Idaho Gov. Butch Otter has vetoed legislation that would have allowed charter schools to hire administrators who do not have the same certificate required by public school officials to earn.
Otter says he vetoed the measure because charter schools need strong instructional leaders just as much as public school schools. The governor added that asking educators to follow an administrator who does not have experience in the education field undervalues the teaching profession.
Supporters of the bill had countered that charter schools need more flexibility to make effective hires.
Under the proposal, charter administrators would be required to have either five years of teaching experience, or five years of experience running a public charter, or completion of a “nationally recognized charter school leaders fellowship.”
Wednesday’s action marks Otter’s second veto of an education-related bill from the 2018 legislative session.
Earlier this week he nixed a measure that would have removed the Idaho Reading Indicator from the list criteria school districts could consider as evidence of student growth, for purposes of teacher evaluations. Under the state’s new teacher career ladder, those evaluations are tied to teachers’ raises. (AP, Spokesman-Review))
