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Read. Follow. Verify.Idaho enacts House Bill 846 to revise student enrollment counting rules for public schools
Last action · March 30, 2026: Reported Signed by Governor on March 26, 2026 Session Law Chapter 175 Effective: 07/01/2026
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What This Bill Does
Idaho public schools and charter schools must conduct official student enrollment counts on four specific dates each year and exclude students with extended unexcused absences, effective July 1, 2026.
Determines how school districts and charter schools calculate full-time student enrollment for state funding purposes, affecting reporting requirements and attendance thresholds across the state.
- House Bill 846 was introduced by the Education Committee during the Second Regular Session of the Sixty-eighth Idaho Legislature and signed into law by the Governor. context
Who It Affects
Groups the bill's text affects, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
school districts
School districts must conduct official student counts on four specified dates and follow revised rules for excluding students with consecutive unexcused absences.
public charter schools
Public charter schools are subject to the same student enrollment counting and attendance exclusion rules as traditional school districts.
students
Student enrollment status is subject to specific fractional caps, summer and night school limits, and exclusion rules based on consecutive unexcused absences.
Key Facts
- Full-time enrollment (FTE) is based on enrollment in any school district or public charter school, with a maximum of 1.0 unweighted FTE per student in a single school year.
- Kindergarten students are capped at a total of 0.5 unweighted enrollment in a single school year.
- Students attending summer school or night school are capped at 0.45 unweighted enrollment and may be counted alongside regular enrollment.
- School districts and public charter schools must conduct official student counts on October 1, December 1, February 1, and April 1, or the previous school day if those dates fall on non-school days.
Show all 7 facts
- Schools cannot count any student who has unexcused absences totaling 11 or more consecutive school days immediately prior to and including the official count date.
- Schools cannot count any student who has unexcused absences for the first 10 consecutive days of the school year, though they may count the student as of a later attendance date.
- The act takes effect on July 1, 2026, due to an declared emergency.
Frequently Asked Questions
When must school districts conduct official student enrollment counts?
Can a kindergarten student be counted as a full-time student?
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News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Current status: Signed into law.
Procedural history
16 actions- Mar 30, 2026EnrolledReported Signed by Governor on March 26, 2026 Session Law Chapter 175 Effective: 07/01/2026
- Mar 26, 2026Delivered to Governor at 12:58 p.m. on March 26, 2026
- Mar 26, 2026Returned Signed by the President; Ordered Transmitted to Governor
- Mar 25, 2026Signed by President; returned to House
- Mar 25, 2026Received from the House enrolled/signed by Speaker
- Mar 25, 2026Reported Enrolled; Signed by Speaker; Transmitted to Senate
Show 10 earlier actions
- Mar 24, 2026FloorReturned from Senate Passed; to JRA for Enrolling
- Mar 24, 2026FloorRead third time in full – PASSED - 34-0-1 AYES – Adams, Anthon, Bernt, Blaylock, Burtenshaw, Carlson, Cook, Den Hartog, Foreman, Galloway, Grow, Guthrie, Harris, Hart, Keyser, Kohl, Lakey, Lenney, Lent, Nichols, Okuniewicz, Rabe, Ricks, Ruchti, Semmelroth, Shippy, Taylor, Toews, VanOrden, Ward-Engelking, Wintrow, Woodward, Zito, Zuiderveld NAYS – None Absent and excused – Bjerke(Bjerke) Floor Sponsor - Nichols Title apvd - to House
- Mar 19, 2026Read second time; filed for Third Reading
- Mar 18, 2026Reported out of Committee with Do Pass Recommendation; Filed for second reading
- Mar 11, 2026IntroducedIntroduced, read first time; referred to: Education
- Mar 11, 2026FloorReceived from the House passed; filed for first reading
- Mar 10, 2026FloorRules Suspended: Ayes 69 Nays 0 Abs/Excd 1, read in full as required – PASSED - 70-0-0 AYES – Alfieri, Barbieri, Beiswenger, Berch, Bingham, Boyle, Bruce, Burgoyne, Cannon, Cayler, Cheatum, Church, Cornilles, Crane(12), Crane(13), Dygert, Egbert, Ehardt, Ehlers, Erickson(Larsen), Fuhriman, Furniss, Galaviz, Gannon, Garner, Green, Hall(Stone), Handy, Harris, Hawkins, Haws, Healey, Hill, Holtzclaw, Hostetler, Leavitt, Manwaring, Marmon, Mathias, McCann, Mendive, Mickelsen, Miller, Mitchell, Monks, Nelsen, Palmer, Petzke, Pickett, Pohanka, Price, Rasor, Raybould, Raymond, Redman, Rubel, Sauter, Scott, Shepherd, Shirts, Skaug, Tanner(13), Tanner(14), Thompson, Vander Woude, Veile, Weber, Wheeler, Wisniewski, Mr. Speaker NAYS – None Absent – None Floor Sponsor - Ehardt Title apvd - to Senate
- Mar 10, 2026Read second time; Filed for Third Reading
- Mar 9, 2026Reported Printed; Filed for Second Reading
- Mar 6, 2026IntroducedIntroduced, read first time, referred to JRA for Printing
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Connected Entities
Sources
legislature.idaho.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance60How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy10Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz25Current news / social attention level
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