The Idaho Spending Index serves to provide a fiscally conservative perspective on state budgeting while providing an unbiased measurement of how Idaho lawmakers apply these values to their voting behavior on appropriations bills. Each bill is analyzed within the context of the metrics below. They receive one (+1) point for each metric that is satisfied by freedom-focused policymaking and lose one (-1) point for each instance in which the inverse is true. The sum of these points composes the score for the bill.

Rating: (-1)

Bill Description: House Bill 452 is an enhancement of $3,577,600 for the Public Schools, Idaho Digital Learning Academy for fiscal year 2026. This legislation appropriates a total of $25,810,000 to the agency.

Is the continuation or growth in ongoing spending, if any, inappropriate for the changes in circumstances, scope of the agency, or current economic environment? Conversely, is the continuation or growth in ongoing spending appropriate given any change in circumstances or economic pressures?

The Idaho Digital Learning Academy is a new agency, created as a separate budgeted division in the Public School Support Program in the 2025 fiscal year. This means there is no three-year history to compare this year’s ongoing spending to. However this budget is a 16.1% increase over the maintenance budget and a 20.8% increase over FY25. This year’s ongoing spending is $25,810,000 for the IDLA.

(-1)