Bill Description: House Bill 291 would create a new school fund with a first year appropriation of $3 million for special education.

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Does it increase government spending (for objectionable purposes) or debt? Conversely, does it decrease government spending or debt?

House Bill 291 would increase funding for special needs education through the creation of the  “Idaho high-needs student fund.” There are currently four sources of state funding for special education. In the funding formula, 6 percent of enrolled elementary students and 5.5 percent of secondary students are calculated separately from the typical ADA tied support unit at a higher rate. In addition, a special appropriation is provided to assist students that have serious emotional disturbances at a high incidence level; this funding was equal to $2,535,500 in the 2023-2024 school year. Another special appropriation is provided for students educated in a residential facility; these expenses totaled roughly $800,000 in the 2023-2024 school year. Finally, school districts often leverage discretionary funding to provide additional funding for special education. House Bill 291 would create a fifth funding source with an initial appropriation of $3 million.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) mandates that all students with disabilities receive a free and appropriate public education — commonly referred to asFAPE. The United States Supreme Court in Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District (2007) determined that the IDEA imposes on all public schools the obligation to provide students with special needs an education that is “reasonably calculated to enable a child to make progress appropriate in light of the child’s circumstances.” To this end, school districts are required under federal law to provide special needs students with access to whatever resources are required by their individual education plan (IEP), imposing a significant financial burden on our public education system.

House Bill 291’s initial appropriation of $3 million not only represents new spending, but creates a new fund whose fiscal impact could grow exponentially over the following years. It is often claimed that the state of Idaho has a $66.5 million gap in funding for special education. With the creation of this fund, the pressure on the legislature to close that “gap” through expanding the high-needs student fund will only increase. 

It is worth highlighting that the amount of state public funds appropriated for Idaho’s public education system has increased significantly over the past decade from $1,725,749,300 in 2015 to $3,287,044,800 in 2025. If a new fund needs to be created for Idaho to meet its obligations under federal law, it should be done by consolidating overlapping programs and transferring already existing funds, not through new spending. 

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