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S1079aa,aa ....................................................by EDUCATION
PREKINDERGARTEN - Amends existing law relating to education; to provide
when age four is deemed attained; to provide that it is not compulsory for
individual school districts to establish prekindergarten programs and that
it is not mandatory for a child to enroll in public prekindergarten; to
permit elementary and all other school districts to give instruction in
prekindergarten; to grant boards of trustees of each school district the
authority to provide classes in prekindergarten; to provide that no
appropriation by the state of Idaho be directed to the provision of
prekindergarten services; to provide that the State Board of Education is
responsible for the development of a single preservice assessment measure
for prekindergarten preparation programs; to provide that prekindergarten
teacher candidates from an Idaho teacher preparation program pass the
assessment; to provide that each teacher employed in a classroom for
prekindergarten and each school administrator of a school which includes
prekindergarten complete specified coursework in order to recertify; and to
include prekindergarten within the Uniform Public School Building Safety
Act.
02/02 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/05 Rpt prt - to Educ
02/14 Rpt out - to 14th Ord
02/16 Rpt out amen - to engros
02/19 Rpt engros - 1st rdg - to 2nd rdg as amen
02/20 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg as amen
02/26 To 14th Ord
03/01 Rpt out amen - to engros
03/02 Rpt engros - 1st rdg - to 2nd rdg as amen
03/05 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg as amen
03/06 3rd rdg as amen - PASSED - 19-16-0
AYES -- Andreason, Bastian, Bilyeu, Burkett, Coiner, Corder, Gannon,
Goedde, Hammond, Heinrich, Kelly, Keough, Langhorst, Little,
Malepeai, Schroeder, Stegner, Stennett, Werk
NAYS -- Bair, Broadsword, Cameron, Darrington, Davis, Fulcher,
Geddes, Hill, Jorgenson, Lodge, McGee, McKague, McKenzie, Pearce,
Richardson, Siddoway
Absent and excused -- None
Floor Sponsor - Gannon
Title apvd - to House
03/08 House intro - 1st rdg - to Educ
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]]
Fifty-ninth Legislature First Regular Session - 2007
IN THE SENATE
SENATE BILL NO. 1079
BY EDUCATION COMMITTEE
1 AN ACT
2 RELATING TO EDUCATION; AMENDING SECTION 33-201, IDAHO CODE, TO REVISE A DEFI-
3 NITION, TO PROVIDE WHEN AGE FOUR YEARS IS DEEMED ATTAINED AND TO MAKE
4 TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS; AMENDING SECTION 33-208, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE
5 THAT IT IS NOT COMPULSORY FOR INDIVIDUAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO ESTABLISH
6 PREKINDERGARTEN PROGRAMS AND THAT IT IS NOT MANDATORY FOR A CHILD TO
7 ENROLL IN PUBLIC PREKINDERGARTEN; AMENDING SECTION 33-302, IDAHO CODE, TO
8 PERMIT ELEMENTARY AND ALL OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO GIVE INSTRUCTION IN
9 PREKINDERGARTEN; AMENDING SECTION 33-512, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE THE BOARD
10 OF TRUSTEES OF EACH SCHOOL DISTRICT THE AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE CLASSES IN
11 PREKINDERGARTEN AND TO PROVIDE THAT NO APPROPRIATION BY THE STATE OF IDAHO
12 BE DIRECTED TO THE PROVISION OF PREKINDERGARTEN SERVICES; AMENDING SECTION
13 33-1207A, IDAHO CODE, TO REMOVE A DATE AND TO PROVIDE THAT THE STATE BOARD
14 OF EDUCATION IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SINGLE PRESERVICE
15 ASSESSMENT MEASURE FOR PREKINDERGARTEN PREPARATION PROGRAMS, TO PROVIDE
16 THAT PREKINDERGARTEN TEACHER CANDIDATES FROM AN IDAHO TEACHER PREPARATION
17 PROGRAM PASS THE ASSESSMENT AND TO PROVIDE THAT EACH TEACHER EMPLOYED IN A
18 CLASSROOM FOR PREKINDERGARTEN AND EACH SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR OF A SCHOOL
19 WHICH INCLUDES PREKINDERGARTEN COMPLETE SPECIFIED COURSEWORK IN ORDER TO
20 RECERTIFY; AMENDING SECTION 33-1225, IDAHO CODE, TO REVISE A DEFINITION;
21 AMENDING SECTION 33-1302, IDAHO CODE, TO REVISE A LEGISLATIVE FINDING;
22 AMENDING SECTION 33-1303, IDAHO CODE, TO REVISE A DEFINITION; AMENDING
23 SECTION 33-1613, IDAHO CODE, TO REVISE A DEFINITION; AND AMENDING SECTION
24 39-8003, IDAHO CODE, TO INCLUDE PREKINDERGARTEN WITHIN THE UNIFORM PUBLIC
25 SCHOOL BUILDING SAFETY ACT.
26 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
27 SECTION 1. That Section 33-201, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
28 amended to read as follows:
29 33-201. SCHOOL AGE. The services of the public schools of this state are
30 extended to any acceptable person of school age. "School age" is defined as
31 including all persons resident of the state, between the ages of five (5) four
32 (4) and twenty-one (21) years.
33 (1) For the purposes of this section, the age of four (4) years shall be
34 attained when the fourth anniversary of birth occurs on or before the first
35 day of September of the school year in which the child is enrolled in
36 prekindergarten.
37 (2) For the purposes of this section, the age of five (5) years shall be
38 attained when the fifth anniversary of birth occurs on or before the first day
39 of September of the school year in which the child is to enroll in kindergar-
40 ten.
41 (3) For a child enrolling in the first grade, the age of six (6) years
42 must be reached on or before the first day of September of the school year in
43 which the child is to enroll.
2
1 (4) Any child of the age of five (5) years who has completed a private or
2 public out-of-state kindergarten for the required four hundred fifty (450)
3 hours but has not reached the "school age" requirement in Idaho shall be
4 allowed to enter the first grade.
5 (5) For resident children with disabilities who qualify for special edu-
6 cation and related services under the federal individuals with disabilities
7 education act (IDEA) and subsequent amendments thereto, and applicable state
8 and federal regulations, "school age" shall begin at the attainment of age
9 three (3) years and shall continue through the semester of school in which the
10 student attains the age of twenty-one (21) years.
11 SECTION 2. That Section 33-208, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
12 amended to read as follows:
13 33-208. PREKINDERGARTENS, KINDERGARTENS AND CHILD ATTENDANCE NOT COMPUL-
14 SORY. It shall not be compulsory for individual school districts to establish
15 a prekindergarten or a kindergarten program; and it shall not be mandatory for
16 a child who is eligible by age for attendance to enroll in an established pub-
17 lic prekindergarten or kindergarten.
18 SECTION 3. That Section 33-302, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
19 amended to read as follows:
20 33-302. CLASSIFICATION OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS. Elementary school districts
21 shall give instruction only to pupils in grades one (1) through eight (8), and
22 may give instruction in prekindergarten and kindergarten. All other school
23 districts shall give instruction to pupils in grades one (1) through twelve
24 (12), and may give instruction in prekindergarten and kindergarten, and shall
25 maintain secondary schools giving instruction to pupils in grades seven (7)
26 through twelve (12), or any combination of such grades.
27 Any school district maintaining its only secondary school building situate
28 not less than twenty-five (25) miles from the nearest Idaho secondary school,
29 and which employs not less than six (6) teachers within its district, may be
30 authorized by the state board of education to instruct pupils in two (2) or
31 more grades above grade seven (7).
32 Whenever any district lies, or shall lie, in more than one (1) county it
33 shall be designated as a joint district of its class.
34 SECTION 4. That Section 33-512, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
35 amended to read as follows:
36 33-512. GOVERNANCE OF SCHOOLS. The board of trustees of each school dis-
37 trict shall have the following powers and duties:
38 (1) To fix the days of the year and the hours of the day when schools
39 shall be in session. However:
40 (a) Each school district shall annually adopt and implement a school cal-
41 endar which provides its students at each grade level with the following
42 minimum number of instructional hours:
43 Grades Hours
44 9-12 990
45 4-8 900
46 1-3 810
47 K 450
48 (b) School assemblies, testing and other instructionally related activi-
49 ties involving students directly may be included in the required instruc-
3
1 tional hours.
2 (c) When approved by a local school board, annual instructional hour
3 requirements stated in paragraph (a) may be reduced as follows:
4 (i) Up to a total of twenty-two (22) hours to accommodate staff
5 development activities conducted on such days as the local school
6 board deems appropriate.
7 (ii) Up to a total of eleven (11) hours of emergency school closures
8 due to adverse weather conditions and facility failures.
9 However, transportation to and from school, passing times between classes,
10 recess and lunch periods shall not be included.
11 (d) Student and staff activities related to the opening and closing of
12 the school year, grade reporting, program planning, staff meetings, and
13 other classroom and building management activities shall not be counted as
14 instructional time or in the reductions provided in paragraph (c)(i) of
15 this section.
16 (e) For multiple shift programs, this rule applies to each shift (i.e.,
17 each student must have access to the minimum annual required hours of
18 instructions).
19 (f) The instructional time requirement for grade 12 students may be
20 reduced by action of a local school board for an amount of time not to
21 exceed eleven (11) hours of instructional time.
22 (g) The state superintendent of public instruction may grant an exemption
23 from the provisions of this section for an individual building within a
24 district, when the closure of that building, for unforeseen circumstances,
25 does not affect the attendance of other buildings within the district.
26 (2) To adopt and carry on, and provide for the financing of, a total edu-
27 cational program for the district. Such programs in other than elementary
28 school districts may include education programs for out-of-school youth and
29 adults; and such districts may provide classes in prekindergarten and kinder-
30 garten; provided however, there shall be no appropriation by the state of
31 Idaho directed to the provision of prekindergarten services to children eligi-
32 ble therefor;
33 (3) To provide, or require pupils to be provided with, suitable textbooks
34 and supplies, and for advice on textbook selections may appoint a textbook
35 adoption committee as provided in section 33-512A, Idaho Code;
36 (4) To protect the morals and health of the pupils;
37 (5) To exclude from school, children not of school age;
38 (6) To prescribe rules for the disciplining of unruly or insubordinate
39 pupils, including rules on student harassment, intimidation and bullying, such
40 rules to be included in a district discipline code adopted by the board of
41 trustees and a summarized version thereof to be provided in writing at the
42 beginning of each school year to the teachers and students in the district in
43 a manner consistent with the student's age, grade and level of academic
44 achievement;
45 (7) To exclude from school, pupils with contagious or infectious diseases
46 who are diagnosed or suspected as having a contagious or infectious disease or
47 those who are not immune and have been exposed to a contagious or infectious
48 disease; and to close school on order of the state board of health or local
49 health authorities;
50 (8) To equip and maintain a suitable library or libraries in the school
51 or schools and to exclude therefrom, and from the schools, all books, tracts,
52 papers, and catechisms of sectarian nature;
53 (9) To determine school holidays. Any listing of school holidays shall
54 include not less than the following: New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Indepen-
55 dence Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. Other days listed in section
4
1 73-108, Idaho Code, if the same shall fall on a school day, shall be observed
2 with appropriate ceremonies; and any days the state board of education may
3 designate, following the proclamation by the governor, shall be school holi-
4 days;
5 (10) To erect and maintain on each schoolhouse or school grounds a suit-
6 able flagstaff or flagpole, and display thereon the flag of the United States
7 of America on all days, except during inclement weather, when the school is in
8 session; and for each Veterans Day, each school in session shall conduct and
9 observe an appropriate program of at least one (1) class period remembering
10 and honoring American veterans;
11 (11) To prohibit entrance to each schoolhouse or school grounds, to pro-
12 hibit loitering in schoolhouses or on school grounds and to provide for the
13 removal from each schoolhouse or school grounds of any individual or individu-
14 als who disrupt the educational processes or whose presence is detrimental to
15 the morals, health, safety, academic learning or discipline of the pupils. A
16 person who disrupts the educational process or whose presence is detrimental
17 to the morals, health, safety, academic learning or discipline of the pupils
18 or who loiters in schoolhouses or on school grounds, is guilty of a misde-
19 meanor.
20 (12) To supervise and regulate, including by contract with established
21 entities, those extracurricular activities which are by definition outside of
22 or in addition to the regular academic courses or curriculum of a public
23 school, and which extracurricular activities shall not be considered to be a
24 property, liberty or contract right of any student, and such extracurricular
25 activities shall not be deemed a necessary element of a public school educa-
26 tion, but shall be considered to be a privilege.
27 (13) To govern the school district in compliance with state law and rules
28 of the state board of education.
29 (14) To submit to the superintendent of public instruction not later than
30 July 1 of each year documentation which meets the reporting requirements of
31 the federal gun-free schools act of 1994 as contained within the federal
32 improving America's schools act of 1994.
33 (15) To require that all persons hired for the first time by the district
34 or who have been in the employ of the district five (5) years or less, undergo
35 a criminal history check as provided in section 33-130, Idaho Code. All such
36 employees who are required to undergo a criminal history check shall obtain
37 the history check within three (3) months of starting employment, or for
38 employees with five (5) years or less with the district, within three (3)
39 months from the date such employee is notified that he must undergo a criminal
40 history check. Such employees shall pay the cost of the criminal history
41 check. If the criminal history check shows that the employee has been con-
42 victed of a felony crime enumerated in section 33-1208, Idaho Code, it shall
43 be grounds for immediate termination, dismissal or other personnel action of
44 the district, except that it shall be the right of the school district to
45 evaluate whether an individual convicted of one (1) of these crimes and having
46 been incarcerated for that crime shall be hired. The district may require any
47 or all persons who have been employed continuously with the same district for
48 more than five (5) years, to undergo a criminal history check as provided in
49 section 33-130, Idaho Code. If the district elects to require criminal history
50 checks of such employees, the district shall pay the costs of the criminal
51 history check or reimburse employees for such cost. A substitute teacher who
52 has undergone a criminal history check at the request of one (1) district in
53 which he has been employed as a substitute shall not be required to undergo an
54 additional criminal history check at the request of any other district in
55 which he is employed as a substitute if the teacher has obtained a criminal
5
1 history check within the previous three (3) years. If the district next
2 employing the substitute still elects to require another criminal history
3 check within the three (3) year period, that district shall pay the cost of
4 the criminal history check or reimburse the substitute teacher for such cost.
5 (16) Each board of trustees of a school district shall be responsible for
6 developing a system for registering volunteers or contractors consistent with
7 maintaining a safe environment for their students.
8 (17) To provide support for teachers in their first two (2) years in the
9 profession in the areas of: administrative and supervisory support, mentoring,
10 peer assistance and professional development.
11 SECTION 5. That Section 33-1207A, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
12 amended to read as follows:
13 33-1207A. TEACHER PREPARATION. (1) Higher Education Institutions. The
14 state board shall review teacher preparation programs at the institutions of
15 higher education under their supervision and shall assure that the course
16 offerings and graduation requirements are consistent with the state board
17 approved, research based "Idaho Comprehensive Literacy Plan." To assure the
18 most immediate compliance with this requirement, the board may allocate funds,
19 subject to appropriation, to institutions which require revision of the pro-
20 gram.
21 The state board shall be responsible for the development of a single
22 preservice assessment measure for all prekindergarten and all kindergarten
23 through grade eight (8) teacher preparation programs. The assessment must
24 include a demonstration of teaching skills and knowledge congruent with cur-
25 rent research on best reading practices. In addition the assessment must
26 include how children acquire language; the basic sound structure of English,
27 including phonological and phonemic awareness; phonics and structural analy-
28 sis; semantics and syntactics; how to select reading textbooks; and how to use
29 diagnostic tools and test data to improve teaching. It shall also include the
30 preservice teacher's knowledge base of reading process: phonological aware-
31 ness; sound-symbol correspondence (intensive, systematic phonemes); semantics
32 (meaning); syntax (grammar and language patterns); pragmatics (background
33 knowledge and life experience); and comprehension and critical thinking. By
34 September 2002, aAll prekindergarten and K-8 teacher candidates from an Idaho
35 teacher preparation program shall pass this assessment in order to qualify for
36 an Idaho standard elementary teaching certificate. The state board shall
37 report the number of preservice teachers taking and passing the performance-
38 based reading assessment to the legislature and governor annually. All costs
39 associated with administration of this test shall be borne by the institution
40 which administers the test and shall be shown as a line item in the appropria-
41 tion request of the institution for state reimbursement.
42 (2) In-service Programs. Each teacher employed in a classroom for
43 prekindergarten and kindergarten through grade eight (8), Title I, or special
44 education and each school administrator of a school which includes
45 prekindergarten and kindergarten through grade eight (8), Title I, or special
46 education shall complete three (3) credits (or forty-five (45) contact hours
47 of in-service training) of a state approved reading instruction course titled
48 "Idaho Comprehensive Literacy Course" based on the state approved research
49 based "Idaho Comprehensive Literacy Plan" in order to recertify. Courses which
50 qualify for credit shall be approved by the state department of education,
51 and any educator who completes a state approved reading instruction course
52 prior to September 2001, shall be deemed to have met the requirements of this
53 subsection. Completion of a state approved reading instruction course shall be
6
1 a one-time requirement for renewal of certification for those currently
2 employed in an Idaho school district and shall be included within current
3 requirements for continuing education for renewal. The department shall pro-
4 vide a waiver of this requirement if the applicant successfully completes the
5 reading assessment measure developed for preservice purposes as provided in
6 subsection (1) of this section. The department shall establish a procedure to
7 allow a waiver of this requirement if the applicant teaches in a secondary
8 grade subject which does not directly involve teaching reading or writing.
9 The board of trustees of every school district shall include in its plan
10 for in-service training, coursework covering reading skills development,
11 including diagnostic tools to review and adjust instruction continuously, and
12 the ability to identify students who need special help in reading. The dis-
13 trict plan for in-service training in reading skills shall be submitted to the
14 state department of education for review and approval, in a format specified
15 by the department.
16 SECTION 6. That Section 33-1225, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
17 amended to read as follows:
18 33-1225. THREATS OF VIOLENCE -- LIMITATION ON LIABILITY. (1) A communica-
19 tion by any person to a school principal, or designee, or a communication by a
20 student attending the school to the student's teacher, school counselor or
21 school nurse, and any report of that communication to the school principal
22 stating that a specific person has made a threat to commit violence on school
23 grounds by use of a firearm, explosive, or deadly weapon defined in chapter
24 33, title 18, Idaho Code, is a communication on a matter of public concern.
25 Such communication or report shall only be subject to liability in defamation
26 by clear and convincing evidence that the communication or report was made
27 with knowledge of its falsity or with reckless disregard for the truth or fal-
28 sity of the communication or report. This section shall not be interpreted to
29 change or eliminate other elements of defamation required by law.
30 (2) As used in this section, "school" means any public or private school
31 providing instruction in prekindergarten or kindergarten or any grades from
32 grade one (1) through grade twelve (12) which is the subject of a threat.
33 SECTION 7. That Section 33-1302, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
34 amended to read as follows:
35 33-1302. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS. The legislature hereby finds that inter-
36 preting services in Idaho public schools, prekindergarten and kindergarten
37 through grade twelve (12), for students who are deaf, hard of hearing or deaf-
38 blind need to be improved. The absence of state standards for evaluating edu-
39 cational interpreters allows for inconsistencies in the delivery of educa-
40 tional information to students who are in need of such services. The legisla-
41 ture recognizes that educational interpreters in Idaho public schools must not
42 only interpret the spoken word but must also convey concepts and facilitate
43 the student's understanding of the educational material. The legislature also
44 finds that among the many factors that influence student success, there is a
45 correlation between the academic achievements of deaf, hard of hearing and
46 deaf-blind students and the competency of their interpreters. Therefore, the
47 legislature finds that Idaho educational public policy is served by estab-
48 lishing standards for persons employed in the Idaho public schools as educa-
49 tional interpreters.
50 SECTION 8. That Section 33-1303, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
7
1 amended to read as follows:
2 33-1303. DEFINITIONS. The following words and phrases used in this chap-
3 ter are defined as follows:
4 (1) "Board" means the state board of education.
5 (2) "Deaf" means a person who is not able to process information aurally
6 and whose primary means of communication is visual.
7 (3) "Deaf-blind" means a person who is deaf or hard of hearing and who
8 also has significant visual impairment or is legally blind.
9 (4) "Educational interpreter" means a person employed in the Idaho public
10 schools, prekindergarten and kindergarten through grade twelve (12), to pro-
11 vide interpreting services to students who are deaf, hard of hearing or deaf-
12 blind.
13 (5) "Educational interpreter performance assessment" means a
14 statistically valid and reliable assessment tool administered by the boys town
15 national research hospital or its successor organization.
16 (6) "Hard of hearing" means a person who has a hearing deficit, who is
17 able to process information aurally with or without the use of a hearing aid
18 or other device that enhances the ability of the person to hear, and whose
19 primary means of communication may be visual.
20 (7) "Interpreter education program" means a postsecondary degree program
21 of at least two (2) years in duration that is accredited by the state board of
22 education or an equivalent program accredited by another state, district or
23 territory or by a professional accreditation body.
24 (8) "Interpreting" means the process of providing accessible communica-
25 tion between and among persons who are deaf, hard of hearing or deaf-blind,
26 and those who are hearing. The process includes, but is not limited to, commu-
27 nication between American sign language or other form of manual communication
28 and English. The process may also involve various other modalities that
29 involve visual, gestural and tactile methods.
30 SECTION 9. That Section 33-1613, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
31 amended to read as follows:
32 33-1613. SAFE PUBLIC SCHOOL FACILITIES REQUIRED. (1) Definition. As used
33 in this section, "public school facilities" means the physical plant of
34 improved or unimproved real property owned or operated by a school district, a
35 charter school, or a school for children in prekindergarten or in any grades
36 kindergarten through twelve (12) that is operated by the state of Idaho,
37 including school buildings, administration buildings, playgrounds, athletic
38 fields, etc., used by schoolchildren or school personnel in the normal course
39 of providing a general, uniform and thorough system of public, free common
40 schools, but does not include areas, buildings or parts of buildings closed
41 from or not used in the normal course of providing a general, uniform and
42 thorough system of public, free common schools. The aspects of a safe environ-
43 ment conducive to learning as provided by section 33-1612, Idaho Code, that
44 pertain to the physical plant used to provide a general, uniform and thorough
45 system of public, free common schools are hereby defined as those necessary
46 to comply with the safety and health requirements set forth in this section.
47 (2) Inspection. It is the duty of the board of trustees of every school
48 district and the governing body for other schools described in subsection (1)
49 of this section at least once in every school year to require an independent
50 inspection of the school district's or other entity's school facilities to
51 determine whether those school facilities comply with codes addressing safety
52 and health standards for facilities, including electrical, plumbing, mechani-
8
1 cal, elevator, fire safety, boiler safety, life safety, structural, snow load-
2 ing, and sanitary codes, adopted by or pursuant to the Idaho uniform school
3 building safety act, chapter 80, title 39, Idaho Code, adopted by the state
4 fire marshal, adopted by generally applicable local ordinances, or adopted by
5 rule of the state board of education and applicable to school facilities. The
6 inspection shall be done pursuant to chapter 80, title 39, Idaho Code, or by
7 an independent inspector professionally qualified to conduct inspections under
8 the applicable code. The results of the inspection shall be presented to the
9 administrator of the division of building safety and the board of trustees or
10 other governing body for its review and consideration.
11 (3) Abatement required -- Reporting. The board of trustees or other gov-
12 erning body shall require that the unsafe or unhealthy conditions be abated
13 and shall instruct the school district's or other entity's personnel to take
14 necessary steps to abate unsafe or unhealthy conditions. The board of trustees
15 or other governing body must issue a report in the same school year in which
16 the inspections are made declaring whether any unsafe or unhealthy conditions
17 identified have not been abated. The state board of education shall, by rule,
18 provide for uniform reporting of unsafe and unhealthy conditions and for uni-
19 form reporting of abatement or absence of abatement of unsafe and unhealthy
20 conditions. Copies of such reports shall be provided to the administrator of
21 the division of building safety and the board of trustees of the school dis-
22 trict.
23 (4) Costs of and plan of abatement. If the school district or other
24 entity described in subsection (1) of this section can abate all unsafe or
25 unhealthy conditions identified with the funds available to the school dis-
26 trict or other entity, it shall do so, and it need not separately account for
27 the costs of abatement nor segregate funds expended for abatement. If the
28 school district or other entity cannot abate all unsafe or unhealthy condi-
29 tions identified with the funds available to it, the board of trustees or
30 other governing body shall direct that a plan of abatement be prepared. The
31 plan of abatement shall provide a timetable that shall begin no later than the
32 following school year and that shall provide for abatement with all deliberate
33 speed of unsafe and unhealthy conditions identified. The abatement plan shall
34 be submitted to the administrator of the division of building safety. The
35 school district or other entity shall immediately begin to implement its plan
36 of abatement and must separately account for its costs of abatement of unsafe
37 and unhealthy conditions and separately segregate funds for the abatement of
38 unsafe and unhealthy conditions as required by subsection (5) of this sec-
39 tion.
40 (5) Special provisions for implementation of plan of abatement.
41 (a) Notwithstanding any other provisions of law concerning expenditure of
42 lottery moneys distributed to the school district or other entity, all
43 lottery moneys provided to the school district or other entity for a
44 school year in which the school district cannot abate unsafe or unhealthy
45 conditions identified and not legally encumbered to other uses at the time
46 and all lottery moneys for following school years shall be segregated and
47 expended exclusively for abatement of unsafe and unhealthy conditions
48 identified until all of the unhealthy and unsafe conditions identified are
49 abated, provided, if the school district has obtained a loan from the
50 safety and health revolving loan and grant fund, the provisions of section
51 33-1017, Idaho Code, and the conditions of the loan shall determine the
52 use of the school district's lottery moneys during the term of the loan.
53 (b) If the lottery moneys referred to in paragraph (a) of this subsection
54 will, in the board of trustees' or other governing bodies' estimation, be
55 insufficient to abate the unsafe and unhealthy conditions identified, the
9
1 plan of abatement shall identify additional sources of funds to complete
2 the abatement of the unsafe and unhealthy conditions. The board of
3 trustees may choose from among the following sources, or from other
4 sources of its own identification, but the plan of abatement must identify
5 sufficient sources of funds for abatement.
6 (i) If the school district is not levying under chapter 8, title
7 33, Idaho Code, at the maximum levies allowed by law for levies that
8 may be imposed by a board of trustees without an election, the board
9 of trustees may increase any of those levies as allowed by law for
10 the school year following the school year in which it was unable to
11 abate unsafe or unhealthy conditions identified.
12 (ii) If the school district is levying under chapter 8, title 33,
13 Idaho Code, at the maximum levies allowed by law for levies that may
14 be imposed by the board of trustees without an election; or, if after
15 increasing those levies to the maximum levies allowed by law for
16 levies that may be imposed by the board of trustees without an elec-
17 tion, there will still be insufficient funds to abate unsafe or
18 unhealthy conditions identified, the school district, after giving
19 notice and conducting a hearing, may declare a financial emergency
20 and/or may apply for a loan or, if eligible, an interest grant from
21 the safety and health revolving loan and grant fund as provided in
22 section 33-1017, Idaho Code, to obtain funds to abate the unsafe or
23 unhealthy conditions identified.
24 (iii) Upon the declaration of a financial emergency, the board of
25 trustees shall have the power to impose a reduction in force, to
26 freeze some or all salaries in the school district, and/or to suspend
27 some or all contracts that may be legally suspended upon the declara-
28 tion of a financial emergency; provided, that when a board of
29 trustees declares a financial emergency, or when a declaration of a
30 financial emergency is imposed by the state treasurer pursuant to
31 section 33-1017, Idaho Code, and there is a reduction in force, some
32 or all salaries are frozen, or some contracts are suspended, the pay-
33 ments to the school district under the foundation program of chapter
34 10, title 33, Idaho Code, and in particular the staff allowances
35 under that chapter, shall not be reduced during the duration of the
36 financial emergency as a result of a reduction in force, frozen sala-
37 ries, or suspended salaries from what the staff allowance would be
38 without the reduction in force, frozen salaries or suspended con-
39 tracts.
40 (c) All costs of abatement for a program implementing plans of abatement
41 under subsection (5) of this section must be separately accounted for and
42 documented with regard to abatement of each unsafe or unhealthy condition
43 identified. Funds obtained under section 33-1017, Idaho Code, must be used
44 exclusively to abate unsafe or unhealthy conditions identified. Funds
45 obtained pursuant to section 33-1017, Idaho Code, in excess of funds nec-
46 essary to abate unsafe or unhealthy conditions identified must be returned
47 as provided in section 33-1017, Idaho Code. Return of these funds shall be
48 judicially enforceable as provided in section 33-1017, Idaho Code.
49 SECTION 10. That Section 39-8003, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
50 amended to read as follows:
51 39-8003. SCOPE. This act shall apply to all facilities, existing now or
52 constructed in the future, that are owned, leased or used for educational pur-
53 poses by public school districts, charter schools, or a school for children in
10
1 prekindergarten or in any grades kindergarten through twelve (12) that is
2 operated by the state of Idaho receiving state funding. The authority granted
3 under this act shall not prohibit local governments from acting to enforce
4 applicable building and fire codes.
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]]
Fifty-ninth Legislature First Regular Session - 2007
Moved by Gannon
Seconded by Schroeder
IN THE SENATE
SENATE AMENDMENT TO S.B. NO. 1079, As Amended
1 AMENDMENT TO SECTION 1
2 On page 1 of the engrossed bill, in line 34, delete "For the purposes of
3 this section" and insert: "For a child enrolling in prekindergarten"; and in
4 line 38, delete "For the purposes of this section" and insert: "For the pur-
5 poses of this section a child enrolling in kindergarten".
6 CORRECTION TO TITLE
7 On page 1, in line 3, following "ATTAINED" insert: ", TO PROVIDE
8 CLARIFYING LANGUAGE".
2
Moved by Schroeder
Seconded by Gannon
IN THE SENATE
SENATE AMENDMENT TO S.B. NO. 1079
1 AMENDMENT TO SECTION 4
2 On page 3 of the printed bill, in line 30, following "however," insert:
3 "and except as provided in section 33-201(5), Idaho Code,".
4 CORRECTION TO TITLE
5 On page 1, in line 11, following "THAT" insert: ", SUBJECT TO AN EXCEP-
6 TION,".
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]]
Fifty-ninth Legislature First Regular Session - 2007
IN THE SENATE
SENATE BILL NO. 1079, As Amended, As Amended
BY EDUCATION COMMITTEE
1 AN ACT
2 RELATING TO EDUCATION; AMENDING SECTION 33-201, IDAHO CODE, TO REVISE A DEFI-
3 NITION, TO PROVIDE WHEN AGE FOUR YEARS IS DEEMED ATTAINED, TO PROVIDE
4 CLARIFYING LANGUAGE AND TO MAKE TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS; AMENDING SECTION
5 33-208, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE THAT IT IS NOT COMPULSORY FOR INDIVIDUAL
6 SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO ESTABLISH PREKINDERGARTEN PROGRAMS AND THAT IT IS NOT
7 MANDATORY FOR A CHILD TO ENROLL IN PUBLIC PREKINDERGARTEN; AMENDING SEC-
8 TION 33-302, IDAHO CODE, TO PERMIT ELEMENTARY AND ALL OTHER SCHOOL DIS-
9 TRICTS TO GIVE INSTRUCTION IN PREKINDERGARTEN; AMENDING SECTION 33-512,
10 IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF EACH SCHOOL DISTRICT THE
11 AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE CLASSES IN PREKINDERGARTEN AND TO PROVIDE THAT, SUB-
12 JECT TO AN EXCEPTION, NO APPROPRIATION BY THE STATE OF IDAHO BE DIRECTED
13 TO THE PROVISION OF PREKINDERGARTEN SERVICES; AMENDING SECTION 33-1207A,
14 IDAHO CODE, TO REMOVE A DATE AND TO PROVIDE THAT THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCA-
15 TION IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SINGLE PRESERVICE ASSESSMENT
16 MEASURE FOR PREKINDERGARTEN PREPARATION PROGRAMS, TO PROVIDE THAT
17 PREKINDERGARTEN TEACHER CANDIDATES FROM AN IDAHO TEACHER PREPARATION PRO-
18 GRAM PASS THE ASSESSMENT AND TO PROVIDE THAT EACH TEACHER EMPLOYED IN A
19 CLASSROOM FOR PREKINDERGARTEN AND EACH SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR OF A SCHOOL
20 WHICH INCLUDES PREKINDERGARTEN COMPLETE SPECIFIED COURSEWORK IN ORDER TO
21 RECERTIFY; AMENDING SECTION 33-1225, IDAHO CODE, TO REVISE A DEFINITION;
22 AMENDING SECTION 33-1302, IDAHO CODE, TO REVISE A LEGISLATIVE FINDING;
23 AMENDING SECTION 33-1303, IDAHO CODE, TO REVISE A DEFINITION; AMENDING
24 SECTION 33-1613, IDAHO CODE, TO REVISE A DEFINITION; AND AMENDING SECTION
25 39-8003, IDAHO CODE, TO INCLUDE PREKINDERGARTEN WITHIN THE UNIFORM PUBLIC
26 SCHOOL BUILDING SAFETY ACT.
27 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
28 SECTION 1. That Section 33-201, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
29 amended to read as follows:
30 33-201. SCHOOL AGE. The services of the public schools of this state are
31 extended to any acceptable person of school age. "School age" is defined as
32 including all persons resident of the state, between the ages of five (5) four
33 (4) and twenty-one (21) years.
34 (1) For a child enrolling in prekindergarten, the age of four (4) years
35 shall be attained when the fourth anniversary of birth occurs on or before the
36 first day of September of the school year in which the child is enrolled in
37 prekindergarten.
38 (2) For the purposes of this section a child enrolling in kindergarten,
39 the age of five (5) years shall be attained when the fifth anniversary of
40 birth occurs on or before the first day of September of the school year in
41 which the child is to enroll in kindergarten.
42 (3) For a child enrolling in the first grade, the age of six (6) years
43 must be reached on or before the first day of September of the school year in
2
1 which the child is to enroll.
2 (4) Any child of the age of five (5) years who has completed a private or
3 public out-of-state kindergarten for the required four hundred fifty (450)
4 hours but has not reached the "school age" requirement in Idaho shall be
5 allowed to enter the first grade.
6 (5) For resident children with disabilities who qualify for special edu-
7 cation and related services under the federal individuals with disabilities
8 education act (IDEA) and subsequent amendments thereto, and applicable state
9 and federal regulations, "school age" shall begin at the attainment of age
10 three (3) years and shall continue through the semester of school in which the
11 student attains the age of twenty-one (21) years.
12 SECTION 2. That Section 33-208, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
13 amended to read as follows:
14 33-208. PREKINDERGARTENS, KINDERGARTENS AND CHILD ATTENDANCE NOT COMPUL-
15 SORY. It shall not be compulsory for individual school districts to establish
16 a prekindergarten or a kindergarten program; and it shall not be mandatory for
17 a child who is eligible by age for attendance to enroll in an established pub-
18 lic prekindergarten or kindergarten.
19 SECTION 3. That Section 33-302, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
20 amended to read as follows:
21 33-302. CLASSIFICATION OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS. Elementary school districts
22 shall give instruction only to pupils in grades one (1) through eight (8), and
23 may give instruction in prekindergarten and kindergarten. All other school
24 districts shall give instruction to pupils in grades one (1) through twelve
25 (12), and may give instruction in prekindergarten and kindergarten, and shall
26 maintain secondary schools giving instruction to pupils in grades seven (7)
27 through twelve (12), or any combination of such grades.
28 Any school district maintaining its only secondary school building situate
29 not less than twenty-five (25) miles from the nearest Idaho secondary school,
30 and which employs not less than six (6) teachers within its district, may be
31 authorized by the state board of education to instruct pupils in two (2) or
32 more grades above grade seven (7).
33 Whenever any district lies, or shall lie, in more than one (1) county it
34 shall be designated as a joint district of its class.
35 SECTION 4. That Section 33-512, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
36 amended to read as follows:
37 33-512. GOVERNANCE OF SCHOOLS. The board of trustees of each school dis-
38 trict shall have the following powers and duties:
39 (1) To fix the days of the year and the hours of the day when schools
40 shall be in session. However:
41 (a) Each school district shall annually adopt and implement a school cal-
42 endar which provides its students at each grade level with the following
43 minimum number of instructional hours:
44 Grades Hours
45 9-12 990
46 4-8 900
47 1-3 810
48 K 450
49 (b) School assemblies, testing and other instructionally related activi-
3
1 ties involving students directly may be included in the required instruc-
2 tional hours.
3 (c) When approved by a local school board, annual instructional hour
4 requirements stated in paragraph (a) may be reduced as follows:
5 (i) Up to a total of twenty-two (22) hours to accommodate staff
6 development activities conducted on such days as the local school
7 board deems appropriate.
8 (ii) Up to a total of eleven (11) hours of emergency school closures
9 due to adverse weather conditions and facility failures.
10 However, transportation to and from school, passing times between classes,
11 recess and lunch periods shall not be included.
12 (d) Student and staff activities related to the opening and closing of
13 the school year, grade reporting, program planning, staff meetings, and
14 other classroom and building management activities shall not be counted as
15 instructional time or in the reductions provided in paragraph (c)(i) of
16 this section.
17 (e) For multiple shift programs, this rule applies to each shift (i.e.,
18 each student must have access to the minimum annual required hours of
19 instructions).
20 (f) The instructional time requirement for grade 12 students may be
21 reduced by action of a local school board for an amount of time not to
22 exceed eleven (11) hours of instructional time.
23 (g) The state superintendent of public instruction may grant an exemption
24 from the provisions of this section for an individual building within a
25 district, when the closure of that building, for unforeseen circumstances,
26 does not affect the attendance of other buildings within the district.
27 (2) To adopt and carry on, and provide for the financing of, a total edu-
28 cational program for the district. Such programs in other than elementary
29 school districts may include education programs for out-of-school youth and
30 adults; and such districts may provide classes in prekindergarten and kinder-
31 garten; provided however, and except as provided in section 33-201(5), Idaho
32 Code, there shall be no appropriation by the state of Idaho directed to the
33 provision of prekindergarten services to children eligible therefor;
34 (3) To provide, or require pupils to be provided with, suitable textbooks
35 and supplies, and for advice on textbook selections may appoint a textbook
36 adoption committee as provided in section 33-512A, Idaho Code;
37 (4) To protect the morals and health of the pupils;
38 (5) To exclude from school, children not of school age;
39 (6) To prescribe rules for the disciplining of unruly or insubordinate
40 pupils, including rules on student harassment, intimidation and bullying, such
41 rules to be included in a district discipline code adopted by the board of
42 trustees and a summarized version thereof to be provided in writing at the
43 beginning of each school year to the teachers and students in the district in
44 a manner consistent with the student's age, grade and level of academic
45 achievement;
46 (7) To exclude from school, pupils with contagious or infectious diseases
47 who are diagnosed or suspected as having a contagious or infectious disease or
48 those who are not immune and have been exposed to a contagious or infectious
49 disease; and to close school on order of the state board of health or local
50 health authorities;
51 (8) To equip and maintain a suitable library or libraries in the school
52 or schools and to exclude therefrom, and from the schools, all books, tracts,
53 papers, and catechisms of sectarian nature;
54 (9) To determine school holidays. Any listing of school holidays shall
55 include not less than the following: New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Indepen-
4
1 dence Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. Other days listed in section
2 73-108, Idaho Code, if the same shall fall on a school day, shall be observed
3 with appropriate ceremonies; and any days the state board of education may
4 designate, following the proclamation by the governor, shall be school holi-
5 days;
6 (10) To erect and maintain on each schoolhouse or school grounds a suit-
7 able flagstaff or flagpole, and display thereon the flag of the United States
8 of America on all days, except during inclement weather, when the school is in
9 session; and for each Veterans Day, each school in session shall conduct and
10 observe an appropriate program of at least one (1) class period remembering
11 and honoring American veterans;
12 (11) To prohibit entrance to each schoolhouse or school grounds, to pro-
13 hibit loitering in schoolhouses or on school grounds and to provide for the
14 removal from each schoolhouse or school grounds of any individual or individu-
15 als who disrupt the educational processes or whose presence is detrimental to
16 the morals, health, safety, academic learning or discipline of the pupils. A
17 person who disrupts the educational process or whose presence is detrimental
18 to the morals, health, safety, academic learning or discipline of the pupils
19 or who loiters in schoolhouses or on school grounds, is guilty of a misde-
20 meanor.
21 (12) To supervise and regulate, including by contract with established
22 entities, those extracurricular activities which are by definition outside of
23 or in addition to the regular academic courses or curriculum of a public
24 school, and which extracurricular activities shall not be considered to be a
25 property, liberty or contract right of any student, and such extracurricular
26 activities shall not be deemed a necessary element of a public school educa-
27 tion, but shall be considered to be a privilege.
28 (13) To govern the school district in compliance with state law and rules
29 of the state board of education.
30 (14) To submit to the superintendent of public instruction not later than
31 July 1 of each year documentation which meets the reporting requirements of
32 the federal gun-free schools act of 1994 as contained within the federal
33 improving America's schools act of 1994.
34 (15) To require that all persons hired for the first time by the district
35 or who have been in the employ of the district five (5) years or less, undergo
36 a criminal history check as provided in section 33-130, Idaho Code. All such
37 employees who are required to undergo a criminal history check shall obtain
38 the history check within three (3) months of starting employment, or for
39 employees with five (5) years or less with the district, within three (3)
40 months from the date such employee is notified that he must undergo a criminal
41 history check. Such employees shall pay the cost of the criminal history
42 check. If the criminal history check shows that the employee has been con-
43 victed of a felony crime enumerated in section 33-1208, Idaho Code, it shall
44 be grounds for immediate termination, dismissal or other personnel action of
45 the district, except that it shall be the right of the school district to
46 evaluate whether an individual convicted of one (1) of these crimes and having
47 been incarcerated for that crime shall be hired. The district may require any
48 or all persons who have been employed continuously with the same district for
49 more than five (5) years, to undergo a criminal history check as provided in
50 section 33-130, Idaho Code. If the district elects to require criminal history
51 checks of such employees, the district shall pay the costs of the criminal
52 history check or reimburse employees for such cost. A substitute teacher who
53 has undergone a criminal history check at the request of one (1) district in
54 which he has been employed as a substitute shall not be required to undergo an
55 additional criminal history check at the request of any other district in
5
1 which he is employed as a substitute if the teacher has obtained a criminal
2 history check within the previous three (3) years. If the district next
3 employing the substitute still elects to require another criminal history
4 check within the three (3) year period, that district shall pay the cost of
5 the criminal history check or reimburse the substitute teacher for such cost.
6 (16) Each board of trustees of a school district shall be responsible for
7 developing a system for registering volunteers or contractors consistent with
8 maintaining a safe environment for their students.
9 (17) To provide support for teachers in their first two (2) years in the
10 profession in the areas of: administrative and supervisory support, mentoring,
11 peer assistance and professional development.
12 SECTION 5. That Section 33-1207A, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
13 amended to read as follows:
14 33-1207A. TEACHER PREPARATION. (1) Higher Education Institutions. The
15 state board shall review teacher preparation programs at the institutions of
16 higher education under their supervision and shall assure that the course
17 offerings and graduation requirements are consistent with the state board
18 approved, research based "Idaho Comprehensive Literacy Plan." To assure the
19 most immediate compliance with this requirement, the board may allocate funds,
20 subject to appropriation, to institutions which require revision of the pro-
21 gram.
22 The state board shall be responsible for the development of a single
23 preservice assessment measure for all prekindergarten and all kindergarten
24 through grade eight (8) teacher preparation programs. The assessment must
25 include a demonstration of teaching skills and knowledge congruent with cur-
26 rent research on best reading practices. In addition the assessment must
27 include how children acquire language; the basic sound structure of English,
28 including phonological and phonemic awareness; phonics and structural analy-
29 sis; semantics and syntactics; how to select reading textbooks; and how to use
30 diagnostic tools and test data to improve teaching. It shall also include the
31 preservice teacher's knowledge base of reading process: phonological aware-
32 ness; sound-symbol correspondence (intensive, systematic phonemes); semantics
33 (meaning); syntax (grammar and language patterns); pragmatics (background
34 knowledge and life experience); and comprehension and critical thinking. By
35 September 2002, aAll prekindergarten and K-8 teacher candidates from an Idaho
36 teacher preparation program shall pass this assessment in order to qualify for
37 an Idaho standard elementary teaching certificate. The state board shall
38 report the number of preservice teachers taking and passing the performance-
39 based reading assessment to the legislature and governor annually. All costs
40 associated with administration of this test shall be borne by the institution
41 which administers the test and shall be shown as a line item in the appropria-
42 tion request of the institution for state reimbursement.
43 (2) In-service Programs. Each teacher employed in a classroom for
44 prekindergarten and kindergarten through grade eight (8), Title I, or special
45 education and each school administrator of a school which includes
46 prekindergarten and kindergarten through grade eight (8), Title I, or special
47 education shall complete three (3) credits (or forty-five (45) contact hours
48 of in-service training) of a state approved reading instruction course titled
49 "Idaho Comprehensive Literacy Course" based on the state approved research
50 based "Idaho Comprehensive Literacy Plan" in order to recertify. Courses which
51 qualify for credit shall be approved by the state department of education,
52 and any educator who completes a state approved reading instruction course
53 prior to September 2001, shall be deemed to have met the requirements of this
6
1 subsection. Completion of a state approved reading instruction course shall be
2 a one-time requirement for renewal of certification for those currently
3 employed in an Idaho school district and shall be included within current
4 requirements for continuing education for renewal. The department shall pro-
5 vide a waiver of this requirement if the applicant successfully completes the
6 reading assessment measure developed for preservice purposes as provided in
7 subsection (1) of this section. The department shall establish a procedure to
8 allow a waiver of this requirement if the applicant teaches in a secondary
9 grade subject which does not directly involve teaching reading or writing.
10 The board of trustees of every school district shall include in its plan
11 for in-service training, coursework covering reading skills development,
12 including diagnostic tools to review and adjust instruction continuously, and
13 the ability to identify students who need special help in reading. The dis-
14 trict plan for in-service training in reading skills shall be submitted to the
15 state department of education for review and approval, in a format specified
16 by the department.
17 SECTION 6. That Section 33-1225, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
18 amended to read as follows:
19 33-1225. THREATS OF VIOLENCE -- LIMITATION ON LIABILITY. (1) A communica-
20 tion by any person to a school principal, or designee, or a communication by a
21 student attending the school to the student's teacher, school counselor or
22 school nurse, and any report of that communication to the school principal
23 stating that a specific person has made a threat to commit violence on school
24 grounds by use of a firearm, explosive, or deadly weapon defined in chapter
25 33, title 18, Idaho Code, is a communication on a matter of public concern.
26 Such communication or report shall only be subject to liability in defamation
27 by clear and convincing evidence that the communication or report was made
28 with knowledge of its falsity or with reckless disregard for the truth or fal-
29 sity of the communication or report. This section shall not be interpreted to
30 change or eliminate other elements of defamation required by law.
31 (2) As used in this section, "school" means any public or private school
32 providing instruction in prekindergarten or kindergarten or any grades from
33 grade one (1) through grade twelve (12) which is the subject of a threat.
34 SECTION 7. That Section 33-1302, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
35 amended to read as follows:
36 33-1302. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS. The legislature hereby finds that inter-
37 preting services in Idaho public schools, prekindergarten and kindergarten
38 through grade twelve (12), for students who are deaf, hard of hearing or deaf-
39 blind need to be improved. The absence of state standards for evaluating edu-
40 cational interpreters allows for inconsistencies in the delivery of educa-
41 tional information to students who are in need of such services. The legisla-
42 ture recognizes that educational interpreters in Idaho public schools must not
43 only interpret the spoken word but must also convey concepts and facilitate
44 the student's understanding of the educational material. The legislature also
45 finds that among the many factors that influence student success, there is a
46 correlation between the academic achievements of deaf, hard of hearing and
47 deaf-blind students and the competency of their interpreters. Therefore, the
48 legislature finds that Idaho educational public policy is served by estab-
49 lishing standards for persons employed in the Idaho public schools as educa-
50 tional interpreters.
7
1 SECTION 8. That Section 33-1303, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
2 amended to read as follows:
3 33-1303. DEFINITIONS. The following words and phrases used in this chap-
4 ter are defined as follows:
5 (1) "Board" means the state board of education.
6 (2) "Deaf" means a person who is not able to process information aurally
7 and whose primary means of communication is visual.
8 (3) "Deaf-blind" means a person who is deaf or hard of hearing and who
9 also has significant visual impairment or is legally blind.
10 (4) "Educational interpreter" means a person employed in the Idaho public
11 schools, prekindergarten and kindergarten through grade twelve (12), to pro-
12 vide interpreting services to students who are deaf, hard of hearing or deaf-
13 blind.
14 (5) "Educational interpreter performance assessment" means a
15 statistically valid and reliable assessment tool administered by the boys town
16 national research hospital or its successor organization.
17 (6) "Hard of hearing" means a person who has a hearing deficit, who is
18 able to process information aurally with or without the use of a hearing aid
19 or other device that enhances the ability of the person to hear, and whose
20 primary means of communication may be visual.
21 (7) "Interpreter education program" means a postsecondary degree program
22 of at least two (2) years in duration that is accredited by the state board of
23 education or an equivalent program accredited by another state, district or
24 territory or by a professional accreditation body.
25 (8) "Interpreting" means the process of providing accessible communica-
26 tion between and among persons who are deaf, hard of hearing or deaf-blind,
27 and those who are hearing. The process includes, but is not limited to, commu-
28 nication between American sign language or other form of manual communication
29 and English. The process may also involve various other modalities that
30 involve visual, gestural and tactile methods.
31 SECTION 9. That Section 33-1613, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
32 amended to read as follows:
33 33-1613. SAFE PUBLIC SCHOOL FACILITIES REQUIRED. (1) Definition. As used
34 in this section, "public school facilities" means the physical plant of
35 improved or unimproved real property owned or operated by a school district, a
36 charter school, or a school for children in prekindergarten or in any grades
37 kindergarten through twelve (12) that is operated by the state of Idaho,
38 including school buildings, administration buildings, playgrounds, athletic
39 fields, etc., used by schoolchildren or school personnel in the normal course
40 of providing a general, uniform and thorough system of public, free common
41 schools, but does not include areas, buildings or parts of buildings closed
42 from or not used in the normal course of providing a general, uniform and
43 thorough system of public, free common schools. The aspects of a safe environ-
44 ment conducive to learning as provided by section 33-1612, Idaho Code, that
45 pertain to the physical plant used to provide a general, uniform and thorough
46 system of public, free common schools are hereby defined as those necessary
47 to comply with the safety and health requirements set forth in this section.
48 (2) Inspection. It is the duty of the board of trustees of every school
49 district and the governing body for other schools described in subsection (1)
50 of this section at least once in every school year to require an independent
51 inspection of the school district's or other entity's school facilities to
52 determine whether those school facilities comply with codes addressing safety
8
1 and health standards for facilities, including electrical, plumbing, mechani-
2 cal, elevator, fire safety, boiler safety, life safety, structural, snow load-
3 ing, and sanitary codes, adopted by or pursuant to the Idaho uniform school
4 building safety act, chapter 80, title 39, Idaho Code, adopted by the state
5 fire marshal, adopted by generally applicable local ordinances, or adopted by
6 rule of the state board of education and applicable to school facilities. The
7 inspection shall be done pursuant to chapter 80, title 39, Idaho Code, or by
8 an independent inspector professionally qualified to conduct inspections under
9 the applicable code. The results of the inspection shall be presented to the
10 administrator of the division of building safety and the board of trustees or
11 other governing body for its review and consideration.
12 (3) Abatement required -- Reporting. The board of trustees or other gov-
13 erning body shall require that the unsafe or unhealthy conditions be abated
14 and shall instruct the school district's or other entity's personnel to take
15 necessary steps to abate unsafe or unhealthy conditions. The board of trustees
16 or other governing body must issue a report in the same school year in which
17 the inspections are made declaring whether any unsafe or unhealthy conditions
18 identified have not been abated. The state board of education shall, by rule,
19 provide for uniform reporting of unsafe and unhealthy conditions and for uni-
20 form reporting of abatement or absence of abatement of unsafe and unhealthy
21 conditions. Copies of such reports shall be provided to the administrator of
22 the division of building safety and the board of trustees of the school dis-
23 trict.
24 (4) Costs of and plan of abatement. If the school district or other
25 entity described in subsection (1) of this section can abate all unsafe or
26 unhealthy conditions identified with the funds available to the school dis-
27 trict or other entity, it shall do so, and it need not separately account for
28 the costs of abatement nor segregate funds expended for abatement. If the
29 school district or other entity cannot abate all unsafe or unhealthy condi-
30 tions identified with the funds available to it, the board of trustees or
31 other governing body shall direct that a plan of abatement be prepared. The
32 plan of abatement shall provide a timetable that shall begin no later than the
33 following school year and that shall provide for abatement with all deliberate
34 speed of unsafe and unhealthy conditions identified. The abatement plan shall
35 be submitted to the administrator of the division of building safety. The
36 school district or other entity shall immediately begin to implement its plan
37 of abatement and must separately account for its costs of abatement of unsafe
38 and unhealthy conditions and separately segregate funds for the abatement of
39 unsafe and unhealthy conditions as required by subsection (5) of this sec-
40 tion.
41 (5) Special provisions for implementation of plan of abatement.
42 (a) Notwithstanding any other provisions of law concerning expenditure of
43 lottery moneys distributed to the school district or other entity, all
44 lottery moneys provided to the school district or other entity for a
45 school year in which the school district cannot abate unsafe or unhealthy
46 conditions identified and not legally encumbered to other uses at the time
47 and all lottery moneys for following school years shall be segregated and
48 expended exclusively for abatement of unsafe and unhealthy conditions
49 identified until all of the unhealthy and unsafe conditions identified are
50 abated, provided, if the school district has obtained a loan from the
51 safety and health revolving loan and grant fund, the provisions of section
52 33-1017, Idaho Code, and the conditions of the loan shall determine the
53 use of the school district's lottery moneys during the term of the loan.
54 (b) If the lottery moneys referred to in paragraph (a) of this subsection
55 will, in the board of trustees' or other governing bodies' estimation, be
9
1 insufficient to abate the unsafe and unhealthy conditions identified, the
2 plan of abatement shall identify additional sources of funds to complete
3 the abatement of the unsafe and unhealthy conditions. The board of
4 trustees may choose from among the following sources, or from other
5 sources of its own identification, but the plan of abatement must identify
6 sufficient sources of funds for abatement.
7 (i) If the school district is not levying under chapter 8, title
8 33, Idaho Code, at the maximum levies allowed by law for levies that
9 may be imposed by a board of trustees without an election, the board
10 of trustees may increase any of those levies as allowed by law for
11 the school year following the school year in which it was unable to
12 abate unsafe or unhealthy conditions identified.
13 (ii) If the school district is levying under chapter 8, title 33,
14 Idaho Code, at the maximum levies allowed by law for levies that may
15 be imposed by the board of trustees without an election; or, if after
16 increasing those levies to the maximum levies allowed by law for
17 levies that may be imposed by the board of trustees without an elec-
18 tion, there will still be insufficient funds to abate unsafe or
19 unhealthy conditions identified, the school district, after giving
20 notice and conducting a hearing, may declare a financial emergency
21 and/or may apply for a loan or, if eligible, an interest grant from
22 the safety and health revolving loan and grant fund as provided in
23 section 33-1017, Idaho Code, to obtain funds to abate the unsafe or
24 unhealthy conditions identified.
25 (iii) Upon the declaration of a financial emergency, the board of
26 trustees shall have the power to impose a reduction in force, to
27 freeze some or all salaries in the school district, and/or to suspend
28 some or all contracts that may be legally suspended upon the declara-
29 tion of a financial emergency; provided, that when a board of
30 trustees declares a financial emergency, or when a declaration of a
31 financial emergency is imposed by the state treasurer pursuant to
32 section 33-1017, Idaho Code, and there is a reduction in force, some
33 or all salaries are frozen, or some contracts are suspended, the pay-
34 ments to the school district under the foundation program of chapter
35 10, title 33, Idaho Code, and in particular the staff allowances
36 under that chapter, shall not be reduced during the duration of the
37 financial emergency as a result of a reduction in force, frozen sala-
38 ries, or suspended salaries from what the staff allowance would be
39 without the reduction in force, frozen salaries or suspended con-
40 tracts.
41 (c) All costs of abatement for a program implementing plans of abatement
42 under subsection (5) of this section must be separately accounted for and
43 documented with regard to abatement of each unsafe or unhealthy condition
44 identified. Funds obtained under section 33-1017, Idaho Code, must be used
45 exclusively to abate unsafe or unhealthy conditions identified. Funds
46 obtained pursuant to section 33-1017, Idaho Code, in excess of funds nec-
47 essary to abate unsafe or unhealthy conditions identified must be returned
48 as provided in section 33-1017, Idaho Code. Return of these funds shall be
49 judicially enforceable as provided in section 33-1017, Idaho Code.
50 SECTION 10. That Section 39-8003, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
51 amended to read as follows:
52 39-8003. SCOPE. This act shall apply to all facilities, existing now or
53 constructed in the future, that are owned, leased or used for educational pur-
10
1 poses by public school districts, charter schools, or a school for children in
2 prekindergarten or in any grades kindergarten through twelve (12) that is
3 operated by the state of Idaho receiving state funding. The authority granted
4 under this act shall not prohibit local governments from acting to enforce
5 applicable building and fire codes.
11
IN THE SENATE
SENATE BILL NO. 1079, As Amended
BY EDUCATION COMMITTEE
1 AN ACT
2 RELATING TO EDUCATION; AMENDING SECTION 33-201, IDAHO CODE, TO REVISE A DEFI-
3 NITION, TO PROVIDE WHEN AGE FOUR YEARS IS DEEMED ATTAINED AND TO MAKE
4 TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS; AMENDING SECTION 33-208, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE
5 THAT IT IS NOT COMPULSORY FOR INDIVIDUAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO ESTABLISH
6 PREKINDERGARTEN PROGRAMS AND THAT IT IS NOT MANDATORY FOR A CHILD TO
7 ENROLL IN PUBLIC PREKINDERGARTEN; AMENDING SECTION 33-302, IDAHO CODE, TO
8 PERMIT ELEMENTARY AND ALL OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO GIVE INSTRUCTION IN
9 PREKINDERGARTEN; AMENDING SECTION 33-512, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE THE BOARD
10 OF TRUSTEES OF EACH SCHOOL DISTRICT THE AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE CLASSES IN
11 PREKINDERGARTEN AND TO PROVIDE THAT, SUBJECT TO AN EXCEPTION, NO APPROPRI-
12 ATION BY THE STATE OF IDAHO BE DIRECTED TO THE PROVISION OF
13 PREKINDERGARTEN SERVICES; AMENDING SECTION 33-1207A, IDAHO CODE, TO REMOVE
14 A DATE AND TO PROVIDE THAT THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION IS RESPONSIBLE FOR
15 THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SINGLE PRESERVICE ASSESSMENT MEASURE FOR
16 PREKINDERGARTEN PREPARATION PROGRAMS, TO PROVIDE THAT PREKINDERGARTEN
17 TEACHER CANDIDATES FROM AN IDAHO TEACHER PREPARATION PROGRAM PASS THE
18 ASSESSMENT AND TO PROVIDE THAT EACH TEACHER EMPLOYED IN A CLASSROOM FOR
19 PREKINDERGARTEN AND EACH SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR OF A SCHOOL WHICH INCLUDES
20 PREKINDERGARTEN COMPLETE SPECIFIED COURSEWORK IN ORDER TO RECERTIFY;
21 AMENDING SECTION 33-1225, IDAHO CODE, TO REVISE A DEFINITION; AMENDING
22 SECTION 33-1302, IDAHO CODE, TO REVISE A LEGISLATIVE FINDING; AMENDING
23 SECTION 33-1303, IDAHO CODE, TO REVISE A DEFINITION; AMENDING SECTION
24 33-1613, IDAHO CODE, TO REVISE A DEFINITION; AND AMENDING SECTION 39-8003,
25 IDAHO CODE, TO INCLUDE PREKINDERGARTEN WITHIN THE UNIFORM PUBLIC SCHOOL
26 BUILDING SAFETY ACT.
27 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
28 SECTION 11. That Section 33-201, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
29 amended to read as follows:
30 33-201. SCHOOL AGE. The services of the public schools of this state are
31 extended to any acceptable person of school age. "School age" is defined as
32 including all persons resident of the state, between the ages of five (5) four
33 (4) and twenty-one (21) years.
34 (1) For the purposes of this section, the age of four (4) years shall be
35 attained when the fourth anniversary of birth occurs on or before the first
36 day of September of the school year in which the child is enrolled in
37 prekindergarten.
38 (2) For the purposes of this section, the age of five (5) years shall be
39 attained when the fifth anniversary of birth occurs on or before the first day
40 of September of the school year in which the child is to enroll in kindergar-
41 ten.
42 (3) For a child enrolling in the first grade, the age of six (6) years
43 must be reached on or before the first day of September of the school year in
44 which the child is to enroll.
45 (4) Any child of the age of five (5) years who has completed a private or
46 public out-of-state kindergarten for the required four hundred fifty (450)
12
1 hours but has not reached the "school age" requirement in Idaho shall be
2 allowed to enter the first grade.
3 (5) For resident children with disabilities who qualify for special edu-
4 cation and related services under the federal individuals with disabilities
5 education act (IDEA) and subsequent amendments thereto, and applicable state
6 and federal regulations, "school age" shall begin at the attainment of age
7 three (3) years and shall continue through the semester of school in which the
8 student attains the age of twenty-one (21) years.
9 SECTION 12. That Section 33-208, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
10 amended to read as follows:
11 33-208. PREKINDERGARTENS, KINDERGARTENS AND CHILD ATTENDANCE NOT COMPUL-
12 SORY. It shall not be compulsory for individual school districts to establish
13 a prekindergarten or a kindergarten program; and it shall not be mandatory for
14 a child who is eligible by age for attendance to enroll in an established pub-
15 lic prekindergarten or kindergarten.
16 SECTION 13. That Section 33-302, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
17 amended to read as follows:
18 33-302. CLASSIFICATION OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS. Elementary school districts
19 shall give instruction only to pupils in grades one (1) through eight (8), and
20 may give instruction in prekindergarten and kindergarten. All other school
21 districts shall give instruction to pupils in grades one (1) through twelve
22 (12), and may give instruction in prekindergarten and kindergarten, and shall
23 maintain secondary schools giving instruction to pupils in grades seven (7)
24 through twelve (12), or any combination of such grades.
25 Any school district maintaining its only secondary school building situate
26 not less than twenty-five (25) miles from the nearest Idaho secondary school,
27 and which employs not less than six (6) teachers within its district, may be
28 authorized by the state board of education to instruct pupils in two (2) or
29 more grades above grade seven (7).
30 Whenever any district lies, or shall lie, in more than one (1) county it
31 shall be designated as a joint district of its class.
32 SECTION 14. That Section 33-512, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
33 amended to read as follows:
34 33-512. GOVERNANCE OF SCHOOLS. The board of trustees of each school dis-
35 trict shall have the following powers and duties:
36 (1) To fix the days of the year and the hours of the day when schools
37 shall be in session. However:
38 (a) Each school district shall annually adopt and implement a school cal-
39 endar which provides its students at each grade level with the following
40 minimum number of instructional hours:
41 Grades Hours
42 9-12 990
43 4-8 900
44 1-3 810
45 K 450
46 (b) School assemblies, testing and other instructionally related activi-
47 ties involving students directly may be included in the required instruc-
48 tional hours.
49 (c) When approved by a local school board, annual instructional hour
13
1 requirements stated in paragraph (a) may be reduced as follows:
2 (i) Up to a total of twenty-two (22) hours to accommodate staff
3 development activities conducted on such days as the local school
4 board deems appropriate.
5 (ii) Up to a total of eleven (11) hours of emergency school closures
6 due to adverse weather conditions and facility failures.
7 However, transportation to and from school, passing times between classes,
8 recess and lunch periods shall not be included.
9 (d) Student and staff activities related to the opening and closing of
10 the school year, grade reporting, program planning, staff meetings, and
11 other classroom and building management activities shall not be counted as
12 instructional time or in the reductions provided in paragraph (c)(i) of
13 this section.
14 (e) For multiple shift programs, this rule applies to each shift (i.e.,
15 each student must have access to the minimum annual required hours of
16 instructions).
17 (f) The instructional time requirement for grade 12 students may be
18 reduced by action of a local school board for an amount of time not to
19 exceed eleven (11) hours of instructional time.
20 (g) The state superintendent of public instruction may grant an exemption
21 from the provisions of this section for an individual building within a
22 district, when the closure of that building, for unforeseen circumstances,
23 does not affect the attendance of other buildings within the district.
24 (2) To adopt and carry on, and provide for the financing of, a total edu-
25 cational program for the district. Such programs in other than elementary
26 school districts may include education programs for out-of-school youth and
27 adults; and such districts may provide classes in prekindergarten and kinder-
28 garten; provided however, and except as provided in section 33-201(5), Idaho
29 Code, there shall be no appropriation by the state of Idaho directed to the
30 provision of prekindergarten services to children eligible therefor;
31 (3) To provide, or require pupils to be provided with, suitable textbooks
32 and supplies, and for advice on textbook selections may appoint a textbook
33 adoption committee as provided in section 33-512A, Idaho Code;
34 (4) To protect the morals and health of the pupils;
35 (5) To exclude from school, children not of school age;
36 (6) To prescribe rules for the disciplining of unruly or insubordinate
37 pupils, including rules on student harassment, intimidation and bullying, such
38 rules to be included in a district discipline code adopted by the board of
39 trustees and a summarized version thereof to be provided in writing at the
40 beginning of each school year to the teachers and students in the district in
41 a manner consistent with the student's age, grade and level of academic
42 achievement;
43 (7) To exclude from school, pupils with contagious or infectious diseases
44 who are diagnosed or suspected as having a contagious or infectious disease or
45 those who are not immune and have been exposed to a contagious or infectious
46 disease; and to close school on order of the state board of health or local
47 health authorities;
48 (8) To equip and maintain a suitable library or libraries in the school
49 or schools and to exclude therefrom, and from the schools, all books, tracts,
50 papers, and catechisms of sectarian nature;
51 (9) To determine school holidays. Any listing of school holidays shall
52 include not less than the following: New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Indepen-
53 dence Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. Other days listed in section
54 73-108, Idaho Code, if the same shall fall on a school day, shall be observed
55 with appropriate ceremonies; and any days the state board of education may
14
1 designate, following the proclamation by the governor, shall be school holi-
2 days;
3 (10) To erect and maintain on each schoolhouse or school grounds a suit-
4 able flagstaff or flagpole, and display thereon the flag of the United States
5 of America on all days, except during inclement weather, when the school is in
6 session; and for each Veterans Day, each school in session shall conduct and
7 observe an appropriate program of at least one (1) class period remembering
8 and honoring American veterans;
9 (11) To prohibit entrance to each schoolhouse or school grounds, to pro-
10 hibit loitering in schoolhouses or on school grounds and to provide for the
11 removal from each schoolhouse or school grounds of any individual or individu-
12 als who disrupt the educational processes or whose presence is detrimental to
13 the morals, health, safety, academic learning or discipline of the pupils. A
14 person who disrupts the educational process or whose presence is detrimental
15 to the morals, health, safety, academic learning or discipline of the pupils
16 or who loiters in schoolhouses or on school grounds, is guilty of a misde-
17 meanor.
18 (12) To supervise and regulate, including by contract with established
19 entities, those extracurricular activities which are by definition outside of
20 or in addition to the regular academic courses or curriculum of a public
21 school, and which extracurricular activities shall not be considered to be a
22 property, liberty or contract right of any student, and such extracurricular
23 activities shall not be deemed a necessary element of a public school educa-
24 tion, but shall be considered to be a privilege.
25 (13) To govern the school district in compliance with state law and rules
26 of the state board of education.
27 (14) To submit to the superintendent of public instruction not later than
28 July 1 of each year documentation which meets the reporting requirements of
29 the federal gun-free schools act of 1994 as contained within the federal
30 improving America's schools act of 1994.
31 (15) To require that all persons hired for the first time by the district
32 or who have been in the employ of the district five (5) years or less, undergo
33 a criminal history check as provided in section 33-130, Idaho Code. All such
34 employees who are required to undergo a criminal history check shall obtain
35 the history check within three (3) months of starting employment, or for
36 employees with five (5) years or less with the district, within three (3)
37 months from the date such employee is notified that he must undergo a criminal
38 history check. Such employees shall pay the cost of the criminal history
39 check. If the criminal history check shows that the employee has been con-
40 victed of a felony crime enumerated in section 33-1208, Idaho Code, it shall
41 be grounds for immediate termination, dismissal or other personnel action of
42 the district, except that it shall be the right of the school district to
43 evaluate whether an individual convicted of one (1) of these crimes and having
44 been incarcerated for that crime shall be hired. The district may require any
45 or all persons who have been employed continuously with the same district for
46 more than five (5) years, to undergo a criminal history check as provided in
47 section 33-130, Idaho Code. If the district elects to require criminal history
48 checks of such employees, the district shall pay the costs of the criminal
49 history check or reimburse employees for such cost. A substitute teacher who
50 has undergone a criminal history check at the request of one (1) district in
51 which he has been employed as a substitute shall not be required to undergo an
52 additional criminal history check at the request of any other district in
53 which he is employed as a substitute if the teacher has obtained a criminal
54 history check within the previous three (3) years. If the district next
55 employing the substitute still elects to require another criminal history
15
1 check within the three (3) year period, that district shall pay the cost of
2 the criminal history check or reimburse the substitute teacher for such cost.
3 (16) Each board of trustees of a school district shall be responsible for
4 developing a system for registering volunteers or contractors consistent with
5 maintaining a safe environment for their students.
6 (17) To provide support for teachers in their first two (2) years in the
7 profession in the areas of: administrative and supervisory support, mentoring,
8 peer assistance and professional development.
9 SECTION 15. That Section 33-1207A, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
10 amended to read as follows:
11 33-1207A. TEACHER PREPARATION. (1) Higher Education Institutions. The
12 state board shall review teacher preparation programs at the institutions of
13 higher education under their supervision and shall assure that the course
14 offerings and graduation requirements are consistent with the state board
15 approved, research based "Idaho Comprehensive Literacy Plan." To assure the
16 most immediate compliance with this requirement, the board may allocate funds,
17 subject to appropriation, to institutions which require revision of the pro-
18 gram.
19 The state board shall be responsible for the development of a single
20 preservice assessment measure for all prekindergarten and all kindergarten
21 through grade eight (8) teacher preparation programs. The assessment must
22 include a demonstration of teaching skills and knowledge congruent with cur-
23 rent research on best reading practices. In addition the assessment must
24 include how children acquire language; the basic sound structure of English,
25 including phonological and phonemic awareness; phonics and structural analy-
26 sis; semantics and syntactics; how to select reading textbooks; and how to use
27 diagnostic tools and test data to improve teaching. It shall also include the
28 preservice teacher's knowledge base of reading process: phonological aware-
29 ness; sound-symbol correspondence (intensive, systematic phonemes); semantics
30 (meaning); syntax (grammar and language patterns); pragmatics (background
31 knowledge and life experience); and comprehension and critical thinking. By
32 September 2002, aAll prekindergarten and K-8 teacher candidates from an Idaho
33 teacher preparation program shall pass this assessment in order to qualify for
34 an Idaho standard elementary teaching certificate. The state board shall
35 report the number of preservice teachers taking and passing the performance-
36 based reading assessment to the legislature and governor annually. All costs
37 associated with administration of this test shall be borne by the institution
38 which administers the test and shall be shown as a line item in the appropria-
39 tion request of the institution for state reimbursement.
40 (2) In-service Programs. Each teacher employed in a classroom for
41 prekindergarten and kindergarten through grade eight (8), Title I, or special
42 education and each school administrator of a school which includes
43 prekindergarten and kindergarten through grade eight (8), Title I, or special
44 education shall complete three (3) credits (or forty-five (45) contact hours
45 of in-service training) of a state approved reading instruction course titled
46 "Idaho Comprehensive Literacy Course" based on the state approved research
47 based "Idaho Comprehensive Literacy Plan" in order to recertify. Courses which
48 qualify for credit shall be approved by the state department of education,
49 and any educator who completes a state approved reading instruction course
50 prior to September 2001, shall be deemed to have met the requirements of this
51 subsection. Completion of a state approved reading instruction course shall be
52 a one-time requirement for renewal of certification for those currently
53 employed in an Idaho school district and shall be included within current
16
1 requirements for continuing education for renewal. The department shall pro-
2 vide a waiver of this requirement if the applicant successfully completes the
3 reading assessment measure developed for preservice purposes as provided in
4 subsection (1) of this section. The department shall establish a procedure to
5 allow a waiver of this requirement if the applicant teaches in a secondary
6 grade subject which does not directly involve teaching reading or writing.
7 The board of trustees of every school district shall include in its plan
8 for in-service training, coursework covering reading skills development,
9 including diagnostic tools to review and adjust instruction continuously, and
10 the ability to identify students who need special help in reading. The dis-
11 trict plan for in-service training in reading skills shall be submitted to the
12 state department of education for review and approval, in a format specified
13 by the department.
14 SECTION 16. That Section 33-1225, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
15 amended to read as follows:
16 33-1225. THREATS OF VIOLENCE -- LIMITATION ON LIABILITY. (1) A communica-
17 tion by any person to a school principal, or designee, or a communication by a
18 student attending the school to the student's teacher, school counselor or
19 school nurse, and any report of that communication to the school principal
20 stating that a specific person has made a threat to commit violence on school
21 grounds by use of a firearm, explosive, or deadly weapon defined in chapter
22 33, title 18, Idaho Code, is a communication on a matter of public concern.
23 Such communication or report shall only be subject to liability in defamation
24 by clear and convincing evidence that the communication or report was made
25 with knowledge of its falsity or with reckless disregard for the truth or fal-
26 sity of the communication or report. This section shall not be interpreted to
27 change or eliminate other elements of defamation required by law.
28 (2) As used in this section, "school" means any public or private school
29 providing instruction in prekindergarten or kindergarten or any grades from
30 grade one (1) through grade twelve (12) which is the subject of a threat.
31 SECTION 17. That Section 33-1302, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
32 amended to read as follows:
33 33-1302. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS. The legislature hereby finds that inter-
34 preting services in Idaho public schools, prekindergarten and kindergarten
35 through grade twelve (12), for students who are deaf, hard of hearing or deaf-
36 blind need to be improved. The absence of state standards for evaluating edu-
37 cational interpreters allows for inconsistencies in the delivery of educa-
38 tional information to students who are in need of such services. The legisla-
39 ture recognizes that educational interpreters in Idaho public schools must not
40 only interpret the spoken word but must also convey concepts and facilitate
41 the student's understanding of the educational material. The legislature also
42 finds that among the many factors that influence student success, there is a
43 correlation between the academic achievements of deaf, hard of hearing and
44 deaf-blind students and the competency of their interpreters. Therefore, the
45 legislature finds that Idaho educational public policy is served by estab-
46 lishing standards for persons employed in the Idaho public schools as educa-
47 tional interpreters.
48 SECTION 18. That Section 33-1303, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
49 amended to read as follows:
17
1 33-1303. DEFINITIONS. The following words and phrases used in this chap-
2 ter are defined as follows:
3 (1) "Board" means the state board of education.
4 (2) "Deaf" means a person who is not able to process information aurally
5 and whose primary means of communication is visual.
6 (3) "Deaf-blind" means a person who is deaf or hard of hearing and who
7 also has significant visual impairment or is legally blind.
8 (4) "Educational interpreter" means a person employed in the Idaho public
9 schools, prekindergarten and kindergarten through grade twelve (12), to pro-
10 vide interpreting services to students who are deaf, hard of hearing or deaf-
11 blind.
12 (5) "Educational interpreter performance assessment" means a
13 statistically valid and reliable assessment tool administered by the boys town
14 national research hospital or its successor organization.
15 (6) "Hard of hearing" means a person who has a hearing deficit, who is
16 able to process information aurally with or without the use of a hearing aid
17 or other device that enhances the ability of the person to hear, and whose
18 primary means of communication may be visual.
19 (7) "Interpreter education program" means a postsecondary degree program
20 of at least two (2) years in duration that is accredited by the state board of
21 education or an equivalent program accredited by another state, district or
22 territory or by a professional accreditation body.
23 (8) "Interpreting" means the process of providing accessible communica-
24 tion between and among persons who are deaf, hard of hearing or deaf-blind,
25 and those who are hearing. The process includes, but is not limited to, commu-
26 nication between American sign language or other form of manual communication
27 and English. The process may also involve various other modalities that
28 involve visual, gestural and tactile methods.
29 SECTION 19. That Section 33-1613, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
30 amended to read as follows:
31 33-1613. SAFE PUBLIC SCHOOL FACILITIES REQUIRED. (1) Definition. As used
32 in this section, "public school facilities" means the physical plant of
33 improved or unimproved real property owned or operated by a school district, a
34 charter school, or a school for children in prekindergarten or in any grades
35 kindergarten through twelve (12) that is operated by the state of Idaho,
36 including school buildings, administration buildings, playgrounds, athletic
37 fields, etc., used by schoolchildren or school personnel in the normal course
38 of providing a general, uniform and thorough system of public, free common
39 schools, but does not include areas, buildings or parts of buildings closed
40 from or not used in the normal course of providing a general, uniform and
41 thorough system of public, free common schools. The aspects of a safe environ-
42 ment conducive to learning as provided by section 33-1612, Idaho Code, that
43 pertain to the physical plant used to provide a general, uniform and thorough
44 system of public, free common schools are hereby defined as those necessary
45 to comply with the safety and health requirements set forth in this section.
46 (2) Inspection. It is the duty of the board of trustees of every school
47 district and the governing body for other schools described in subsection (1)
48 of this section at least once in every school year to require an independent
49 inspection of the school district's or other entity's school facilities to
50 determine whether those school facilities comply with codes addressing safety
51 and health standards for facilities, including electrical, plumbing, mechani-
52 cal, elevator, fire safety, boiler safety, life safety, structural, snow load-
53 ing, and sanitary codes, adopted by or pursuant to the Idaho uniform school
18
1 building safety act, chapter 80, title 39, Idaho Code, adopted by the state
2 fire marshal, adopted by generally applicable local ordinances, or adopted by
3 rule of the state board of education and applicable to school facilities. The
4 inspection shall be done pursuant to chapter 80, title 39, Idaho Code, or by
5 an independent inspector professionally qualified to conduct inspections under
6 the applicable code. The results of the inspection shall be presented to the
7 administrator of the division of building safety and the board of trustees or
8 other governing body for its review and consideration.
9 (3) Abatement required -- Reporting. The board of trustees or other gov-
10 erning body shall require that the unsafe or unhealthy conditions be abated
11 and shall instruct the school district's or other entity's personnel to take
12 necessary steps to abate unsafe or unhealthy conditions. The board of trustees
13 or other governing body must issue a report in the same school year in which
14 the inspections are made declaring whether any unsafe or unhealthy conditions
15 identified have not been abated. The state board of education shall, by rule,
16 provide for uniform reporting of unsafe and unhealthy conditions and for uni-
17 form reporting of abatement or absence of abatement of unsafe and unhealthy
18 conditions. Copies of such reports shall be provided to the administrator of
19 the division of building safety and the board of trustees of the school dis-
20 trict.
21 (4) Costs of and plan of abatement. If the school district or other
22 entity described in subsection (1) of this section can abate all unsafe or
23 unhealthy conditions identified with the funds available to the school dis-
24 trict or other entity, it shall do so, and it need not separately account for
25 the costs of abatement nor segregate funds expended for abatement. If the
26 school district or other entity cannot abate all unsafe or unhealthy condi-
27 tions identified with the funds available to it, the board of trustees or
28 other governing body shall direct that a plan of abatement be prepared. The
29 plan of abatement shall provide a timetable that shall begin no later than the
30 following school year and that shall provide for abatement with all deliberate
31 speed of unsafe and unhealthy conditions identified. The abatement plan shall
32 be submitted to the administrator of the division of building safety. The
33 school district or other entity shall immediately begin to implement its plan
34 of abatement and must separately account for its costs of abatement of unsafe
35 and unhealthy conditions and separately segregate funds for the abatement of
36 unsafe and unhealthy conditions as required by subsection (5) of this sec-
37 tion.
38 (5) Special provisions for implementation of plan of abatement.
39 (a) Notwithstanding any other provisions of law concerning expenditure of
40 lottery moneys distributed to the school district or other entity, all
41 lottery moneys provided to the school district or other entity for a
42 school year in which the school district cannot abate unsafe or unhealthy
43 conditions identified and not legally encumbered to other uses at the time
44 and all lottery moneys for following school years shall be segregated and
45 expended exclusively for abatement of unsafe and unhealthy conditions
46 identified until all of the unhealthy and unsafe conditions identified are
47 abated, provided, if the school district has obtained a loan from the
48 safety and health revolving loan and grant fund, the provisions of section
49 33-1017, Idaho Code, and the conditions of the loan shall determine the
50 use of the school district's lottery moneys during the term of the loan.
51 (b) If the lottery moneys referred to in paragraph (a) of this subsection
52 will, in the board of trustees' or other governing bodies' estimation, be
53 insufficient to abate the unsafe and unhealthy conditions identified, the
54 plan of abatement shall identify additional sources of funds to complete
55 the abatement of the unsafe and unhealthy conditions. The board of
19
1 trustees may choose from among the following sources, or from other
2 sources of its own identification, but the plan of abatement must identify
3 sufficient sources of funds for abatement.
4 (i) If the school district is not levying under chapter 8, title
5 33, Idaho Code, at the maximum levies allowed by law for levies that
6 may be imposed by a board of trustees without an election, the board
7 of trustees may increase any of those levies as allowed by law for
8 the school year following the school year in which it was unable to
9 abate unsafe or unhealthy conditions identified.
10 (ii) If the school district is levying under chapter 8, title 33,
11 Idaho Code, at the maximum levies allowed by law for levies that may
12 be imposed by the board of trustees without an election; or, if after
13 increasing those levies to the maximum levies allowed by law for
14 levies that may be imposed by the board of trustees without an elec-
15 tion, there will still be insufficient funds to abate unsafe or
16 unhealthy conditions identified, the school district, after giving
17 notice and conducting a hearing, may declare a financial emergency
18 and/or may apply for a loan or, if eligible, an interest grant from
19 the safety and health revolving loan and grant fund as provided in
20 section 33-1017, Idaho Code, to obtain funds to abate the unsafe or
21 unhealthy conditions identified.
22 (iii) Upon the declaration of a financial emergency, the board of
23 trustees shall have the power to impose a reduction in force, to
24 freeze some or all salaries in the school district, and/or to suspend
25 some or all contracts that may be legally suspended upon the declara-
26 tion of a financial emergency; provided, that when a board of
27 trustees declares a financial emergency, or when a declaration of a
28 financial emergency is imposed by the state treasurer pursuant to
29 section 33-1017, Idaho Code, and there is a reduction in force, some
30 or all salaries are frozen, or some contracts are suspended, the pay-
31 ments to the school district under the foundation program of chapter
32 10, title 33, Idaho Code, and in particular the staff allowances
33 under that chapter, shall not be reduced during the duration of the
34 financial emergency as a result of a reduction in force, frozen sala-
35 ries, or suspended salaries from what the staff allowance would be
36 without the reduction in force, frozen salaries or suspended con-
37 tracts.
38 (c) All costs of abatement for a program implementing plans of abatement
39 under subsection (5) of this section must be separately accounted for and
40 documented with regard to abatement of each unsafe or unhealthy condition
41 identified. Funds obtained under section 33-1017, Idaho Code, must be used
42 exclusively to abate unsafe or unhealthy conditions identified. Funds
43 obtained pursuant to section 33-1017, Idaho Code, in excess of funds nec-
44 essary to abate unsafe or unhealthy conditions identified must be returned
45 as provided in section 33-1017, Idaho Code. Return of these funds shall be
46 judicially enforceable as provided in section 33-1017, Idaho Code.
47 SECTION 20. That Section 39-8003, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
48 amended to read as follows:
49 39-8003. SCOPE. This act shall apply to all facilities, existing now or
50 constructed in the future, that are owned, leased or used for educational pur-
51 poses by public school districts, charter schools, or a school for children in
52 prekindergarten or in any grades kindergarten through twelve (12) that is
53 operated by the state of Idaho receiving state funding. The authority granted
20
1 under this act shall not prohibit local governments from acting to enforce
2 applicable building and fire codes.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 16700
Amends Section 33-201, Idaho Code, to provide that "school age"
is defined as including all residents between the ages of four
and 21 years of age. Further provides that for purposes of this
legislation, four years of age must be attained before the 1st
day of September. Provides technical corrections.
FISCAL
None. This legislation does not authorize the expenditure of any
General Fund dollars.
CONTACTS:
Senator Tom Gannon 332-1330 Representative Carlos Bilbao 332-1249
Senator John Andreason 332-1333 Representative Mack Shirley 332-1228
Senator Tim Corder 332-1393 Representative Mark A. Snodgrass 332-1223
Senator Gary J. Schroeder 332-1323 Representative Tom Trail 332-1260
Senator Mike Burkett 332-1383 Representative Liz Chavez 332-1243
Senator Kate Kelly 332-1382 Representative Donna Pence 332-1271
Senator Edgar Malepeai 332-1409 Representative John Rusche 332-1255
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE S 1079
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