State leaders are considering increasing the age limit for special education services, after court orders in neighboring states made students eligible for services up to age 22. 

Idaho funds special education students in public schools through the semester they turn 21. But an order last year from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit — the federal appeals court that covers Idaho — required Washington to fund special education services until a student turns 22. 

The Idaho Department of Education (IDE) this summer proposed increasing the age limit amid a round of updates to the state’s 465-page special education manual. But agency leaders removed the increase before the updates went to the State Board of Education for approval Thursday. 

“We were just trying to be proactive,” said Jacque Hyatt, the IDE’s special education director.

Instead, the department may address the age limit through the legislative process, because the change has a price tag attached to it, said Greg Wilson, chief of staff for Republican state superintendent Debbie Critchfield.

It’s also unclear whether Idaho has to increase its age limit.

In Washington, the Ninth Circuit ruled that disabled students are entitled to services until they turn 22 in states that offer education programs to nondisabled adults such as GED programs, The Seattle Times reported. A similar case in Montana ended in a settlement between the state and an advocacy group that sued. According to The Montana Free Press, the state agreed to fund services up to age 22 in the settlement that was approved by a federal judge. 

IDE leaders didn’t put a dollar amount on increasing the age limit. But the population that would become eligible is “very small,” Hyatt said. The department estimated that it would affect just 145 students statewide. 

The State Board, during a special meeting Thursday, approved other updates to the manual, which lays out how public schools must comply with state and federal laws related to special education. 

One change from an earlier round of proposed updates would increase the amount of time school districts are allotted to determine whether students are eligible for special education services. IDE initially proposed 60 calendar days, but later changed it to 45 school days in response to public comments. Special education teachers and administrators said this timeframe “would be more practical,” Wilson told the State Board. 

The State Board also approved two other rules dockets Thursday, including: 

• Updates to K-12 social studies standards that incorporate feedback from the Legislature, after lawmakers rejected a handful of subject areas last session.
• Revisions to ethics rules that require communication between educators and students be done on a school district-approved device and on a school-based account (such as a Google email account hosted by the district).

The pending rules now go to the Legislature, which has final say.