ID ED News

State superintendent Debbie Critchfield is walking back her top legislative priority for 2026: a $50 million special education grant proposal. The money simply won’t be available in a cash-strapped 2026-27 budget year, Critchfield told fellow State Board members Wednesday. “We want to be careful, we want to be deliberate in what we ask,” Critchfield said. “The first priority for me is to maintain current budget levels.” Gov. Brad Little has shielded Idaho’s K-12 system from budget cuts, so far. He cut 3% from most state agencies in August, but he exempted K-12. But the state still has a projected $40 million deficit for the budget year ending June 30. And for 2026-27, Idaho faces a $555.2 million gap between agency requests and projected revenue. Special education remains a priority, Critchfield said. There is still an estimated $100 million gap between state and federal special education funding and the local special education expenses.