The Idaho Digital Learning Alliance (IDLA) may soon have to cut its budget in half — without policy changes to drive the cuts. 

The House Education Committee Monday rejected a bill that would have cut $13.5 million from IDLA by overhauling its state funding formula. 

House Bill 918 proposed eliminating “double-dipping” — when brick-and-mortar schools collect state funding for students enrolled in IDLA courses — along with driver’s education and virtual school participation. It also would have limited IDLA enrollment to middle- and high-schoolers. 

But Rep. Douglas Pickett’s bill failed on a tie vote. There was surprisingly little debate after a whirlwind couple of days last week: 

• On Thursday, House Education voted to hold HB 918 until Monday. IDLA supporters proposed advancing the policy bill over concerns that the budget-setting Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee was preparing to make deeper cuts Friday. 
• On Friday, JFAC debated a $15 million cut to IDLA’s fiscal year 2027 appropriation, but ultimately settled on $13.5 million — the same amount as HB 918 but without the policy changes. JFAC also cut $3 million from virtual charter schools, sparing them from another $20 million in cuts that Gov. Brad Little had proposed. 

By Monday, votes had changed among House Education members. Rep. Soñia Galaviz, who made a motion last week to advance HB 918, said Monday she no longer had an incentive to support the bill. 

“When I made the motion last week to send it to the floor with no recommendation, I did so because I knew there was a threat of a deeper cut and more restrictions in JFAC,” Galaviz, D-Boise, told Idaho Education News. “(With) the cut that was put forward by JFAC, at the very least, IDLA will be able to figure out what that looks like for them.”

IDLA, the state’s online learning platform, offers public schools virtual classes to supplement their curriculum. Rural school leaders, in particular, say the service is a “lifeline” for courses that they can’t fund or staff.

Jeff Simmons, IDLA’s superintendent, said Friday that the platform would have to cut its course enrollments in half under a $13.5 million, or 52%, budget reduction. In 2024-25, the platform had 51,452 course enrollments serving 28,953 students, most of whom take multiple courses. 

Simmons also said Friday that JFAC’s decision to cut the budget without a policy bill was “very confusing. … You have to match the budget up to the policy, and now we have a budget without the policy.” 

After Monday’s House Education vote, Pickett said the committee has deadlocked on many issues this session, which “in a sense, justifies what JFAC did.” But it came at a cost. “We gained some votes and we lost some votes, and we ended up in the exact same spot,” Pickett, R-Oakley, told EdNews. 

Looking ahead, both the full House and Senate would have to pass the IDLA budget bill before it goes to the governor’s desk. If it crosses the finish line, IDLA officials will have to figure out how to implement the budget cut. 

“I would look closely at the policy proposals in (House Bill 918), and try to move in that direction somehow,” Pickett said.

Fast-moving House Bill 93 followup heads to the Senate

A followup to Idaho’s private school tax credit law — framed as a “cleanup bill” — overcame bipartisan resistance on the House floor.

The most debated — and perhaps most substantive — piece of House Bill 934 pertains to extracurriculars. The bill says a student can take part in non-credit extracurriculars at a public school, and remain eligible for the tax credit.

The bill’s sponsor, House Majority Leader Jason Monks, said this policy is consistent with current policy; for instance, private school and homeschool students routinely play on public high schools’ sports teams. And Monks, R-Meridian, said this issue came up in last session’s protracted debate over House Bill 93, which created Idaho’s $50 million tax credit program.

“We didn’t change anything from what we said we were going to do last year,” he said.

Rep. Britt Raybould, R-Rexburg, questioned why families can qualify for private school tax credits of up to $5,000 or $7,500 per student — and still reap the benefits of public schools’ extracurricular programs.

“Choices come with tradeoffs,” Raybould said.

Other lawmakers questioned whether the bill would affect the pay-to-play fees school districts charge for extracurriculars. Monks said that remains a local decision. “That’s not my issue.”

Sixteen Republicans joined eight House Democrats in opposition to the bill, which passed 44-24.

The bill now goes to the Senate, after moving quickly through the House. The Ways and Means Committee introduced the bill Thursday, and the Revenue and Taxation Committee endorsed it Friday.

Senate sends three education budget add-ons to governor

The Senate passed three education “enhancement” budget bills, sending them all to Gov. Brad Little’s desk.

Career-technical education. House Bill 907 would provide $2.8 million for rural high school CTE programs — $958,000 for the current budget year, and $1.8 million for next year.

Sen. Janie Ward-Engelking supported the increase — but noted that the one-time money from interest will not offset a permanent, $4.4 million CTE cut. “It’s not going to do the job long-term,” said Ward-Engelking, D-Boise, a Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee member. “It’s not even going to do the job short-term.”

“We just tried to do what we could to keep this program going,” said the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Cindy Carlson, R-Riggins, another JFAC member.

The budget passed 23-11, over opposition from hardline conservatives.

Community colleges. The $1.1 million bill would partially offset community college budget cuts for next year.

The two-year schools will still face a 3% budget cut next year, proposed by Gov. Brad Little. But House Bill 906 would shield the colleges from the additional 2% cut legislators are imposing across most state agencies.

During a brief but far-ranging debate, senators touched on a range of past spending and tax decisions.

Sen. Glenneda Zuiderveld, R-Twin Falls, said the Legislature is “doing insanity,” by walking back plans to curb overspending. “Do we mean what we say?”

Democrats said the Legislature put itself in a budget bind by approving $453 million in tax cuts and credits last session. “We had choices to make,” said Sen. James Ruchti, D-Pocatello.

The bill passed, 26-8.

State Board of Education. Without debate, a fund transfer bill for State Board programs passed, 23-11. The biggest item in House Bill 905 allows the board to spend a $4 million federal grant for postsecondary education improvement.

Senate passes trio of education policy bills

The Senate also passed a trio of education policy bills Monday.

School staff definitions. A bill updating the definitions in state law of school staffers passed on a 32-1 vote. 

Since a committee hearing earlier this month, House Bill 728 was amended to appease public school administrators who initially opposed it over concerns it would hamstring their ability to pay salaries. 

“The bill doesn’t do anything but add two definitions,” said sponsoring Sen. Cindy Carlson, R-Riggins. 

It now goes back to the House, which must vote on whether it concurs with the Senate’s changes.

Civics diploma seal. The Senate unanimously endorsed a bill creating a seal for high school diplomas recognizing achievement in civics. 

To qualify, students must earn high marks in civics classes and standardized tests while participating in community service and extracurriculars. 

Sen. Jim Guthrie, R-McCammon, lauded youth civic engagement like the legislative page programs, which his granddaughter participated in. “It transformed her. I mean, she took an interest in government.”

House Bill 712 now goes to the governor’s desk. 

STEM Action Center merger. The Senate also unanimously approved a proposal consolidating the STEM Action Center into the Workforce Development Council. 

Sponsoring Sen. Dave Lent, R-Idaho Falls, said House Bill 761 would eliminate two full-time positions, saving the state more than $300,000. 

The bill goes to the governor’s desk.

Bill allowing city councils to hire, fire library directors goes to governor 

A bill that would give city councils authority to hire and fire directors of city-owned libraries easily cleared the Senate. 

Currently, library boards oversee the hiring and firing of library directors. House Bill 715 would require city council approval for these decisions. 

“Cities with their own libraries are forced to rely solely on an unelected board of trustees to hire and fire the library director,” said sponsoring Sen. Ben Toews, R-Coeur d’Alene. “This bill restores accountability by giving the elected city council a direct voice in these personnel decisions.”

The bill passed along party lines. The House passed the bill earlier this month, also along party lines. It now goes to the governor’s desk. 

Sen. Ron Taylor, D-Hailey, said the change could “politicize” library director positions. A city council member could, for instance, pressure a librarian to remove books that conflict with their political beliefs. 

“This undermines the library’s role as a neutral space for learning and as a place to access diverse perspectives,” he said. “There’s also a threat to intellectual freedom.”

Funding flexibility bill heads to the Senate floor

High-performing districts and charters are one step closer to increased funding flexibility.

The Senate Education Committee unanimously endorsed House Bill 883, a GOP-led bill that could apply to about 10 districts and 15 charters across the state.

Districts and charters would have more leeway for spending state dollars — including salary-based apportionment and discretionary funds — if they meet several benchmarks. The districts’ criteria center on test scores and graduation rates. Charters would be graded on academics, audits and financial health.

“It’s a little bit of an experimentation,” said Senate Majority Leader Lori Den Hartog, R-Meridian, who noted that the State Board of Education would need to report by 2029 on the funding flexibility program. “I hope we can learn from it.”

While the bill would grant flexibility to districts and charters, it had been originally drafted just for charters. And Senate Education heard testimony in favor of the bill only from a charter school administrator and a charter advocate.

“This is kind of a labor of love for us,” said Emily McClure, an Idaho Charter School Network representative who helped write the bill.

No other education group representatives spoke for or against the bill, which goes to the Senate floor. It already passed the House.

Senate panel urges feds to mothball U.S. Education Department

Also Monday, the Senate Education Committee signed on with shutting down the U.S. Department of Education.

House Joint Memorial 19 has no force of law; it is a nonbinding letter to Congress. But the memorial labels the shutdown of the cabinet-level federal agency a “constitutional necessity.”

“The U.S. Department of Education’s creation in 1980 has led to significant federal overreach in education through burdensome regulations and one-size-fits-all mandates, many left unfunded despite the department’s annual budget of $60 billion,” the memorial reads, in part.

Supporters say disbanding the Education Department would decrease bureaucracy — and would not compromise funding and legal protections for special-needs students. The funding is a key question, since Idaho schools face a projected $100 million special education shortfall.

“It isn’t that the funding goes away,” said Senate Majority Leader Lori Den Hartog, R-Meridian. “It’s ‘who’s responsible for it?’”

The memorial passed on a party-line vote. Sen. Janie Ward-Engelking, D-Boise, questioned whether the Idaho Department of Education — facing state budget cuts — could assume the added administrative role that would come with dissolving the federal department.