The Idaho State Board of Education Thursday approved a new policy on student fees at Idaho’s four-year public higher education institutions, making some student fees optional.
The revised policy, developed with representatives from each institution, creates four fee categories: Student Enrollment, Engagement and Success; Institutional Operations, Services and Support; Student Health and Wellness; and Student Government. The opt-out option applies to a subset of fees under the Student Government category that support student activities, clubs and organizations. The fee categories will be adopted by the four-year institutions. Students who decide to opt-out of subsidizing activities, clubs and organizations will receive a refund effective in the fall of 2022.
The board also took formal action to support various legislative bills, including one that would calculate public school funding on enrollment rather than attendance. Another would create an incentive program to provide funding to educators who agree to teach in rural or underserved schools to pay student loans or additional education expenses if they agree to stay at the schools for up to five years.
The board also reaffirmed its support for literacy funding, which could include optional all-day kindergarten, summer reading programs, and efforts to address dyslexia, but did not take a position related to legislative proposals. (ID Board of Ed)
