Rating: –1

Bill Summary:

House Bill 452 appropriates $3,577,600 from the General Fund to the Public Schools Educational Support Program’s Division of the Idaho Digital Learning Academy (IDLA) for Fiscal Year 2026. The funds are routed through the Public School Income Fund but designated as General Fund expenditures. The bill prohibits IDLA from drawing on the Public Education Stabilization Fund for FY2025, requiring it to use existing balances instead. It also sets a maximum tuition charge of $40 per enrollment (down from $75) for school districts and charter schools, and increases state support per enrollment from $430 to $445.

Additionally, the bill directs the legislature to revisit IDLA’s funding model in the next session and requires IDLA to submit a comprehensive cost and service report by August 1, 2025. An emergency clause is included, making the bill effective July 1, 2025.

Reason for Rating:

House Bill 452 significantly increases General Fund spending without performance-based conditions, efficiency requirements, or offsetting reductions. It imposes tuition caps and centralized pricing on digital learning, reducing flexibility and limiting innovation. The bill strengthens centralized state control over a digital education service that should be locally adaptable and market-driven. Its use of convoluted fund transfers further reduces fiscal transparency, and the emergency clause bypasses normal legislative scrutiny. These elements conflict with the Idaho Republican Party Platform’s principles of limited government, fiscal discipline, and support for local control and school choice. For these reasons, H0452 is rated –1.