State superintendent Debbie Critchfield hopes to tap into two funds to pay for a “bridge” special education program.

Critchfield laid out her plans in an email to educators — hours after telling fellow State Board of Education members that she is walking back a proposal for $50 million in special education grants. (Idaho Education News has a full story from Wednesday’s State Board meeting; click here for the details.)

With the state facing budget shortfalls in 2025-26 and 2026-27, Critchfield says her top priority is to protect existing K-12 funding.

With the $50 million special education proposal on hold, Critchfield wants to use money in a driver’s education account and interest from a career-ready grant program to cover a high-needs student account. The high-needs program would help districts and charters serve special education students who need full-time staff help.

The Legislature narrowly killed a $3 million high-needs program proposal earlier this year.

Critchfield also would like to use the funding shift to cover regional special education service centers. “This model, which exists in other states and has been discussed in Idaho for years, is designed to create efficiencies by helping districts and charters pool resources and strengthen staffing support,” Critchfield wrote.

In another update from her original budget request, submitted in September, Critchfield is adjusting the department’s projection for school support units. This is a funding measure designed to approximate the number of students in a typical classroom. Statewide K-12 enrollment could decline for the second consecutive year.

“Our September budget submission was based on projections before school started and accounted for a higher student enrollment than what we now know to be accurate,” Critchfield wrote. “This adjustment does not reduce services to schools; rather, it aligns funding with the actual number of students being served today.”

Here, in full, is Critchfield’s email:

Fellow K-12 Leaders,

As you know, one of the duties of this position is to advocate for the public schools budget on behalf of all districts and charters. By law, that budget must be submitted by September 1. When building our budget requests, we prioritize student needs and make recommendations based on the information we have at the time. As you might expect, things change. As revenue numbers have become more clear, I feel I have an obligation to meet the new reality. 

With that said, the Idaho State Department of Education is revising its budget request to reflect the most current state revenue projections. I believe it is my responsibility to first protect current funding levels and ensure state resources are aligned with current needs.

It’s important to me that you hear directly what we are revising. The Department is adjusting support units to match current-year actual attendance. Our September budget submission was based on projections before school started and accounted for a higher student enrollment than what we now know to be accurate. This adjustment does not reduce services to schools; rather, it aligns funding with the actual number of students being served today.

Because of state budget deficits, we are not moving forward with our $50-million request for additional special education funding for the FY27 budget. It is important to emphasize that special education is and will continue to be our highest priority.

The ongoing funding gaps for special education services are real and are not going away. I am still pursuing policy-focused solutions by requesting the use of existing dollars from the driver training account and interest from the Idaho Career Ready Student Grant Program to reintroduce the high needs student fund as a bridge until state revenue can support a sustainable solution. Additionally, we will request use of these funds to add more support for special education students and operations through the regional service center model. This model, which exists in other states and has been discussed in Idaho for years, is designed to create efficiencies by helping districts and charters pool resources and strengthen staffing support. 

Throughout this process, the Department’s goal is to protect school budgets, maintain current levels of service, and avoid adding new regulatory or reporting burdens for districts and charters. We will continue working closely with the Governor’s Office and monitoring legislative proposals to ensure education policies support schools without creating unnecessary strain.

I remain committed to long-term policy and funding solutions that address special education and support Idaho students now and in the future.
I thank you for your commitment to education.