# Idaho State Department of Education

The Idaho Department of Education is an executive agency of the Idaho state education system. The department is responsible for public elementary and secondary school matters as provided by Title 33, Idaho Code, or as determined by the Idaho State Board of Education. It is headquartered in the state capital, Boise, Idaho.
The Idaho Department of Education is helmed by the Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction, an elected official.
Each year the Idaho Department of Education serves more than 300,000 students, at 736 schools, across 115 districts.

## Superintendents of Public Instruction

The Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction is an elected official and chief executive officer of the Idaho Department of Education responsible for carrying out the policies, procedures, and duties authorized by law or established by the Board for all public elementary and secondary school matters.
The office of superintendent is established in the Idaho Constitution Article IV, Section 1; "The executive department shall consist of a governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state controller, state treasurer, attorney general and superintendent of public instruction, each of whom shall hold his office for four years beginning on the first Monday in January next after his election, commencing with those elected in the year 1946..."
Before 1946, Idaho superintendents of public instruction were elected every two years.
State Government (1890–present) :
| Name | Party Affiliation | Tenure | Notes |
| Critchfield, Debbie | R | 01/02/2023 to present | Elected 2022 |
| Ybarra, Sherri | R | 01/05/2015 to 01/02/2023 | Elected 2014; reelected 2018 |
| Luna, Tom | R | 01/01/2007 to 1/04/2015 | Elected 2006; reelected 2010 |
| Howard, Marilyn | D | 01/04/1999 to 01/01/2007 | Elected 1998; reelected 2002 |
| Fox, Anne C. | R | 01/02/1995 to 01/04/1999 | Elected 1994 |
| Evans, Jerry L. | R | 01/01/1979 to 01/02/1995 | Elected 1978; reelected 1982, 1986, 1990 |
| Truby, Roy F. | D | 01/06/1975 to 01/01/1979 | Elected 1974 |
| Engelking, D.F. | D | 01/05/1959 to 01/06/1975 | Elected 1958; reelected 1962, 1966, 1970 |
| Jones, Alton B. | R | 01/06/1947 to 01/05/1959 | Elected 1946; reelected 1950, 1954 |
| Sullivan, G.C. | D | 01/01/1945 to 01/06/1947 | Elected 1944 |
| Chatburn, Acel H. | R | 03/13/1944 to 01/01/1945 | Appointed to fill vacancy |
| Roberts, C.E. | D | 01/06/1941 to 03/13/1944 | Elected 1940; reelected 1942; resigned 3/13/1944 |
| Condie, John W. | D | 01/02/1933 to 01/06/1941 | Elected 1932; reelected 1934, 1936, 1938 |
| Davis, Myrtle R. | R | 01/07/1929 to 01/02/1933 | Elected 1928; reelected 1930 |
| Lyman, Mabelle McConnell | R | 01/03/1927 to 01/07/1929 | Elected 1926 |
| Russum, Elizabeth | R | 01/01/1923 to 01/03/1927 | Elected 1922; reelected 1924 |
| Redfield, Ethel E. | R | 01/01/1917 to 01/01/1923 | Elected 1916; reelected 1918, 1920 |
| McCoy, Bernice | R | 01/04/1915 to 01/01/1917 | Elected 1914 |
| Shepherd, Grace M. | R | 01/02/1911 to 01/04/1915 | Elected 1910; reelected 1913 |
| Chamberlain, S. Belle | R | 01/07/1907 to 01/02/1911 | Elected 1906; reelected 1908 |
| Scott, May L. | R | 01/05/1903 to 01/07/1907 | Elected 1902; reelected 1904 |
| French, Permeal | D | 01/01/1899 to 01/05/1903 | Elected 1898; reelected 1900 |
| Anderson, Louis N.B. | P-D | 01/04/1897 to 01/02/1899 | Elected 1896 |
| Foresman, C.A. | R | 01/07/1895 to 01/04/1897 | Elected 1894 |
| Lower, B.B. | R | 01/02/1893 to 01/07/1895 | Elected 1892 |
| Harroun, Joseph | R | 01/05/1891 to 01/02/1893 | Elected 1890 |
Territorial Government (1863-1890) :
| Name | Start Date |
| Stevenson, Charles C. | 11 February 1889 |
| Moody, Silas W. | 11 February 1887 |
| Bishop, W.R. | 25 July 1866 |
| Chittenden, J.R. | 23 December 1864 |

## Organization

Following is the management hierarchy for the Idaho Department of Education.
Office of the Superintendent
* Superintendent of Public Instruction
** Chief Deputy Superintendent
*** Deputy Superintendent, Operations
*** Deputy Superintendent, Communications and Policy
Communications and Policy
* Deputy Superintendent, Communications and Policy
Operations
* Deputy Superintendent, Operations
** Director, Accountability
** Director, Assessment
** Director, Federal Programs
** Director, Content and Curriculum
** Director, Special Education
** Coordinator, School Choice
** Coordinator, Indian Education
Management and Educational Services
* Chief Deputy Superintendent
** Management Assistant
** Chief Financial Officer, Public School Finance
** Associate Deputy, Chief Financial Officer
** Contracts and Procurement Officer
** Director, Certification and Professional Standards
** Director, Student Engagement and Safety Coordination
** Director, Child Nutrition Programs
** Director, Student Transportation
** Director, Human Resources and Employment

## Responsibilities

The Idaho Department of Education implements policies, distributes funds, administers statewide assessments, licenses educators, and provides accountability data for all kindergarten through grade-12 public instruction.
Idaho K-12 charter schools are managed by the Idaho Public Charter School Commission and abide by independent reporting and funding procedures, however, the Idaho Department of Education works closely with the commission to ensure access, equability, and accountability across all Idaho education efforts. This extends to the inclusion of charter schools in the Idaho Schools "report card" tool, which aggregates performance, progress, and enrollment data for all Idaho public schools.

## Programs

The Idaho Department of Education supports Idaho schools and students through its work in fourteen areas.
* Accounting
* Assessment & Accountability
** Idaho Reading Indicator
** ISAT Comprehensive Assessment System
* Certification and Professional Standards
* Child Nutrition Programs
** Child and Adult Care Food Program
** School Meals Programs
** Summer Food Service Program
* Content & Curriculum
** Idaho Content Standards
* Federal Programs
** Educator Effectiveness
** English Learner Program/Title III
** Title I, Title II, Title IV, Title V, Title IX
* Idaho Indian Education
* Mastery Education
* Public School Finance
* School Choice
** Alternative Schools
** Home School
** Magnet School
* Special Education
** Results Driven Accountability Monitoring System
* Student Engagement & Safety Coordination
** Advanced Opportunities
** Driver Education
** Idaho Lives Project (in collaboration with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare)
** School Health Services Program
* Student Transportation
* Technology Services
** E-rate
** Broadband Program

## Challenges

Of the 44 counties in Idaho, seven are urban and 37 are rural as classified by the Idaho Department of Labor. That translates to three quarters of the school districts in Idaho being recognized as rural, per the Idaho statute definition. The schools in these rural areas are regularly challenged to find and retain effective teachers to meet the needs of all of their students, transport students quickly and safely to and from school, and respond to unexpected personnel or technology needs in order to deliver uninterrupted instruction.
In 2021, the statewide high school graduation rate was 80.1 percent while the college enrollment rate was 37 percent. In rural schools, these rates tend to be lower.

## Idaho State Board of Education

The general supervision, governance, and control of the state educational institutions and public school system of the State of Idaho, as with the education system's executive agencies, are vested in the Idaho State Board of Education (SBOE). State statute requires that this Board "...shall consist of the state superintendent of public instruction, who shall be an ex officio voting member and who shall serve as executive secretary of the board for all elementary and secondary school matters..."
Board Members may be contacted through the Office of the State Board of Education. Current members of the Board include:
* Dr. Linda Clark, President
* Bill Gilbert
* Shawn Keough
* Kurt Liebich
* Dr. David Hill
* Cally Roach
* Cindy Siddoway
* Debbie Critchfield