Adds to existing law to establish provisions regarding certain limitations on scholarships.
EDUCATION -- Adds to existing law to establish provisions regarding certain limitations on scholarships.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
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In 2025, seven of Idaho’s eight universities and community colleges had roughly 250 foreign national student-athletes, most, if not all, of whom received some level of scholarship/financial assistance. Each has the opportunity to a earn valuable degree, but those degrees typically won’t be put to work in Idaho or the anywhere else in the United States. Foreign national student athletes by-and-large take the fruits of their free or discounted higher education back to their home countries to the benefit their own country’s workforce. In order to increase the chances that Idaho’s higher education institutions will produce more graduates who can become valuable and productive members of the workforce here in the State of Idaho as well as the United States, this bill proposes to limit the number of foreign nationals that can receive scholarships while participating in sports and instead increase the number of Idaho and U.S. student athletes who can receive those scholarships who then graduate and enter our workforce. This bill will result in more Idaho and U.S. student athletes at Idaho colleges and universities who will graduate and thereafter can become new teachers, medical professionals, police officers, mining and forestry experts, and farmers and ranchers, to name a few, here in Idaho and the United States of America.
FISCAL NOTE
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This bill will not have an immediate fiscal impact on the state General Fund, however, it will produce more graduates who can pursue careers in the State of Idaho and thereby increase the tax base and ultimately provide a beneficial economic impact for the state and the country.
BILL TEXT
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LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO Sixty-eighth Legislature Second Regular Session - 2026 IN THE SENATE SENATE BILL NO. 1357 BY STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE AN ACT1 RELATING TO EDUCATION; AMENDING CHAPTER 37, TITLE 33, IDAHO CODE, BY THE AD-2 DITION OF A NEW SECTION 33-3717D, IDAHO CODE, TO ESTABLISH PROVISIONS3 REGARDING CERTAIN LIMITATIONS ON SCHOLARSHIPS; AND DECLARING AN EMER-4 GENCY AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.5
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:6
SECTION 1. That Chapter 37, Title 33, Idaho Code, be, and the same is7 hereby amended by the addition thereto of a NEW SECTION, to be known and des-8 ignated as Section 33-3717D, Idaho Code, and to read as follows:9 33-3717D. LIMITATIONS ON SCHOLARSHIPS. (1) For purposes of this sec-10 tion:11 (a) "Idaho resident" means a person who qualifies for Idaho residency12 pursuant to section 33-3717B, Idaho Code.13 (b) "Intercollegiate athletics" means organized athletic competition14 between persons or teams representing institutions of higher educa-15 tion.16 (c) "Scholarship" means any form of financial aid awarded by a public17 institution of higher education to a student.18 (d) "Student athlete" means a student who is enrolled in a public insti-19 tution of higher education who participates in intercollegiate athlet-20 ics.21 (e) "United States resident" means a person who:22 (i) Is lawfully present in the United States; and23 (ii) Has maintained, or whose parent or legal guardian has main-24 tained, a domicile in the United States for at least twelve (12)25 months preceding the opening day of the term for which the student26 matriculates. For purposes of this subparagraph, "domicile" has27 the same meaning as provided in section 33-3717B, Idaho Code.28 (2) The state board of education shall promulgate rules, subject to29 legislative approval, establishing a preference for Idaho residents for30 scholarships awarded to student athletes by public institutions of higher31 education in Idaho.32 (3) No public institution of higher education in Idaho shall, in a given33 academic year, award scholarships to more than ten percent (10%) of the total34 number of all sports roster positions to student athletes who are not United35 States residents.36 (4) No more than fifty percent (50%) of the members of an intercolle-37 giate athletic team representing a public institution of higher education in38 Idaho shall be student athletes who are not United States residents who are39 recipients of scholarships.40 (5) Scholarships awarded prior to July 1, 2026, to student athletes who41 are not United States residents shall not be invalidated by the provisions42
2 of this section. Such student athletes shall not count toward the ten per-1 cent (10%) cap provided in subsection (3) of this section or the fifty per-2 cent (50%) cap provided in subsection (4) of this section for a period not3 to exceed four (4) full-time consecutive academic years, including those al-4 ready completed or in progress.5 (6) The state board of education shall promulgate rules, subject to6 legislative approval, to implement the provisions of this section. Such7 rules shall include rules to monitor compliance with this section.8 (7) By December 1 of each year, the state board of education shall re-9 port to the legislature on compliance with this section and shall include in10 such report:11 (a) The total number of scholarships awarded by each public institution12 of higher education to student athletes who are Idaho residents;13 (b) The total number of scholarships awarded by each public institution14 of higher education to student athletes who are United States residents15 but who are not Idaho residents; and16 (c) The total number of scholarships awarded by each public institution17 of higher education to student athletes who are not United States resi-18 dents.19
SECTION 2. An emergency existing therefor, which emergency is hereby20 declared to exist, this act shall be in full force and effect on and after21 July 1, 2026.22
LATEST ACTION
Reported Printed; referred to Education
BILL INFO
- Session
- 2026
- Chamber
- senate
- Status date
- Mar 2, 2026
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