Several Board of Education members have raised questions about how the new tiered teacher licensing rules would affect new teachers coming to Idaho from out of state – and whether they’d hurt Idaho’s efforts to attract teachers from out of state. They’d get the same treatment as Idaho teachers in their first three years, and would be required to meet an array of accountability requirements to gain licensing; initially, they’d get a provisional residency license. “I think that the intent was that there  be fairness with respect to the teachers that were in-state,” board member Rod Lewis said.

Board member Debbie Critchfield asked, “What provisions are there … to help mentor and make sure that we give everyone a fair opportunity?” Lewis responded, “Mentoring was a major part of the recommendations that came out of the committee.

Board member Richard Westerberg, said, “I think the whole reason we have the residency mechanism in tiered licensure was to ensure that we have a quality product, a quality teacher, when we give them certification. So that same logic would be true even when we have an out-o- state teacher come in. We still want to make sure we have a quality candidate, because they haven’t gone through our residency.”