The Idaho Public Charter School Commission approved two new schools Thursday, one that commissioners had previously denied, and encountered legal uncertainty when looking at conditions placed on struggling schools.
The commission, which meets every other month, approved a new classical academy in Heyburn and approved a statewide online charter school.
Commissioners also evaluated operating conditions on five schools that failed to meet academic standards. Commissioners voted not to take action against the first three schools, then changed course in their decisions for the final next school following concerns from legal counsel.
The attorney advised that the commissioner waive conditions — rather than tabling action — on Peace Valley Charter School because of of the way its contract is written. The school can continue to operate until 2028, even though only 27% of students are proficient at math and 44% of students are proficient at English language arts.
Commissioners also approved expanding Richard McKenna Charter School’s online offerings to include seventh and eighth grade.
New schools approved
The commission approved two new schools Thursday: Riverton Classical Academy, set to open in Heyburn in the fall of 2027, and Trailhead Virtual Preparatory Academy, a statewide career-technical K-12 online school.
Trailhead initially applied for approval in August 2024. Commissioners raised concerns about student demand, the team’s financial projections and program readiness at their December 2024 meeting. The Trailhead team returned in April to provide more information, but the commission rejected their application, citing a lack of innovation and financial concerns.
Commissioner Wally Hedrick was among the most vocal in opposing the school, in part due to the fact that Trailhead will partner with ACCEL Education, a private virtual school company. Hedrick voiced a preference for virtual schools to be built by Idaho educators, not run through third-party companies.
Trailhead appealed the decision but reversed course after confusion during an administrative hearing and reached an agreement with the commission to reconsider.
On Thursday, attorney Chris Yorgason argued Trailhead met all the legal requirements to receive a charter and therefore the commission must approve it.
“We believe that we’ve done what we need to do in order to get approved for a charter,” Yorgason told the commission.
Hedrick again raised concerns over ACCEL, noting the company walked away from a contract with the Idaho Falls School District after operating a virtual school for the district during the 2023-24 academic year.
“Their explanation was operational and financial,” Hedrick said. “That concerns me.”
He went on to argue that, in education, making money shouldn’t be the driving force; educating students should be.
Trailhead representatives argued the Idaho Falls issue was due to poor relationships with the district, but declined to say more in a public meeting.
Eventually, Trailhead was approved for a six-year term starting in July 2026, with Hedrick as the sole no vote.
Riverton Classical Academy is the latest of four Hillsdale schools the commission has approved.
The school is a part of the American Classical Schools of Idaho and will use curriculum from Hillsdale College, a conservative Christian college in Michigan.
The school is set to open in the fall 2027 with a building big enough to accommodate 702 students in grades K-12, planned for 17.3 acres of donated land just off the freeway in Heyburn. The school team said they already have more than 700 interested students. The area doesn’t have any charter schools.
The commission unanimously approved the school.
Charter condition confusion
Typically, the commission approves charter schools for a six-year term. When charters return for renewal, the commission looks at financial health and student success. If there are concerns, the commission can conditionally renew the school’s charter.
The school must then meet those conditions, typically over the course of the next year. If the school does not meet the conditions, it returns to the commission, which can then initiate the revocation process.
On Thursday, commissioners ran into confusion over the other option: waiving the conditions. Historically, if the commission wanted to give schools another chance, it would waive conditions, allowing the school to operate for up to five years without a check on student performance.
This month, commissioners instead took no action on conditions at three schools: Blackfoot Charter, Inspire (Empower) Connections Academy and Monticello Montessori Charter School.
Blackfoot Charter did not meet the 2% year-over-year test score improvement conditions in four areas:
- Math proficiency: Declined from 28% to 23.3%.
- Math growth: Declined from 44% to 39%.
- ELA proficiency: Slight increase from 36% to 37.8%.
- ELA growth: Decreased from 59% to 52.7%.
Empower Connection Academy did not meet one condition:
- Math proficiency: 13.6% proficient, which is 2.4% below the meets standard benchmark.
Monticello Montessori Charter School did not meet one condition:
- Literacy proficiency: 47.3% of students were proficient in the fall and 56.3% were proficient in the spring, which falls below the commission’s benchmark.
The commission unanimously took no action on all three schools’ conditions, giving administrators one year to meet the standards before returning to the commission next winter, when the commissioners could initiate school closures if they did not see improvement.
“A year is not very long to see improvement in a school,” said Commissioner Paul Amador, before acknowledging the commission has a duty to protect students and the state’s investment. “I don’t want to kick the can down the road forever.”
Of the schools with conditions, Blackfoot, Peace Valley and Monticello are receiving training and help from the Increased Charter Support Program, run by the commission and the Idaho Department of Education. A fifth school operating under conditions, Project Impact STEM Academy in Meridian, decided to close at the end of this school year.
Commissioners said they understand it takes time to turn the tide when it comes to test scores.
Peace Valley Charter School has two unmet conditions.
- ELA proficiency: 43.6% of students are proficient.
- Math proficiency: 27.5% of students are proficient.
Hedrick motioned to take no action but was stopped by the commission’s legal counsel, who said she wasn’t sure if that violated their contract with the school. After some back and forth, the commission unanimously voted to waive Peace Valley’s conditions until 2028.
Executive Director Rachel Burk said the commission has to re-evaluate how to approach conditions and plan to consult with its deputy attorney general.
“We’re not quite sure where it stands,” Burk said.
