Idaho’s public school funding structure — largely unchanged since the 1990s — is under formal scrutiny, as State Superintendent Debbie Critchfield launched a series of public listening sessions aimed at gathering input from educators, parents, and policymakers on how the state distributes money to its school districts.
The first session took place at the Idaho State Capitol on June 4, drawing dozens of attendees who voiced concerns about chronic gaps in school funding, particularly around special education services. At the center of the discussion is an estimated $100 million shortfall between what Idaho schools are required to provide under federal special education law and what the state actually funds.
A Formula Decades Past Its Expiration Date
Idaho’s current school funding model allocates resources based on student attendance rather than total enrollment — a distinction that carries significant financial consequences. When the state temporarily shifted to an enrollment-based formula during the COVID-19 pandemic, districts received more stable revenue regardless of daily fluctuations in who showed up. That temporary fix ended in 2023, when Idaho reverted to the attendance-based model, costing school districts an estimated $145 million. Lawmakers provided a one-time supplemental payment to partially offset the impact, but the structural problem remained.
Idaho is currently one of only nine states that use a resource-based school funding model. Thirty-five other states have moved to a student-based approach that assigns per-pupil funding with additional weights for students with higher-cost needs, such as those in special education or living in poverty. Critchfield has previously proposed moving Idaho toward such a weighted, per-student model, but those legislative efforts did not advance.
The current review effort traces back to Senate Concurrent Resolution 121, sponsored by Sen. Dave Lent of Idaho Falls — the chairman of the Senate Education Committee and a former school board member. The resolution directed the Idaho Department of Education to draft legislation updating the funding formula. It cleared the Senate but stalled in the House during the last legislative session. The department is pressing forward with the listening tour regardless, signaling that the work of building a proposal is continuing outside of the legislative chamber.
Public Voices and Legislative Observers
The June 4 session attracted a cross-section of observers, including Senate Majority Leader Lori Den Hartog (R-Meridian), as well as Democratic lawmakers Rep. Soñia Galaviz and Sen. Carrie Semmelroth, both from Boise.
Several attendees expressed frustration at what they described as recurring neglect of special education funding. Bessie Yeley, who spoke at the session, put it plainly: “We keep coming back, and we keep telling the people here in this building that they’re not meeting the obligations to our children.”
Sen. Lent, for his part, acknowledged that any meaningful overhaul of the formula will produce winners and losers among districts but framed the need to act as unavoidable. “Not everybody’s going to be a winner here, but for the good of our students and the good of the state, we do have to move forward,” he said.
The funding debate also comes against the backdrop of a $50 million allocation made by the Idaho Legislature last year for parents of private school and home-school students — a figure that has drawn pointed comparisons from public school advocates to the ongoing special education gap. Federal budget proposals that could affect rural school funding add another layer of uncertainty for Silver Valley and other Idaho districts dependent on federal support.
What Comes Next
Critchfield’s listening sessions are expected to continue at locations across Idaho, with the department collecting public input before drafting a formal legislative proposal. That bill would then need to survive both chambers of the Legislature — a process that has tripped up earlier reform attempts. Sen. Lent’s resolution may not have made it through the House, but the department’s willingness to move forward anyway suggests the push for a new funding model has momentum heading into the next legislative session. Whether lawmakers will be willing to restructure a formula that has shaped school budgets for decades — and inevitably shift dollars between districts — remains the central question. For parents and educators in communities across Idaho, including those in the Silver Valley, the outcome of this review could reshape how their schools are funded for a generation.
For statewide coverage of Idaho education and budget policy, visit Idaho News.