States findings of the Legislature and calls on the President of the United States and Congress to assist states in covering the costs of educating students residing in the United States regardless of immigration status.

LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO Sixty-eighth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2026 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL NO. 20 BY EDUCATION COMMITTEE A JOINT MEMORIAL1 TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES2 SENATE, THE SPEAKER OF THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, THE3 SECRETARY OF STATE OF THE UNITED STATES, AND THE CONGRESSIONAL DELE-4 GATION REPRESENTING THE STATE OF IDAHO IN THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED5 STATES.6 We, your Memorialists, the House of Representatives and the Sen-7 ate of the State of Idaho assembled in the Second Regular Session of the8 Sixty-eighth Idaho Legislature, do hereby respectfully represent that:9 WHEREAS, the State of Idaho is constitutionally obligated to maintain a10 general, uniform, and thorough system of public, free common schools; and11 WHEREAS, federal immigration policy and enforcement are powers vested12 exclusively in the United States Congress; and13 WHEREAS, pursuant to the decision of the United States Supreme Court in14 Plyler v. Doe, 457 U.S. 202 (1982), states are required to provide access to15 public K-12 education to students residing within their borders regardless16 of immigration status; and17 WHEREAS, the fiscal responsibility for complying with such federal con-18 stitutional requirements rests primarily with state and local governments,19 without a dedicated federal funding stream tied to immigration status or20 lawful presence; and21 WHEREAS, the average per-pupil expenditure in the State of Idaho is ap-22 proximately $11,000 per student per year, and the aggregate cost to Idaho of23 educating students whose presence in the United States is governed by fed-24 eral immigration policy represents a significant and ongoing financial com-25 mitment borne primarily by state and local taxpayers; and26 WHEREAS, students requiring English language acquisition services, re-27 medial instruction, and supplemental academic supports often generate addi-28 tional instructional costs beyond base per-pupil funding; and29 WHEREAS, federal funding under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary30 Education Act (ESEA), intended to support low-income students, and Title31 III of ESEA, intended to support English learners, does not fully reimburse32 states or school districts for the actual costs of providing required ser-33 vices; and34 WHEREAS, the allocation formulas under Title I and Title III of ESEA are35 not designed to offset the full fiscal impact on states arising from federal36 immigration policy decisions or constitutional requirements; and37 WHEREAS, Idaho's local school districts must balance constitutional38 educational obligations with limited state and local revenues, creating39 measurable budgetary pressures that may affect staffing levels, class40 sizes, and program offerings for all students; and41 WHEREAS, principles of fiscal federalism support the proposition that42 when federal policy decisions generate substantial financial obligations43

2 for states, the federal government should provide commensurate funding sup-1 port.2 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the members of the Second Regular Ses-3 sion of the Sixty-eighth Idaho Legislature, the House of Representatives and4 the Senate concurring therein, that:5 (1) The Idaho Legislature respectfully urges the Congress of the United6 States to establish a dedicated federal reimbursement or block grant program7 to assist states in covering the costs of educating students residing in the8 United States regardless of immigration status. Such funding should be de-9 signed to supplement, not supplant, existing Title I and Title III ESEA al-10 locations and should reflect actual per-pupil expenditures incurred by the11 State of Idaho;12 (2) Congress should review and revise federal education funding for-13 mulas to ensure that states disproportionately impacted by federal immigra-14 tion policy receive equitable fiscal support; and15 (3) Congress should commission a comprehensive fiscal impact study16 evaluating the aggregate cost to states of complying with federal constitu-17 tional and immigration-related educational obligations.18 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chief Clerk of the House of Representa-19 tives be, and she is hereby authorized and directed to forward a copy of this20 Memorial to the President of the United States, the President of the United21 States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives,22 the Secretary of State of the United States, and the congressional delega-23 tion representing the State of Idaho in the Congress of the United States.24