Kootenai Technical Education Campus (KTEC) is a public career and technical center for high-school juniors and seniors in the Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls and Lakeland school districts. It does not enroll adults: every student must be enrolled at a member high school, and homeschool and private-school students attend by enrolling for three periods at one. Adults looking for these trades can train with North Idaho College, which has its own building next door (see the last section).
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Type | Public regional professional-technical high school, run jointly by the Coeur d’Alene, Lakeland and Post Falls school districts; in person only |
| Who can enroll | Juniors and seniors enrolled at a member high school, including homeschool and private-school students enrolled there for three periods. No adult enrollment |
| Location | 1 campus: 6838 W. Lancaster Rd., Rathdrum, ID 83858. Dental Assistant meets at NIC’s Workforce Training Center in Post Falls; HVAC uses NIC’s lab next door |
| Programs | 13 for high-school students |
| Credentials | No diploma, degree or college certificate; students graduate from their home high school. Programs prepare for exams such as the Idaho nursing assistant certification and the AMT Registered Dental Assistant exam, and completers can earn a KTEC Certificate |
| Typical length | Two years, one three-period session a day (Dental Assistant: one year, seniors only) |
| Accreditation | None claimed; credits are recorded at the home high school |
| Cost | No tuition for students at member high schools |
| Federal aid | None (high school, no tuition) |
| Students | About 650 juniors and seniors (2026-27 student handbook) |
| Opened | August 2012 |
| Facts checked | October 2026 |
A shared technical high school for three North Idaho districts
KTEC is a regional professional-technical high school on a 20-acre site in Rathdrum. The Coeur d’Alene, Lakeland and Post Falls districts formed it in 2007 with local manufacturers, voters in the three districts passed a $9.5 million levy in 2010, and the 54,000-square-foot campus opened in August 2012. Students from eight high schools come by bus for one three-period session a day and take their other classes at their home school. KTEC’s 2026-27 student handbook puts enrollment at about 650 juniors and seniors. The districts share the cost in proportion to their size: Coeur d’Alene 51%, Post Falls 26% and Lakeland 23% in 2025, per Idaho Education News.
That money depends on local levies. Lakeland’s levy failed in 2023 and again in November 2024, putting its share at risk, before voters approved a $7.5 million supplemental levy on 20 May 2025, KXLY reported. In May 2025 KTEC said it planned to add three class blocks, raising enrollment by about a third if the levies passed; enlarging the building would need bonds to pass in all three districts on the same day.
13 programs, all for high-school juniors and seniors
KTEC offers the 13 programs below. All are high-school courses: each semester earns 2.5 professional-technical credits, recorded at the student’s home high school. KTEC says over 90% of its programs have a college-credit option, but most course pages do not say which college or how many credits. Completers can earn a KTEC Certificate, which requires the state technical skill assessment and an 80% average over four semesters; an Honor Cord requires passing an industry certification, the workplace readiness assessment and a 90% average.
| Program | Length and who | Where | Exam or credential it prepares for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health Professions/CNA | 2 years (Intro to Health Professions, then CNA) | Rathdrum | Idaho State Nursing Assistant Certification exam; AHA CPR; Stop the Bleed |
| Health Professions/MA | 2 years (Intro to Health Professions, then MA) | Rathdrum | A national medical assistant certification (certifying body not named); AHA CPR |
| Dental Assistant | 1 year, seniors only | NIC Workforce Training Center, Post Falls | AMT Registered Dental Assistant (RDA) exam |
| Automotive Technology | 2 years | Rathdrum | Industry certifications (none named); ASE-certified instructor |
| Diesel Technology | 2 years | Rathdrum | Industry certifications (none named) |
| Auto Body Collision & Repair (NIC) | Not stated | Not stated | None named; KTEC says training is in a facility approved by I-CAR and ASE |
| Construction Trades | 2 years | Rathdrum | Industry certifications (none named) |
| Plumbing | 2 years | Rathdrum and offsite projects | First year of classroom instruction for NIC’s four-year Apprentice Plumbing program |
| HVAC (at NIC) | Not stated | NIC’s HVAC lab, Parker Technical Education Center | HVAC 165, 3 NIC credits (dual credit); no KTEC HVAC credential |
| Industrial Welding & Metal Fabrication | 2 years | Rathdrum | Industry certifications built on AWS standards (none named) |
| Automated Manufacturing & Design | 2 years | Rathdrum | None named |
| Cyber Security | 2 years | Rathdrum | CompTIA A+ and Network+ |
| Industrial Millwright | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
What the main programs cover
Health Professions: CNA and medical assistant
Both health tracks start with a first-year Introduction to Health Professions course that includes American Heart Association CPR. In the CNA second year, students do supervised clinicals in long-term care, with acute care possible for those who meet extra requirements, and prepare for the Idaho State Nursing Assistant Certification exam; they also take Stop the Bleed and a dual-credit Medical Terminology course, and can earn an optional Assistance with Medications certification. The MA second year includes a 160-hour externship under a clinical preceptor and prepares students for a national medical assistant certification, though KTEC does not name the certifying body.
Dental Assistant in Post Falls
Dental Assistant is a one-year program for seniors, who apply during their junior year. It meets at North Idaho College’s Workforce Training Center in Post Falls, Monday to Wednesday from 7:30 to 9:30, and students get themselves there. The fall semester includes 20 hours of job shadowing and the spring a 75-hour externship, both on Thursdays and Fridays. The program prepares students for the AMT Registered Dental Assistant exam.
Plumbing and HVAC with North Idaho College
The two-year plumbing program counts as the first year of classroom instruction in North Idaho College’s four-year Apprentice Plumbing program, a step toward an Idaho journeyman plumber licence. Students work on campus and offsite Habitat for Humanity projects. Since fall 2017, HVAC students have walked to NIC’s lab next door to take HVAC 165, a three-credit dual-credit course that eases entry into the second semester of NIC’s nine-month HVAC Intermediate Technical Certificate, per the Idaho Division of Career Technical Education.
Welding and manufacturing
Industrial Welding & Metal Fabrication follows American Welding Society standards and is taught by an AWS-certified instructor. Students learn oxy-acetylene cutting (OAC) and shielded metal arc (SMAW), gas metal arc (GMAW) and gas tungsten arc (GTAW) welding, plus blueprint reading, layout and metallurgy, and work toward industry certifications, though the course page names none. Automated Manufacturing & Design covers basic SolidWorks 3D modeling and programming, setting up and running CNC machines; students build guitars. No credential is named for it.
Automotive, diesel and collision repair
Automotive Technology and Diesel Technology are two-year programs whose instructors hold ASE certification (NATEF/ASE for diesel). Both say students earn industry certifications without naming them, and the automotive page claims no ASE Education Foundation accreditation. Auto Body Collision & Repair, which KTEC lists with North Idaho College, covers paint preparation, bolt-on parts, dent and plastic repair, MIG welding, frame and unibody measuring, and estimating, in a facility KTEC says is approved by I-CAR and ASE. Its course page gives no length and does not say where it meets.
Cyber Security and construction
Cyber Security, whose course page sits at a “computer repair and networking” address, prepares students for CompTIA A+ and Network+, which are computer support and networking certifications; no security certification such as Security+ is named. Construction Trades is a two-year residential carpentry program covering foundations, framing and roofing, and takes students through a house from plans to market. It says students earn industry certifications but names none.
No tuition for students at member high schools
There is no tuition for students at member high schools, because KTEC is part of Idaho’s public school system, per KTEC’s FAQ. There is no out-of-district or out-of-state rate, since only students at member high schools can attend, and no federal student aid. We found no published list of program fees: the 2026-27 handbook says only that students buy their own locker locks and that KTEC carries no student insurance. Certification exam fees, tools and any charge for college credit are not listed, so ask the program. Buses between the home high schools and KTEC are free; Dental Assistant students make their own way to Post Falls.
How students apply and when classes meet
Students apply in their sophomore year to start as juniors; Dental Assistant applicants apply in their junior year. The application is an online form on KTEC’s site, and we found no published deadlines, seat counts or selection criteria. Seats are in demand: some high schools always fill their allotted spots, and KTEC had a waitlist in May 2025. Per the 2026-27 student handbook, sessions run 7:15 to 9:15 a.m., 9:55 to 11:55 a.m. and 12:30 to 2:30 p.m., and off-campus programs may keep different times. Students may miss no more than nine classes per course per semester (a tenth needs an appeal), three tardies count as one unexcused absence, and 60% is needed for semester credit. Phones are not allowed on campus.
Accreditation and results
KTEC makes no accreditation claim on its website or in its 2026-27 handbook, and we found none. It is not a college: students’ grades and credits are recorded at their home high school, which awards the diploma. We found no published completion, placement or certification pass rates for KTEC, including for the CNA exam.
Before you enroll
- Adults cannot enroll. Every program requires enrollment at a member high school in the Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls or Lakeland district; adults should look at North Idaho College (see the last section).
- KTEC awards no diploma, degree or college certificate. What a student leaves with depends on the program: the CNA track leads to the Idaho nursing assistant exam and Dental Assistant to the AMT RDA exam, while several trade programs name no specific certification.
- HVAC at KTEC is one three-credit North Idaho College course taken in NIC’s lab, not a full HVAC program, and Plumbing covers only the first year of the classroom part of NIC’s apprenticeship.
- Cyber Security prepares for CompTIA A+ and Network+, computer support and networking exams, not a security certification.
- Dental Assistant meets in Post Falls, not Rathdrum, and is for seniors only; students arrange their own transport.
- Not the same school as KTEC Schools of Innovation in Kenosha, Wisconsin, an unrelated charter school network.
Job shadows, clinicals and externships
KTEC has a career advisor on staff and posts job openings on its website, and the school says many students are placed in job shadows, internships and clinicals. Work-based learning is built into several programs: long-term-care clinicals for CNA students, a 160-hour externship in medical assistant, shadowing and an externship in dental assistant, paid job shadows and ride-alongs in HVAC, and Habitat for Humanity projects in plumbing. Health students can join HOSA. In April 2026 KTEC and NIC’s Parker Technical Education Center co-hosted a trades event for about 550 students from 14 schools, the Coeur d’Alene Press reported.
Adults in the area: North Idaho College
The adult trade training in the same complex is run by North Idaho College, not KTEC. NIC’s Parker Technical Education Center, 7064 W. Lancaster Rd., Rathdrum, is a separate building next door. NIC’s Workforce Training Center runs plumbing, HVAC, construction and heavy-equipment apprenticeship classes there, along with CDL and welding short courses, and NIC teaches its credit HVAC, collision, diesel, automotive and welding certificates in the same building.
In Post Falls, NIC’s Workforce Training Center at 525 S. Clearwater Loop offers adult CNA, medical assistant and EMT training. See our North Idaho College Workforce Training Center page for its programs.
Facts checked October 2026.
Programs & Courses
Health Professions (high school)
- Health Professions/CNA
- Health Professions/MA
- Dental Assistant (seniors; at NIC Post Falls)
Transportation (high school)
- Automotive Technology
- Diesel Technology
- Auto Body Collision & Repair (with NIC)
Construction and Building Trades (high school)
- Construction Trades
- Plumbing
- HVAC (at NIC, dual credit)
Welding and Manufacturing (high school)
- Industrial Welding & Metal Fabrication
- Automated Manufacturing & Design
- Industrial Millwright
Computer and Information Technology (high school)
- Cyber Security (CompTIA A+ and Network+)
Campus Locations
Coeur d'Alene (Rathdrum), ID 6838 W. Lancaster Rd. Rathdrum, ID 83858