Casey Petty — Casey Petty, a principal evaluator at the Office of Performance Evaluations, introduced a presentation on the K-12 districts characteristics and funding study. They outlined the structure of the talk, including a deeper dive into special education funding, and explained that the report grouped districts in three ways with help from colleague Chris Schenk. Petty then described key findings showing that small districts serve more special education students per capita and can experience large percentage swings in enrollment, while larger urban districts and smaller remote districts face different funding and student-need challenges. The presentation then transitioned into district funding models.
Mr. Petty — Mr. Petty transitions from his prepared remarks into Q&A and responds to questions about Idaho’s school funding approach. He says he does not know why Idaho adopted the support-unit model, notes that the current formula dates back to the early 1990s, explains that no research has been done on how changing funding models would affect spending despite prior legislative discussion, and adds that any per-student funding model would need weights to adequately fund high-need students.
Kevin Cook — Referenced as Senator Cook, who previously asked whether students are being over-qualified for special education.
Dave Lent — The chair is being addressed during the exchange.
Dave Lent — Dave Lent is repeatedly addressed as Mr. Chairman, Chairman, and Chairman Hawkins during a continuous procedural exchange. In this segment, he manages the meeting by suggesting that questions wait until after testimony, introduces the first witness, and is thanked or addressed by other members as the chair throughout the discussion.
China Harrisaki (questioned pronunciation) — The chair attempted to confirm the pronunciation of the first witness's name.
China Herosaki — China Herosaki, Director of Special Education for the Boise School District, testified in support of House Joint Memorial 11. She explained that Boise receives about $4.99 million in IDEA funding but still faces a significant shortfall in covering special education costs, requiring local and state resources to make up the difference. She noted that district enrollment has declined while the number of students with disabilities has increased, intensifying the funding challenge. She concluded by emphasizing that serving these students well requires stable, adequate funding and urged support for the memorial.
Ms. Harisaki — Was thanked and then asked to explain the increase in autism cases.
Mrs. Harisaki — Said there is no single cause for the increase and suggested improved evaluation and early intervention are contributing factors.
Christy Zito — Representative Earhart is addressed in the exchange, asking whether awareness is the key to identifying more students with autism.
Christy Zito — Representative Earhart is thanked by the witness after asking about awareness and early intervention.
Christy Zito — Representative Earhart asks how to separate students who truly qualify for special education from those who do not.
Christy Zito — Representative Earhart is addressed as the questioner about special education eligibility.
Christy Zito — Representative Galavis is called on to ask a question; the name appears to be a transcription error for a member not in the expected list.
Christy Zito — Representative Earhart is referenced again in connection with questions about evaluation and qualification of students for special education.
Christy Zito — Christy Zito thanks Representative Handy and Representative Furman for their testimony, then participates in the discussion by addressing questions about whether other states have passed similar memorials or resolutions. She concludes by strongly supporting the resolution while warning that Congress may respond to IDEA funding concerns by lowering the funding threshold rather than fully funding the program.
Mrs. Harris-Hawkey — Explains that Idaho has clear eligibility criteria in the Idaho Special Education Manual, though standards vary by state.
Mrs. Harrisaki — Agrees that behavioral needs and special education referrals were affected during the pandemic while serving Caldwell School District.
Julie Mead — Julie Mead, from Caldwell, Idaho and serving in the Caldwell School District, speaks in support of the resolution and shares her background and experience in special education leadership at the state and district level, framing her remarks around the importance of legal protections and services in special education.
Linda — Julie Mead describes Linda’s educational journey and abilities: the family worked to keep her in the local school when she was young, and later she graduated from high school, can do basic math, reads and writes, has held a job, and serves as a nursery leader in her church.
Ms. Mead — A committee member thanks Ms. Mead for her testimony and background in special education leadership, then asks her to explain the special education evaluation and qualification process and whether districts have any incentive to qualify more students. Ms. Mead responds that districts do not receive more federal money simply for identifying more special education students, so there is no real incentive to over-identify students.
Ms. Hirasaki — Ms. Mead references Ms. Hirasaki's earlier point about early identification.
Kevin Field — Kevin Field was called as a virtual witness and introduced himself as a special education teacher at Discovery Elementary in Idaho Falls, working in an autism unit for kindergarten through first grade. He explained that he works 60 to 70 hours per week and then yielded for questions. In response to committee questions, he said some important educational outcomes are difficult to measure and noted that behavioral needs often reflect unmet needs, though he could not identify the causes of increasing behavioral issues.
Stoney Winston — Stoney Winston, superintendent of Fruitland School District 373, testified in support of House Joint Memorial 11 and argued for full federal funding of IDEA. He described how the district spends significant local funds on special education, leaving a large shortfall even after federal, state, and Medicaid offsets, and said full funding would reduce that gap. In response to questions, he explained that special education costs force difficult operational choices, including limiting desired programs such as culinary arts CTE, and he shared a personal example about his son’s autism diagnosis. He concluded by emphasizing that the district wants to help students exit special education when appropriate and that full IDEA funding is both a legal obligation and a smart investment in student outcomes and community strength.
Sam — The speaker describes Sam as a child who had an aide sit with him in class, says he likely will never live on his own and is a savant, and adds that he now works at the school during lunch passing out milk and is known by the other children.
wife of Mr. Winston — Described as offering to sit with the child during class and help teach him at home.
Mr. Winston — Responds to the prior comment and agrees that students should be mainstreamed when possible.
Mr. Petty — Mr. Petty explained that Medicaid was excluded from the report because it focused on general fund expenditures and revenues, noting Medicaid revenue is typically coded under a 200-level fund code. He added that district coding guidelines exist but are inconsistent, so Medicaid expenditures may not have been recorded uniformly across school districts. He then said his office was not privy to any talks about changes to the education funding formula and avoids political discussions. Finally, he confirmed that the dashed trend lines showed only slight increases or decreases that were not statistically significant, indicating no meaningful trend.
James Woodward — Asks for an example of funding not aligning with district needs and asks about messy charter school data.
James Woodward — Representative Nelson is addressed in the exchange and asks about parent-driven special education requests and behavioral issues.
Mr. Patty — Begins explaining an example of how funding may not align with district needs using a chart by district size.
Kevin Cook — Kevin Cook is mentioned throughout a continuous committee exchange in which the chair and Mr. Petty field questions about the support unit formula, how support units are allocated among staff categories, staffing and economies of scale, and a later follow-up involving Representative Pickett’s question about Medicaid exclusion. The discussion remains on the same general budget/allocation topic across the sequence.