Idaho lawmakers eye big changes to education funding system

Idaho lawmakers are considering a major revamp of Idaho’s education funding system that’s currently based on a model that originated with desegregation in the South in the 1950s but could be holding modern students back.

State officials say Idaho is one of a handful of states still using a system that distributes money based on how many students show up for class but fails to account for learning in the age of the internet, students switching schools and other factors.

Lawmakers on the House and Senate education committees on Thursday took comments on the 59-page draft legislation involving some $2 billion Idaho spends annually to teach more than 300,000 students in grades kindergarten through 12th grade.

Among the many concerns voiced at the listening session are communities fearful their school districts could lose money with the new system.