Purpose.
The State Department of Education is established by Section 33 125, Idaho Code, as an executive agency of the State Board of Education for elementary and secondary school matters.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction.
The state superintendent of public instruction is an elected public official, serves as the executive secretary of the Board, and is the chief executive officer of the State Department of Education. The state superintendent of public instruction (hereinafter known as the "superintendent") is responsible for carrying out the policies, procedures, and duties authorized by applicable state and federal statutes and the policies and procedures of the Board for the elementary and secondary schools in Idaho.
Department Organization.
The State Department of Education (hereinafter known as the "department") is organized in a manner as determined by the Board acting on recommendations by the superintendent.The Board allows payments to be made to staff members of the department for consultative services to agencies or organizations other than the public elementary and secondary schools. Such payments may be in addition to the certified salary of the employee and be made during the periods for which any regular salary is paid, as determined by the superintendent. Consultative services must not interfere with the time or duties of the staff member for the department. Requests to undertake consultative services must be submitted to the superintendent or his or her designee and to the Board for prior approval.
Policy Manual for Idaho Public Schools.
The superintendent or his or her designee is responsible for the development, establishment, maintenance, and dissemination of the State Board of Education Rules and Regulations for Public Schools K 12 as approved by the Board. The procedures used to establish, amend, or otherwise modify the Policy Manual will be in accordance with applicable state laws.
Internal Policies and Procedures.
The superintendent, as the chief executive officer, may establish such additional policies and procedures for the internal management of the department as are necessary.
Basic Educational Technology Standards for Continuing Educators.
The proliferation of technology in our daily lives makes it essential that all students are provided an opportunity to become technologically literate. The State Board of Education has established a statewide goal that teachers and administrators be trained in the use of technology for education. This policy was created as a plan of action which provides recognition, encouragement and documentation of demonstrated competencies for educators and school districts by certificates of achievement and by school accreditation.
a. Requirements
By July 1, 1999, the Department of Education will develop and implement a system of accreditation standards and accountability and require reporting on certificated personnel demonstrating mastery of the required basic technology standards.
By July 1, 1999, all Idaho school districts will have in place a plan that ensures that at least 90% of certificated personnel will meet the technology standards for the school by the completion of the school year 2000-2001. After 2001, administrators, through their respective school districts, will be required to provide specific justification for any certificated personnel who have not met the technology standards.
By July 1, 1999, each public school must have educational technology competencies as part of the annual professional development plan for each certificated personnel employed by the district. The plan will support successful mastery of the required basic technology standards by the completion of the school year 2000-2001.
b. Procedures
Certificated personnel and school districts will be able to use the Idaho Technology Competency Exam, the Idaho Technology Portfolio Assessment, or another process which meets the approval of the State Board of Education to demonstrate the required basic technology competencies.
c. Technology Standards and Assessments
The standards will be based on the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) foundational standards. The assessments will include the Idaho Technology Competency Exam, the Idaho Technology Portfolio Assessment or another process which meets the approval of the State Board of Education. The approval process of an alternative assessment is as follows:
The proposed assessment will be presented to the Board staff who will collaborate with the state approved Colleges of Education to review the proposed assessment for validation and reliability to ensure that what is being required demonstrates mastery of the competencies of ISTE.
A recommendation will be made by the Board’s staff to the Board based on the review.
d. Accountability and Recognition
All state approved teacher education institutions or their trained designees (i.e., state department employees, district employees or community college faculty) will issue a State Certificate of Educational Technology Competency to those certificated personnel who have documented mastery of the required basic technology standards.
The State Department of Education will issue annually a State Certificate of a Technology School of Excellence to those schools documenting that at least 90% of the certificated staff have earned the State Certificate of Educational Technology Competency.
The State Department of Education will provide the State Board of Education an annual report on certificated personnel demonstrating mastery of the required basic technology standards by state, by district, and by school beginning with a baseline skill inventory that identifies the number of certificated personnel who have already demonstrated competency by the approved assessments. The results of this baseline will be available for Board review at the September 1998 Board meeting. Reports will continue annually on September 1999 through September of 2001 providing current data from the 1998-1999 school year and continuing through the 2000-2001 school year. The baseline and each annual report will include the following information by state, by district, and by school:
Information from the annual reports may be used to inform the citizens of Idaho of the relative standing of each school and each school district. The information will also be used to give proper recognition to schools making excellent progress towards or achieving the Board’s goal. The Board staff will evaluate the policy annually.
Reading Assessment Results.
During the pilot or phase-in implementation period of the Reading Initiative assessments for grades K - 3, based on the standards of the Idaho Comprehensive Literacy Plan required by Idaho Code Section 33-1614, the Department of Education is directed to carry out the following.
a. Each school district must notify parents of children who score "Below Grade Level Proficiency" on either the fall or winter assessment. The notice will be sent each year and must include appropriate information about the district's remediation plans including:
b. Each school district must gather data to report by school and district to the Department of Education in such a way that it can be disaggregated to examine the progress of students by categories recognized as needing extra funding for success. The categories include limited English proficient (LEP), migrant, Hispanic, Native American, and those identified through criteria established by special education and Title I.
c. School districts having 25 percent or more of their K-3 student population assessed as "Below Grade Level Proficiency" by total average skill points on the Idaho Reading Indicator for any or all such grades will apply to the State Department of Education for technical assistance to develop a plan to improve reading performance in the areas of deficiency. Such applications will occur within 30 days of such notice and will be reported on forms provided by the State Department of Education.
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