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 MEMORIAL	1
TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES	2
SENATE, THE SPEAKER OF THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, THE	3
SECRETARY OF STATE OF THE UNITED STATES, AND THE CONGRESSIONAL DELE-	4
GATION REPRESENTING THE STATE OF IDAHO IN THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED	5
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 the	8
Sixty-eighth Idaho Legislature, do hereby respectfully represent that:	9
WHEREAS, the State of Idaho is constitutionally obligated to maintain a	10
general, uniform, and thorough system of public, free common schools; and	11
WHEREAS, federal immigration policy and enforcement are powers vested	12
exclusively in the United States Congress; and	13
WHEREAS, pursuant to the decision of the United States Supreme Court in	14
Plyler v. Doe, 457 U.S. 202 (1982), states are required to provide access to	15
public K-12 education to students residing within their borders regardless	16
of immigration status; and	17
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 or	20
lawful presence; and	21
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 of	23
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; and	26
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; and	29
WHEREAS, federal funding under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary	30
Education Act (ESEA), intended to support low-income students, and Title	31
III of ESEA, intended to support English learners, does not fully reimburse	32
states or school districts for the actual costs of providing required ser-	33
vices; and	34
WHEREAS, the allocation formulas under Title I and Title III of ESEA are	35
not designed to offset the full fiscal impact on states arising from federal	36
immigration policy decisions or constitutional requirements; and	37
WHEREAS, Idaho's local school districts must balance constitutional	38
educational obligations with limited state and local revenues, creating	39
measurable budgetary pressures that may affect staffing levels, class	40
sizes, and program offerings for all students; and	41
WHEREAS, principles of fiscal federalism support the proposition that	42
when federal policy decisions generate substantial financial obligations	43

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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 and	4
the Senate concurring therein, that:	5
(1) The Idaho Legislature respectfully urges the Congress of the United	6
States to establish a dedicated federal reimbursement or block grant program	7
to assist states in covering the costs of educating students residing in the	8
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 the	11
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; and	15
(3) Congress should commission a comprehensive fiscal impact study	16
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 this	20
Memorial to the President of the United States, the President of the United	21
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

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