Bill Analyses and Ratings
Bill Information: H0876 – FY2027 State Board of Education Appropriations
Bill Summary
House Bill 876 appropriates approximately $1.12 billion to the State Board of Education and related entities for fiscal year 2027 (July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027). The bill funds a wide range of programs including the Agricultural Research and Extension Service ($38.7 million), Idaho’s four-year universities ($744 million combined), community colleges ($67 million), health education programs including medical and dental residencies ($29.3 million), Career Technical Education ($106.7 million), Idaho Public Television ($4 million), vocational rehabilitation ($26.8 million), and the Charter School Commission ($744,700). The new funding added by this bill draws from dedicated unrestricted funds, federal grant funds, community college funds, and miscellaneous revenue funds—not new General Fund appropriations.
Beyond the dollar amounts, the bill grants universities the ability to implement voluntary separation incentive plans for workforce management, allows the Division of Financial Management to approve tuition and fee expenditures through a noncognizable process, and carries over unspent FY2026 balances from dedicated funds for nonrecurring expenditures. It also transfers any unexpended FY2026 General Fund scholarship dollars to the Opportunity Scholarship Program Account.
The bill establishes a monthly data-sharing requirement between the Department of Education and the Office of the State Board of Education, mandating that both agencies provide educational data files to the Legislature’s Budget and Policy Analysis Division by the tenth of each month. Accountability provisions require that funds used only for their designated statutory purposes and that agencies submit outside audit reports to the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee.
Overall Assessment
This bill directs over $1.12 billion to Idaho’s education system for FY2027, with the most consequential new additions being dedicated, federal, and unrestricted fund appropriations to universities, community colleges, career technical education, and vocational rehabilitation. The bill expands government spending and grants broad transfer flexibility to multiple agencies, which conflicts with principles of limiting government growth and maintaining strict fiscal controls. On the positive side, it funds charter schools, career technical education, and scholarship programs that expand educational options for Idaho students and workers.
Rating Breakdown
ARTICLE I. Responsibility in Government (-1)
The bill appropriates $1.12 billion in total education spending and grants sweeping exemptions from expense class and program transfer limitations to universities (Section 5), community colleges (Section 9), health education programs (Section 10), and career technical education (Section 13), reducing legislative oversight over how funds are spent within those agencies. While the new additions in this bill draw from non-General Fund sources, the cumulative effect of broad transfer authority and large-scale appropriations runs counter to principles of limiting government size and maintaining strict fiscal accountability.
ARTICLE II. Citizen Involvement in Government (0)
The bill is a fiscal appropriations measure and contains no provisions affecting elections, voting procedures, citizen participation in government, or political processes. The data-sharing requirement in Section 19 increases legislative access to education data but does not expand or restrict public civic engagement.
ARTICLE III. Education (0)
The bill adds new funding to the Charter School Commission from the Public Charter School Authorizers Fund ($552,100), directly supporting school choice. It also adds substantial federal grant funds to Career Technical Education programs—including secondary, postsecondary, and related programs—which expands workforce-ready training aligned with in-demand careers. The Opportunity Scholarship Program transfer in Section 15 and the GearUp Scholarship Fund appropriation ($4.5 million) further support student access to higher education.
ARTICLE IV. Agriculture (0)
The Agricultural Research and Extension Service receives $38.7 million in this bill, but those General Fund line items are existing law unchanged by this bill. The only new tagged addition related to agriculture is a $100,000 Restricted Fund appropriation for WIMU Veterinary Education, which is a minor technical funding adjustment with no substantive change to agricultural research or education policy.
ARTICLE V. Water (0)
The bill contains no provisions related to water rights, water management, inter-basin transfers, dam policy, or any other water-related topic.
ARTICLE VI. Natural Resources and Environment (0)
Although the bill funds Forest Utilization Research and the Geological Survey as existing programs, no new funding is added to those line items by this bill. The new appropriations added do not touch natural resource management, environmental stewardship, or federal land policy.
ARTICLE VII. Energy (0)
The bill contains no provisions addressing energy policy, energy independence, hydroelectric power, nuclear energy, electrical rates, or any other energy-related topic.
ARTICLE VIII. Idaho National Laboratories (0)
The bill makes no reference to the Idaho National Laboratory, nuclear research, technology transfer, or any related topic.
ARTICLE IX. Private Property Rights (0)
The bill contains no provisions affecting private property rights, eminent domain, regulatory takings, or due process protections for property owners.
ARTICLE X. State and Federal Lands (0)
The bill contains no provisions related to federal land ownership, state management of public lands, or land transfer policy.
ARTICLE XI. Wildlife Management (0)
The bill contains no provisions related to wildlife management, hunting and fishing access, predator control, or federal wildlife designations.
ARTICLE XII. Economy (0)
The bill adds American Rescue Plan Act funds ($222,900) to Small Business Development Centers, which provides modest support for small business assistance services. However, the bill does not address regulatory reform, tax policy, labor law, or other core economic drivers, and the small business funding addition is too limited in scope to constitute a meaningful economic policy change.
ARTICLE XIII. Health and Welfare (0)
The bill funds medical residencies, dental education, psychiatry education, and veterinary programs, but these are professional training programs rather than healthcare delivery, insurance regulation, or patient services. The new additions—including $322,000 in unrestricted funds for the Idaho Dental Education Program and $100,000 for WIMU Veterinary Education—are technical funding adjustments that do not change healthcare access or welfare policy.
ARTICLE XIV. American Family (0)
The bill contains no provisions addressing family structure, parental rights, marriage, abortion, or child welfare policy as defined by this metric.
ARTICLE XV. Older Americans (0)
The bill contains no provisions targeting services, benefits, or policies affecting older Idahoans.
ARTICLE XVI. Law and Order with Justice (0)
The bill contains no provisions related to criminal justice, gun rights, sentencing, drug policy, incarceration, or state sovereignty in law enforcement matters.
ARTICLE XVII. National Defense - Securing the Border (0)
The bill contains no provisions related to national defense, military affairs, border security, veterans' services, or the National Guard.
ARTICLE XVIII. Election of Judges and Idaho Supreme Court Justices (0)
The bill contains no provisions related to judicial elections, judicial selection processes, or constitutional interpretation standards.
ARTICLE XIX. Religious Liberty (0)
The bill contains no provisions affecting religious freedom, free exercise of religion, conscience protections, or restrictions on religious institutions.