A bipartisan bill would give the troubled federal Secure Rural Schools program a three-year extension.

And provide Idaho schools with roughly $7 million annually.

Designed to offset the decline of federal timber sales, the Secure Rural Schools program largely supports schools and counties near national forests. But for years, program funding has been sporadic at best. And for the current budget year, which began Thursday, the program has been zeroed out.

Sens. Mike Crapo and Jim Risch, both R-Idaho, are co-sponsoring the reauthorization bill, alongside Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, both D-Oregon.

“Secure Rural Schools funding is a commitment the federal government made to Idaho’s rural counties, helping them maintain roads, schools and other essential services,” Risch said in a news release Thursday.

“Idaho’s rural schools shouldn’t be disadvantaged simply because so much of the land surrounding their communities is federally owned,” Republican state superintendent Debbie Critchfield said in the release.

Historically, the Cottonwood, Kellogg and Salmon districts have been among Idaho’s biggest Secure Rural Schools beneficiaries.

Congress in December approved 2025-26 Secure Rural Schools payments — and two years of retroactive payments.

Historically, schools receive about 30% of the program’s payments, with the balance going to rural counties.