Rating: –1

Bill Summary:

House Bill 417 appropriates an additional $1,679,800 from the state’s General Fund to Idaho’s three community colleges for the 2025–2026 fiscal year. The funds are designated for personnel costs and allocated as follows: $496,800 to the College of Eastern Idaho, $690,000 to the College of Southern Idaho, and $493,000 to the College of Western Idaho. This supplemental funding is provided without any immediate accountability requirements or performance conditions.

The bill also directs the State Board of Education to begin the development of a new outcomes-based funding formula to eventually replace the current Enrollment Workload Adjustment (EWA) model. A proposal is to be submitted to the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee (JFAC) by December 31, 2025, with quarterly progress reports and implementation targeted for FY 2028 or earlier. The bill includes an emergency clause and takes effect July 1, 2025.

Reason for Rating:

Although House Bill 417 gestures toward long-term reform through outcomes-based education funding, it immediately increases taxpayer spending on community college personnel without tying that funding to any present-day performance metrics or efficiency benchmarks. The bill commits nearly $1.7 million in general funds to institutions that are not currently required to demonstrate improved outcomes or cost-effectiveness. This approach contradicts the Idaho Republican Party Platform’s emphasis on fiscal restraint, limited government growth, and results-driven public education. With no short-term accountability and no guarantee of reform implementation, H0417 is rated –1.

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