Is Idaho’s school funding model outdated? This plan would seek an answer
Lawmakers for years have tried to update Idaho’s decades-old education funding formula — but no proposal has made it through the Legislature. In the latest attempt, a concurrent resolution introduced Wednesday asks the state superintendent to create a revised funding formula to bring forward during the 2027 legislative session.
The resolution, sponsored by Sen. Dave Lent, R-Idaho Falls, requests that the state superintendent work with the Legislature, the governor’s office, the State Board of Education, local school districts and other stakeholders to “develop and present draft legislation for a revised public school funding formula” that aligns with the state’s constitutional mandate for a uniform and thorough system of public schools. It also asks for a financial breakdown for each school district and charter school.
“The Legislature declares the existing public school funding formula requires review and modernization to reflect contemporary educational practices, student needs, and work and research from the past decade,” the resolution says.
The new formula should guarantee accountability, transparency and stability for school districts, according to the proposed resolution. It also asks that the formula be based on student needs “in recognition that students require different funding supports.”
“We, over the years, have had several attempts to modernize our funding formula in the state, and this builds on those lessons learned we had there,” Lent told committee members Wednesday.
Idaho officials have long been trying to update the public school funding formula, which is largely based on average daily attendance.
Over the past several years, various proposals have been brought forward to more closely align funding with student needs, but none have become law.
State Superintendent Debbie Critchfield has previously said revising the state’s funding formula is a top priority.
In a press release earlier this year on special education-related legislative proposals, she referenced a “growing disconnect” between the way the state funds schools and how they operate.
“Our funding formula was last updated in 1994. At the time, it worked,” Critchfield said in the release. “Over 30 years later, our hallways look very different. Student needs are more varied, specialized services are more common, and demand for high-quality special education has never been higher. A child’s needs do not change when budgets tighten, and neither does our responsibility to serve them.”
Critchfield has recently estimated Idaho schools face a $100 million gap in special education funding, and the state routinely ranks last or near last in funding per pupil.
