Critchfield seeks weighted student formula, new special education fund

UPDATE: This story has been updated to clarify that Critchfield’s budget proposal would tie all state discretionary funding to a weighted formula.

State superintendent Debbie Critchfield on Friday proposed an incremental change to the way Idaho funds K-12 public schools, with a focus on providing schools with more money for students who are more expensive to educate — like those learning English or students with disabilities.

Her proposal, submitted as part of a budget request for the state’s public school support program next fiscal year, would tie school discretionary funding to a weighted formula that benefits districts with high-cost students.

“This request acknowledges a reality educators have known for years – it just costs more to educate and support some students,” Critchfield said in a news release. “A move to this type of funding model provides districts with a per-student amount that more closely reflects the actual costs they’re incurring.”

Overall, Critchfield’s budget would increase the state’s general fund spending on public schools by 2.6% from the current fiscal year, which runs through June 2025.

Critchfield sent the governor two budgets on Friday: The $3.29 billion public school support budget, which provides most of the money needed to operate school districts across the state, and a much smaller, $48.1 million budget for the Department of Education.

The per-student formula would divvy districts’ discretionary funding — about $432.1 million, or 13% of the overall public school support budget — based on weights that account for higher-cost students. School districts with a higher rate of special education students or English language learners, for instance, would get more out of the formula.

Critchfield’s public school support budget also would set aside $3 million for a new “special needs student fund.” Districts would be able to apply for the funds to cover additional costs associated with educating students with disabilities.

Last week, Critchfield told the State Board of Education that Idaho school districts face an $80 million gap in federal special education funding. And the state has received an increased number of complaints about special education programs.

Meanwhile, updating Idaho’s 30-year-old funding formula has been a priority for the Republican superintendent. Last year, she convened a working group to study the formula, and proposed a per-student funding bill during this year’s legislative session. The bill failed in committee without a hearing.

Both the per-student funding formula change and special needs fund would require legislative approval.

All state department heads, including Critchfield, are required to send budget requests to the governor by Sept. 1. Gov. Brad Little will then develop his own budget recommendations prior to the legislative session, which starts in January. Lawmakers have the final say on state agency spending.

Overall budget reflects modest increase in state spending

Critchfield’s budget proposal would keep public school spending relatively stagnant year-over-year.

The total $3.29 billion public school support budget — including spending from the state’s general fund, dedicated funds and federal dollars — reflects a $6,400, or .0002%, decrease from the current fiscal year.

This chart shows Critchfield’s total budget request for the next fiscal year, which starts July 1, 2025, compared to the current fiscal year. The chart breaks down spending by the state’s general fund — which is furnished by state tax revenues — along with federal and dedicated funds.

Meanwhile, the 2.6% increase in general fund spending is modest compared to recent years. The general fund is furnished by revenues from sales, income and corporate taxes levied by the state, and it’s the primary source of funding for state agencies, like the Department of Education.

General fund spending for public schools increased 56.5% from 2020 to 2024, according to a recent analysis by Idaho Education News. And public schools saw a 23.4% hike from the general fund in 2024 alone.

This graph shows the increase in general fund spending on public schools from 2020 to 2024. State superintendent Debbie Critchfield’s budget proposal for next fiscal year calls for a 2.6% increase from the general fund.

Next fiscal year’s budget proposal balances “strategic investments” in public schools with “spending targets that have made Idaho fiscally responsible,” Critchfield said in the news release.

“Our revenue projections are down as a state and this proposal represents a modest increase that will accompany a legislative proposal to change the distribution of existing dollars,” she said. “We can provide more money for districts with small increases when we honor local control and allow districts and charters to use their dollars more effectively.”

Highlights from budget line items

Critchfield sent the governor two budgets on Friday: The $3.29 billion public school support budget, which provides most of the money needed to operate school districts across the state, and a much smaller, $48.1 million budget for the Department of Education.

The latter budget covers administrative costs to operate the agency that oversees public schools.

Here are some highlights included in line items — or special funding requests — from the two budgets:

Distributing school districts’ discretionary funding through a per-student formula that gives higher weights to students who cost more to support. The proposal would add $57.6 million to the discretionary funding statewide.
$3 million to create an ongoing fund for students with disabilities. School districts could apply for the funds through a process managed by the Department of Education.
$13 million to update the state’s student transportation funding formula. The new formula would simplify the current “complex distribution formula” by creating a flat reimbursement rate based on mileage and ridership, the news release said. The funds would also go toward a new statewide school bus routing software.
Funding for a new Indian Education coordinator position within the Department of Education.
Funding for two new special education positions within the department, which would help address a recent increase in special education dispute resolution cases.

There are also some notable line items missing from Critchfield’s budget.

The budget does not include an outcomes-based funding pilot, which Critchfield proposed last legislative session. Lawmakers rejected the idea to tie $40 million in state funds to performance in fifth- through eighth-grade math, and college and career readiness.

It doesn’t look like Critchfield will renew that request.

Additionally, a second year of hiked discretionary funding to account for the state’s reversion to an attendance-based funding formula appears to be off the table.

During the 2024 legislative session, Critchfield secured a one-time increase in discretionary and maintenance funding as school districts lost an estimated $145 million in the switch back to attendance-based funding from the more lucrative enrollment-based model used during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The discretionary increase didn’t carry over into next year’s budget proposal.

Idaho Education News data analyst Randy Schrader contributed to this report.