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Idaho

Verified against current sources (2026-05-08) Cite this page ↓

Idaho offers Bilingual Education both as a standalone certification and as an add-on endorsement; ELD/ESL is available both as a standalone license and as an add-on endorsement. SEI training is not mandated for all teachers. As of 2021, 5.8% of public-school students are classified English Learners (NCES). Re-verified against current SEA sources on 2026-05-08.

5.8%
classified ELs (2021-10-01)
view trend →
Bil + ELD
credential types offered

Credentials

Bilingual Education Endorsement

  • Standalone certification
  • Add-on endorsement
Approved program
Required
Coursework
Required
Practicum
Required
Subject test
Required
Language proficiency
Required

Bilingual Education (K-12) endorsement (code 7038). Issued via SBOE-approved EPP program (e.g., BSU, NNU) per the OSBE-approved endorsement programs matrix. IDAPA 08.02.02 §021 requires credit hours + a state-board-approved content/pedagogy/performance assessment + supervised clinical experience for any standard endorsement; the Institutional Recommendation form (Jan 2025) requires a Praxis content assessment per endorsement. Idaho Standards for Bilingual Education Teachers (in the 2018 Standards for Initial Certification doc, still operative for this discipline) Standard 4(a) requires program-verified L1 and L2 academic language proficiency.

ESL Endorsement

  • Standalone certification
  • Add-on endorsement
Approved program
Required
Coursework
Required
Practicum
Required
Subject test
Required

English as a Second Language (ESL) (K-12) endorsement (code 7126). The SDE *English Learner Program Manual* (2025) uses the term 'English as a New Language (ENL)' for the corresponding teaching assignment codes; both names refer to the same 7126 endorsement. Same IDAPA 08.02.02 §021 requirements (coursework + content assessment + supervised clinical experience) apply.

Sheltered English Instruction (SEI)

Not mandated for all teachers.

No Idaho statute or SBOE rule mandates that all certified teachers obtain an EL/SEI endorsement. ESL/ENL and Bilingual remain voluntary specializations. The SDE EL Program Manual (2025) recommends professional development for all language and content teachers but does not impose an SEA-level mandate.

State policy signals

Seal of Biliteracy

Recognition for graduating students proficient in English plus another language.

Adopted in 2020.

Source: sealofbiliteracy.org (opens in a new tab)

ELP assessment

Annual English Language Proficiency test used for EL identification and reclassification.

ACCESS for ELLs · WIDA Consortium member.

Source: wida.wisc.edu (opens in a new tab)

History of licensure

Dated policy and verification events shaping this state's EL teacher credentials.

  1. EPAA 29(100) document analysis (Leider, Colombo & Nerlino, 2021)

    Leider, Colombo & Nerlino published in Education Policy Analysis Archives 29(100) a comprehensive document analysis of every state and DC's bilingual, ELD/ESL, and SEI teacher-credentialing requirements, professional teaching standards mentions, and EL-percentage figures, based on primary SEA sources collected October–December 2019. The 2019 coding of Idaho's EL-credentialing landscape is preserved as a temporally-anchored research baseline against which the catalog's later verifications are framed.

    doi.org (opens in a new tab)

  2. Idaho adopts the State Seal of Biliteracy

    House Bill 433 (2020) authorized the Idaho Seal of Biliteracy on the high-school diploma for graduates demonstrating proficiency in English plus one or more world languages, administered through the Idaho SDE.

    sealofbiliteracy.org (opens in a new tab)

  3. Idaho updates Standards for Initial Certification (program-approval date)

    The 2024 edition of the *Idaho Standards for Initial Certification of Professional School Personnel* (program-approval date July 1, 2022) updates the Idaho Core Teaching Standards and adds Comprehensive Literacy Standards. The 2018 edition's discipline standards for Bilingual Education and ESL teachers remain operative for those endorsements.

    boardofed.idaho.gov (opens in a new tab)

  4. SDE issues updated English Learner Program Manual

    Idaho SDE published the 08/01/2025 update of the *English Learner Program Manual*. The 'Idaho ESL and Bilingual Teacher Certification' assignment-code table (pp. 40–42) confirms Bilingual (K-12) endorsement code 7038 and ESL/ENL (K-12) code 7126, and confirms Idaho's WIDA Consortium membership (ACCESS for ELLs / WIDA Screener).

    sde.idaho.gov (opens in a new tab)

Sources

  1. [1] Idaho State Department of Education (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2019-11-15 (via Leider et al. 2021)
  2. [2] Leider, Colombo & Nerlino (2021), EPAA 29(100). Tables 2-5 + Appendix A. (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2019-11-15 (via Leider et al. 2021)
  3. [3] IDAPA 08.02.02 — Rules Governing Uniformity (State Board of Education). §017 Content/Pedagogy Assessment, §021 Endorsements. (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-08
  4. [4] IDAPA 08.02.03 — Rules Governing Thoroughness (State Board of Education). (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-08
  5. [5] Idaho State Board of Education — Approved Educator Preparation Provider Initial Certificate Endorsement Programs matrix. (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-08
  6. [6] Idaho Standards for Initial Certification of Professional School Personnel (2018 ed.) — Foundation Standards for Bilingual Education and ESL Teachers; discipline standards for Bilingual and ESL Teachers. (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-08
  7. [7] Idaho Standards for Initial Certification of Professional School Personnel (2024 update; July 1, 2022 program-approval date) — Idaho Core Teaching Standards + Comprehensive Literacy Standards. (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-08
  8. [8] Idaho SDE — English Learner Program Manual (updated 08/01/2025). 'Idaho ESL and Bilingual Teacher Certification' assignment-code table (pp. 40–42). (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-07
  9. [9] Idaho SDE — How Do I Add an Endorsement to a Current, Valid Idaho Teaching Credential? (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-07
  10. [10] Idaho SDE — List of Idaho Endorsements (Standard Instructional Certificate; includes Bilingual Education K-12 and ESL K-12). (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-07
  11. [11] Idaho SDE — Institutional Recommendation for an Idaho Education Credential (form, updated 2025-01-30). Section II requires Praxis content/pedagogy assessment per endorsement. (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-07
  12. [12] NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2023, Table 204.20 — English learners enrolled in public elementary and secondary schools, by state, fall 2011 through fall 2021. Idaho fall 2021 = 5.8%. (opens in a new tab) — retrieved 2026-05-08

Cite this page

Site content is published under CC BY 4.0. When citing a fact from this page, please cite both projectcert and the original Leider et al. (2021) paper the dataset extends.

APA
projectcert. (2026, May 8). Idaho EL teacher certification. https://projectcert.org/states/id/
Leider, C. M., Colombo, M. W., & Nerlino, E. (2021). Decentralization, teacher quality, and the education of English learners: Do state education agencies effectively prepare teachers of ELs? Education Policy Analysis Archives, 29(100). https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.29.5279
BibTeX
@misc{projectcert_id_2026,
  author  = {{projectcert}},
  title   = {{Idaho EL teacher certification}},
  year    = {2026},
  url     = {https://projectcert.org/states/id/},
  urldate = {2026-05-08},
  note    = {Last verified 2026-05-08}
}
@article{leider2021decentralization,
  author  = {Leider, Christine M. and Colombo, Michaela W. and Nerlino, Erika},
  title   = {{Decentralization, teacher quality, and the education of English learners: Do state education agencies effectively prepare teachers of ELs?}},
  journal = {Education Policy Analysis Archives},
  volume  = {29},
  number  = {100},
  year    = {2021},
  doi     = {10.14507/epaa.29.5279}
}

See the methodology for how these data were collected, or the glossary for term definitions.