The big picture: Idaho public schools have a special education funding gap of more than $80 million — but the needs of the state’s booming population aren’t shrinking.
- In 2025, the Idaho Office of Performance Evaluations reported a gap of $82.2 million for fiscal year 2023. The report was commissioned by the bipartisan Joint Legislative Oversight Committee.
- The report puts the blame squarely on Idaho’s antiquated public school funding model, which “does not provide significant adjustments to support districts with elevated student needs.” Those students include children with disabilities as well as children who should receive gifted and talented support.
- Under Idaho’s special education funding formula, which is based in part on the U.S. Census, only 6% of the state’s primary students and 5.5% of secondary students need special education through public schools. The actual percentage of students is 11.5%, or around 33,000 students.
- The director of the Office of Performance Evaluations, Ryan Langrill, summarized the problem in the report’s opening letter: “The state funds a district where 25% of students are in special education nearly the same as a district with less than 5%. This illustrates how, with the exception of the smallest districts, state per-student funding does not scale with student needs.”
- Neither the federal government nor the Idaho Legislature fully fund the state’s SPED needs, so local taxpayers must take up the slack in the form of bonds and levies.
What the Legislature is doing about it: Not much. The report was released in March 2025, during the legislative session; in February, Rep. Ben Fuhriman (R-Shelley) introduced a bill to create a $3 million special needs fund to at least address the issue. House Bill 291 barely passed the House and failed by one vote in the Senate.
- Sen. Brian Lenney (R-Nampa), summed up his “no” vote with this explanation: “We’re closing the Department of Education. We got the Trump train going full steam ahead and this bill seems like a little sidecar pumping, going the opposite direction. We should be prioritizing efficiency over expansion and we should be cutting and consolidating what we already have instead of creating brand-new, multi-million-dollar programs.”
The new wrinkle(s): During the 2025 legislative session, lawmakers passed record tax cuts and a $50 million private school voucher program. In August, predictably, Gov. Brad Little ordered holdbacks for state agencies in an effort to make up for the inevitable revenue shortfall.
- Gov. Little exempted K-12 education from the holdbacks, a move IEA strongly supported.
What will the state do?: Idaho Superintendent of Public Education Debbie Critchfield (pictured above) is making special education funding her key issue for the upcoming session, requesting $50 million. Critchfield’s team told Idaho Ed News that the $50 million is the biggest ask in an otherwise no-frills budget.
- Critchfield believes the funding gap is even bigger than the report indicates because it did not take public charters into account. Her office pegs the gap at around $100 million.
What IEA members can do now: It’s not too early to start lobbying lawmakers to increase special education funding — or to help educate friends, family and community members about the need.
- Personal experiences hit home. If you work with special needs students, share your real-world stories with your lawmaker. Educate non-educators about the realities of underfunded special education classrooms.
- Plan to attend Lobby Day, IEA’s annual Statehouse lobbying event, from Jan. 18-19.
- Request your absentee ballot for November 2025 elections. Every vote for pro-public education candidates — at every level, from school boards to the Statehouse — puts Idaho closer to a fully-funded future, free of constant squabbling over proper funding.
- Keep an eye on IEA Reporter and the IEA Reporter Podcast for updates on special education, news about votes and opportunities to testify before lawmakers during the legislative session.
