Idaho Ed News

State leaders are considering increasing the age limit for special education services, after court orders in neighboring states made students eligible for services up to age 22.  Idaho funds special education students in public schools through the semester they turn 21. But an order last year from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit — the federal appeals court that covers Idaho — required Washington to fund special education services until a student turns 22. The Idaho Department of Education (IDE) this summer proposed increasing the age limit amid a round of updates to the state’s 465-page special education manual. But agency leaders removed the increase before the updates went to the State Board of Education for approval on Thursday. “We were just trying to be proactive,” said Jacque Hyatt, the IDE’s special education director. Instead, the department may address the age limit through the legislative process, because the change has a price tag attached to it, said Greg Wilson, chief of staff for Republican state superintendent Debbie Critchfield. It’s also unclear whether Idaho has to increase its age limit.