Adds to existing law to provide for a return on investment analysis of the Idaho Launch Grant Program.

LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO Sixty-eighth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2026 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HOUSE BILL NO. 962 BY WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE AN ACT1 RELATING TO EDUCATION; AMENDING CHAPTER 12, TITLE 72, IDAHO CODE, BY THE AD-2 DITION OF A NEW SECTION 72-1207, IDAHO CODE, TO ESTABLISH PROVISIONS RE-3 GARDING A RETURN ON INVESTMENT ANALYSIS OF THE IDAHO LAUNCH GRANT PRO-4 GRAM; PROVIDING A SUNSET DATE; AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY AND PROVIDING5 AN EFFECTIVE DATE.6

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:7

SECTION 1. That Chapter 12, Title 72, Idaho Code, be, and the same is8 hereby amended by the addition thereto of a NEW SECTION, to be known and des-9 ignated as Section 72-1207, Idaho Code, and to read as follows:10 72-1207. IDAHO LAUNCH GRANT PROGRAM RETURN ON INVESTMENT ANALY-11 SIS. (1) At least biennially, the legislative services office shall conduct12 a return on investment analysis of the Idaho launch grant program estab-13 lished in section 72-1205, Idaho Code, and student outcomes to:14 (a) Determine the alignment of the program's in-demand careers with em-15 ployer demand, postsecondary degree or certificate programs, and in-16 dustry-valued credentials;17 (b) Identify the program's eligible in-demand careers that are linked18 to high-skill and higher-wage in-demand occupations;19 (c) Evaluate student participation and outcomes, such as postsecondary20 attainment, employment status, and wage earnings associated with eli-21 gible coursework under the program as defined in section 72-1204, Idaho22 Code;23 (d) Provide information that can be used to improve the alignment and24 quality of the program and increase access and successful outcomes for25 all students; and26 (e) Provide information about the availability, quality, and student27 outcomes of the program and its eligible institutions under the program28 as defined in section 72-1204, Idaho Code, to support students and fami-29 lies in making informed decisions about educational options.30 (2) The return on investment analysis of the Idaho launch grant program31 provided for in this section shall be conducted in collaboration with the32 Idaho workforce development council, all eligible institutions under the33 program, representatives from business and industry, and any other appro-34 priate stakeholders. These entities shall:35 (a) Support the completion of a high-quality return on investment anal-36 ysis of the program by timely collecting and providing data and infor-37 mation in the manner specified by the legislative services office and in38 accordance with state and federal law; and39 (b) Support the implementation of recommendations resulting from the40 return on investment analysis of the program, which may include align-41

2 ment or revision of agency or entity policies, processes, and proce-1 dures.2 (3) The legislative services office, in consultation with the Idaho3 workforce development council, all eligible institutions under the pro-4 gram, representatives from business and industry, and any other appropriate5 stakeholders, shall develop and publish a methodology to conduct the return6 on investment analysis of the program and its outcomes. The methodology7 shall use consistent data definitions, criteria, or thresholds across edu-8 cation systems and program institutions, to the extent practicable.9 (4) The return on investment analysis of the program shall include but10 is not limited to an analysis of:11 (a) Statewide and regional labor market information, including cur-12 rent and projected economic, labor market, and wage data reflecting the13 needs of the state, regional, and global economy and workforce that in-14 cludes:15 (i) Development of a methodology to classify occupations at the16 statewide and regional levels based on measures of skill, demand,17 wage, and growth; and18 (ii) Identification of statewide and regional employment oppor-19 tunities in high-demand, high-growth, and higher-wage occupa-20 tions;21 (b) Alignment of current program in-demand careers, eligible institu-22 tions, and eligible coursework with statewide and regional employment23 opportunities, including:24 (i) Identification of eligible institutions and eligible course-25 work under the program leading to high-skill, high-demand, high-26 growth, and higher-wage occupations;27 (ii) Identification of gaps in program offerings leading to high-28 growth, high-demand, and higher-wage occupations;29 (iii) Identification of in-demand careers, eligible institu-30 tions, and eligible coursework under the program that do not lead31 students to high-growth, high-demand, or higher-wage employment32 opportunities;33 (iv) Postsecondary certificate or degree programs offered; and34 (v) Industry-valued credentials used by employers in the state in35 hiring and promotion decisions;36 (c) Experiences of participating students that can be disaggregated by37 student demographics, eligible institutions, and eligible coursework38 under the program and compared to experiences of nonparticipating stu-39 dents, including but not limited to:40 (i) Program eligible institution enrollment, progression, and41 completion, including:42 1. Programs offered by all public and private schools or43 postsecondary institutions;44 2. Student enrollment in each eligible coursework offered45 by an eligible institution under the program;46 3. Student course completion and credit attainment in each47 eligible institution under the program;48 4. Student completion of each eligible coursework under the49 program; and50

3 5. Unmet student demand for each eligible institution under1 the program, including waiting lists and students not en-2 rolled due to space constraints;3 (ii) Industry-valued credentials, including:4 1. Student enrollment in courses or institutions aligned5 with each industry-valued credential;6 2. Student participation, including attempts, in each in-7 dustry-valued credential examination or assessment;8 3. Student attainment of each industry-valued credential;9 and10 4. Student attainment of each industry-valued credential11 that articulates to postsecondary credit;12 (iii) Postsecondary credit attainment, including:13 1. Postsecondary credits or hours earned as part of the pro-14 gram; and15 2. Postsecondary credits or hours earned outside of the pro-16 gram; and17 (iv) Work-based learning experiences, including:18 1. The type of each work-based learning experience;19 2. The characteristics of each work-based learning experi-20 ence, including but not limited to the duration, whether it21 was paid or unpaid, or whether it was for credit or no credit;22 3. Placement information including industry code (the North23 American industry classification system) and occupation24 code (the standard industrial classification);25 4. Pre-apprenticeship and youth apprenticeship program en-26 rollment and progression; and27 5. Apprenticeship program enrollment and progression; and28 (d) Student outcomes that can be disaggregated by student demograph-29 ics, eligible institutions, and eligible coursework under the program30 compared to outcomes of students not participating in the program, in-31 cluding:32 (i) Enrollment and persistence data disaggregated by type of in-33 stitution, including technical colleges, two (2) year colleges,34 four (4) year colleges, or private providers, and by type of cul-35 minating credential, including certificates or diplomas and asso-36 ciate or bachelor's degrees, including:37 1. Enrollment in a postsecondary program;38 2. Postsecondary persistence, including credit or hour at-39 tainment; and40 3. Postsecondary degree or credential attainment; and41 (ii) Employment outcomes, including:42 1. Employment status, including full-time or part-time em-43 ployment;44 2. Employment field by industry code (the North American45 industry classification system) and occupation code (the46 standard industrial classification);47 3. Wage earnings; and48

4 4. Other indicators of quality that can be disaggregated by1 student demographics, eligible institutions, and eligible2 coursework, including educator workforce, including:3 (A) Current educator qualifications, expertise, and4 specialized knowledge;5 (B) Opportunities for educators to learn new skills6 valued by employers;7 (C) Educator positions that are unfilled or filled8 by instructors who do not have appropriate knowledge,9 skills, or experience; and10 (D) Total and per-student amount of program funding11 allocated to each student and amount spent per student12 and amount reverted.13 (5) Using the findings from the return on investment analysis of the14 Idaho launch grant program provided for in this section, the legislative15 services office, in consultation with the Idaho workforce development coun-16 cil, all eligible institutions under the program, representatives from17 business and industry, and any other appropriate stakeholders, shall de-18 velop recommendations to improve labor market alignment, quality, student19 access and outcomes, and operational efficiencies of the program. These20 recommendations shall include detailed information, including roles, re-21 sponsibilities, action steps, and timelines to achieve state agency policy,22 process, and resource allocation strategies that will:23 (a) Increase the alignment between the program and the state's economy,24 including:25 (i) Offering new programs that lead to high-skill, high-demand,26 high-growth, and higher-wage occupations but that are not offered27 by eligible institutions under the program;28 (ii) Phasing out program offerings that are not aligned with the29 needs of employers or do not provide program participants with a30 middle-wage or high-wage job; and31 (iii) Requiring school districts and eligible institutions to32 align offerings to ensure seamless pathways for students from33 grades K-12 through postsecondary school;34 (b) Identify and address gaps between student groups in access, partic-35 ipation, and successful outcomes through the program;36 (c) Identify policies, processes, legal and resource barriers, or37 other barriers that prevent students from accessing or succeeding in38 eligible institutions and eligible coursework under the program, along39 with detailed recommendations for the agency or stakeholder responsi-40 ble for removing these barriers; and41 (d) Identify and develop a plan and timeline to collect data elements42 needed for a complete and high-quality return on investment analysis of43 the program that are not currently available or accessible.44 (6) By December 31, the legislative services office shall submit to45 the governor, the president pro tempore of the senate, and the speaker of46 the house of representatives a summary report and publicly post such report47 on the Idaho legislature's website and the workforce development council's48 website. The summary report shall contain detailed supporting data, includ-49 ing, at a minimum:50

5 (a) The findings of the return on investment analysis of the program1 broken down by student demographics, eligible institution, and in-de-2 mand career;3 (b) The recommendations to improve labor market alignment, quality,4 student access and outcomes, and operational efficiencies across the5 eligible institutions and eligible coursework under the program;6 (c) A list of existing eligible institutions and eligible coursework7 under the program that are not aligned to employer demand or do not pre-8 pare students for a middle-wage or high-wage job;9 (d) A list of in-demand knowledge, skills, and competencies from em-10 ployers that are currently not being met through existing eligible in-11 stitutions and eligible coursework under the program; and12 (e) Beginning with the second return on investment analysis of the pro-13 gram, an update on the implementation status, activities, and outcomes14 stemming from the prior report's recommendations.15 (7) Following the release of the summary report, the legislative ser-16 vices office and collaborating agencies shall publicly present the findings17 and seek feedback from stakeholders across the state to inform future itera-18 tions of the return on investment analysis of the program under this section.19 Stakeholder engagement and feedback shall not be prevented throughout the20 return on investment analysis of the program process.21 (8) By January 1, the legislative services office shall provide com-22 plete, matched data sets used in the return on investment analysis of the23 program to the Idaho workforce development council, all eligible institu-24 tions under the program, representatives from business and industry, and any25 other appropriate stakeholders. The data sets shall be provided in a manner26 and format that:27 (a) Supports continuous program improvement and robust feedback of el-28 igible institutions and eligible coursework under the program;29 (b) Allows for aggregated findings for each eligible institution and30 eligible coursework under the program, including outcomes, to be re-31 ported publicly to students, families, and community members; and32 (c) Complies with all applicable state and federal laws.33

SECTION 2. The provisions of Section 1 of this act shall be null, void,34 and of no force and effect on and after July 1, 2029.35

SECTION 3. An emergency existing therefor, which emergency is hereby36 declared to exist, this act shall be in full force and effect on and after37 July 1, 2026.38