House committee advances bill to create Idaho High Needs Student Fund after extended testimony on special education costs

BOISE — The Idaho House Committee on Education voted 11-3 on March 4 to send House Bill 291, the Idaho High Needs Student Fund, to the House floor with a due-pass recommendation after more than an hour of testimony from the bill sponsor, state education officials and special‑education directors.

Representative Ben Furman, R‑District 30, introduced the bill as a targeted fund to help school districts cover exceptionally high special‑education costs. "It is known as Idaho High Needs Student Fund Bill," Furman said when presenting the measure to the committee.

The bill would create a dedicated state fund, proposed at $3,000,000, to reimburse districts for high per‑student special education expenses that exceed baseline amounts. "This is another funding stream that will help open up an additional funding source for students who have very high costs," China Hirasaki, special education director for the Idaho Department of Education, told the committee. Hirasaki said for the 2023–24 school year IDEA funds covered about 17 percent of special‑education costs ("which equated to about $70,000,000") and Medicaid reimbursed roughly 15 percent ("around $60,000,000"); the remaining 68 percent (about $271,300,000) came from state and local sources.

The com…