EDUCATION – Adds to existing law to provide for the establishment of the Idaho High-Needs Student Fund.

LEGISLATURE
OF
THE
STATE
OF
IDAHO
Sixty-eighth
Legislature
Second
Regular
Session
-
2026
IN
THE
SENATE
SENATE
BILL
NO.
1288
BY
EDUCATION
COMMITTEE
AN
ACT
1
RELATING
TO
EDUCATION;
AMENDING
CHAPTER
10,
TITLE
33,
IDAHO
CODE,
BY
THE
AD
-
2
DITION
OF
A
NEW
SECTION
33
-
1016,
IDAHO
CODE,
TO
ESTABLISH
PROVISIONS
RE
-
3
GARDING
THE
IDAHO
HIGH
-
NEEDS
STUDENT
FUND;
AND
DECLARING
AN
EMERGENCY
4
AND
PROVIDING
AN
EFFECTIVE
DATE.
5
Be
It
Enacted
by
the
Legislature
of
the
State
of
Idaho:
6
SECTION
1.
That
Chapter
10,
Title
33,
Idaho
Code,
be,
and
the
same
is
7
hereby
amended
by
the
addition
thereto
of
a
NEW
SECTION
,
to
be
known
and
des
-
8
ignated
as
Section
33
-
1016,
Idaho
Code,
and
to
read
as
follows:
9
33
-
1016.
IDAHO
HIGH
-
NEEDS
STUDENT
FUND.
(1)
As
used
in
this
section:
10
(a)
"Eligible
costs"
means
individualized
education
program
-
related
1
1
expenses
incurred
solely
for
providing
special
education
and
related
12
services,
including
but
not
limited
to
nursing,
interpreting,
speech
13
therapy,
occupational
therapy,
physical
therapy,
personal
care,
spe
-
14
cialized
equipment,
extended
school
-
year
services,
and
school
-
based
15
medicaid
match.
Eligible
costs
shall
not
include
routine
classroom
16
costs,
basic
materials
and
supplies,
standard
transportation,
and
17
other
routine
expenses
not
directly
tied
to
an
individualized
education
18
program.
Costs
shall
be
calculated
to
include
any
medicaid
-
eligible
19
reimbursements.
20
(b)
"High
-
needs
student"
means
a
student
with
a
disability
whose
indi
-
21
vidualized
education
program
-
related
costs
exceed
thirty
thousand
dol
-
22
lars
($30,000).
Costs
shall
be
directly
tied
to
special
education
man
-
23
dated
by
an
individualized
education
program
and
not
covered
by
other
24
funding
sources,
including
school
-
based
medicaid.
25
(c)
"Individualized
education
program"
means
a
program
developed
to
26
ensure
that
a
student
with
a
disability
receives
specialized
instruc
-
27
tion
and
related
services.
28
(d)
"Local
education
agency"
means
school
districts
and
independent
29
public
charter
schools
that
are
not
part
of
a
district.
30
(e)
"Rural
local
education
agency"
means
a
rural
school
district
or
31
rural
public
charter
school
as
those
terms
are
described
in
section
32
33
-
319,
Idaho
Code.
33
(f)
"Student
with
a
disability"
means
a
student
of
school
age,
pursuant
34
to
section
33
-
201,
Idaho
Code,
with
cognitive
impairments,
hearing
35
loss,
deafness,
speech
or
language
impairments,
visual
impairments,
36
blindness,
deaf
-
blindness,
serious
emotional
disturbance,
orthopedic
37
impairments,
severe
or
multiple
disabilities,
autism,
traumatic
brain
38
injury,
developmental
delay,
or
specific
learning
disabilities
who,
39
by
reason
of
the
qualifying
disability,
requires
special
education
and
40
related
services.
41

2
(2)
There
is
hereby
established
in
the
state
treasury
the
Idaho
high
-
1
needs
student
fund
to
be
administered
by
the
state
department
of
education.
2
(a)
Moneys
in
the
fund
shall
consist
of
the
following:
3
(i)
Legislative
appropriations;
4
(ii)
Donations
and
contributions
made
to
the
fund;
and
5
(iii)
Interest
earned
on
idle
moneys
in
the
fund.
6
(b)
Moneys
in
the
fund
shall
be
appropriated
to
provide
additional
fi
-
7
nancial
support
to
local
education
agencies
for
the
eligible
costs
re
-
8
lated
to
educating
high
-
needs
students.
9
(c)
Local
education
agencies
may
apply
for
reimbursement
for
any
high
-
10
needs
student
on
an
annual
basis.
The
application
shall
require:
1
1
(i)
A
detailed
list
of
eligible
costs
incurred
to
fulfill
the
re
-
12
quirements
of
an
individualized
education
program;
13
(ii)
An
attestation
to
submit
documentation
demonstrating
full
14
transparency
of
eligible
costs
incurred
that
have
not
been
reim
-
15
bursed
with
other
sources
of
federal
funding,
including
school
-
16
based
medicaid;
and
17
(iii)
Any
other
documentation
requested
by
the
state
department
of
18
education.
19
(3)
Upon
approval
by
the
state
department
of
education
of
a
local
edu
-
20
cation
agency's
application,
the
local
education
agency
shall
be
eligible
to
21
receive
reimbursement
for
eligible
costs
as
follows:
22
(a)
Up
to
one
hundred
percent
(100%)
of
costs
above
thirty
thousand
dol
-
23
lars
($30,000),
capped
at
eighty
thousand
dollars
($80,000);
24
(b)
Up
to
eighty
percent
(80%)
of
costs
above
eighty
thousand
dollars
25
($80,000);
and
26
(c)
A
maximum
reimbursement
of
one
hundred
thousand
dollars
($100,000)
27
per
student.
28
(4)(a)
The
full
amount
of
any
approved
application
shall
be
subject
to
29
the
following
conditions:
30
(i)
Up
to
sixty
percent
(60%)
of
the
amount
in
the
Idaho
high
-
31
needs
student
fund
as
of
July
1
of
the
current
fiscal
year
shall
be
32
reserved
for
non
-
rural
local
education
agencies;
33
(ii)
Up
to
forty
percent
(40%)
of
the
amount
in
the
Idaho
high
-
34
needs
student
fund
as
of
July
1
of
the
current
fiscal
year
shall
be
35
reserved
for
rural
local
education
agencies;
36
(iii)
For
those
applications
received
by
June
1
of
the
current
fis
-
37
cal
year,
the
state
department
of
education
shall
pay
the
approved
38
amount
if
such
amount
is
within
the
estimated
total
fund
balance;
39
and
40
(iv)
If
the
total
fund
balance
is
not
sufficient
to
pay
all
ap
-
41
proved
applications,
the
state
department
of
education
shall
au
-
42
thorize
a
proportionate
amount
to
be
paid
to
each
local
education
43
agency
on
a
pro
-
rata
basis.
44
(b)
Any
remaining
funds
set
aside
pursuant
to
paragraph
(a)(ii)
of
this
45
subsection
as
of
July
1
of
the
current
fiscal
year
shall
be
made
avail
-
46
able
to
non
-
rural
local
education
agencies.
47
(5)
Any
funds
received
by
a
local
education
agency
pursuant
to
this
48
section
shall
be
subject
to
the
state
department
of
education's
system
for
49

3
public
school
budgeting,
accounting,
and
reporting
to
provide
full
trans
-
1
parency
and
accountability
and
to
avoid
duplicative
reimbursement.
2
(6)
Beginning
in
fiscal
year
2028,
by
January
5
of
each
year,
the
state
3
department
of
education
shall
report
to
the
governor,
the
senate
education
4
committee,
the
house
of
representatives
education
committee,
and
the
state
5
board
of
education:
6
(a)
The
total
moneys
in
the
Idaho
high
-
needs
student
fund
in
the
current
7
fiscal
year
and
the
prior
fiscal
year;
8
(b)
The
number
of
applicants
to
the
Idaho
high
-
needs
student
fund
in
the
9
current
fiscal
year
and
the
prior
fiscal
year;
10
(c)
The
amount
of
funds
awarded
in
the
current
fiscal
year
and
the
prior
1
1
fiscal
year
and
what
goods
and
services
were
reimbursed;
and
12
(d)
Other
matters
concerning
the
program
that
are:
13
(i)
Considered
relevant
by
the
state
department
of
education;
or
14
(ii)
Specifically
requested
for
inclusion
in
the
report
by
the
15
governor
or
by
any
member
of
the
Idaho
senate
or
house
of
represen
-
16
tatives.
17
SECTION
2.
An
emergency
existing
therefor,
which
emergency
is
hereby
18
declared
to
exist,
this
act
shall
be
in
full
force
and
effect
on
and
after
19
July
1,
2026.
20