the Idaho-approved teacher preparation programs and the state	6
department of education, shall identify individuals and a process to conduct	7
the reviews. Administrator certificate holders shall be required to par-	8
ticipate in ongoing evaluation training pursuant to section 33-1204, Idaho	9
Code. The state board of education shall report annually the findings of	10
such reviews to the senate education committee, the house of representatives	11
education committee, the state board of education and the deans of Idaho's	12
approved teacher preparation programs. The state board of education shall	13
promulgate rules implementing the provisions of this subsection.	14
(12) School districts shall submit annually to the state the data nec-	15
essary to determine if an instructional staff or pupil service staff member	16
has met the performance criteria for movement on the applicable compensation	17
rung. Such data shall include the individuals' performance on each of the	18
performance criteria as defined in section 33-1001, Idaho Code, including	19
the percentage of students meeting their measurable student achievement and	20
student success indicator targets. The department of education shall calcu-	21
late whether or not instructional staff and pupil service staff have met the	22
compensation rung performance criteria based on the data submitted during	23
the previous five (5) years. Individually identifiable performance evalu-	24
ation ratings submitted to the state remain part of the employee's person-	25
nel record and are exempt from public disclosure pursuant to section 74-106,	26
Idaho Code.	27
(13) Superintendents and building-level administrators entering their	28
first year on the career ladder, but who have prior certificated instruc-	29
tional, pupil service, administrative, superintendent, or equivalent ele-	30
mentary or secondary school experience, including experience in an accred-	31
ited private or parochial school, and whose hiring school district or pub-	32
lic charter school administrator attests that the individual has provided	33
evidence of meeting the performance metrics of cumulatively proficient or	34
higher in their administrative or superintendent evaluation for three (3) of	35
the previous five (5) years, one (1) of which shall be during the fourth or	36
fifth year, shall be placed in an equivalent cell to instructional staff or	37
pupil service staff on the career ladder.	38
(14) Superintendents and building-level administrators with prior	39
placement on the career ladder as instructional staff or pupil service	40
staff shall return to an instructional staff or pupil service staff place-	41
ment while counting years of experience in a superintendent or building	42
administrator role toward advancement on the career ladder, provided that	43
the individual has provided evidence of meeting the performance metrics of	44
cumulatively proficient or higher in the individual's administrative or	45
superintendent evaluation.	46
SECTION 2. An emergency existing therefor, which emergency is hereby	47
declared to exist, this act shall be in full force and effect on and after its	48
passage and approval, and retroactively to July 1, 2021.	49

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