The Idaho Digital Learning Alliance recorded 2,980 dual-credit enrollments in summer and fall 2026, down 46% from 5,540 over the same period a year earlier. The decline is in IDLA’s dual-credit counts: it does not establish whether statewide dual-credit participation fell or whether students took courses through other providers.
IDLA Superintendent Jeff Simmons presented the figures at an Idaho School Boards Association convention workshop in Boise. Idaho Education News reported that Simmons linked much of the decrease to fees imposed after lawmakers cut IDLA’s budget and limited its scope. He said IDLA had previously waived fees for dual-credit classes.
The counts measure one route to college credit
IDLA’s decline is not a statewide participation measure. The Idaho Department of Education says dual-credit courses are generally offered through students’ high schools, but can also be taken on college campuses or online, with fees varying. The University of Idaho, for example, offers courses through those three settings. The available figures do not show how many students who used IDLA in 2025 took courses elsewhere in 2026.
IDLA’s 2026 fees also use a different unit from at least one statewide price benchmark. Under the new requirements described by Idaho Education News, IDLA charges $40 for classes required for graduation and $100 for classes not required for graduation. Boise State University says concurrent-enrollment courses taken at a student’s high school cost $75 per credit statewide. The IDLA charges are per course, while that comparison is per credit; they are not directly equivalent prices.
Students can request up to $75 per credit for dual-credit courses through Advanced Opportunities, according to the Idaho Department of Education’s 2024-2025 booklet. The booklet does not establish whether those funds can pay IDLA’s separate course fees, so it does not confirm that the new charges are covered.
Budget limits and rural access provide context
The fee change came after lawmakers reduced IDLA’s funding and narrowed its scope. Idaho Education News reported a $13.4 million cut from a $26 million annual budget; the Idaho Statesman reported that the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee approved a $13.5 million reduction for the next fiscal year.
The same Idaho Education News report said IDLA enrolled 56,000 students last year while this year’s state funding covers 32,000. The program enrolled 8,608 students over the summer—2,200 above its funded capacity—and 12,056 in fall, 806 above capacity. Simmons said IDLA has used savings to serve students beyond funded limits, but cannot keep doing so every year.
Earlier IDLA figures show the dual-credit program’s scale before the current decline, but do not establish a statewide trend. The Idaho Statesman reported that IDLA recorded 8,459 dual-credit enrollments in 2024–25, with more than 64% from students at rural schools. A separate measure, cited by Idaho Education News from an IDLA report to the Legislature, found that one in five rural public-school students enrolled in an IDLA course each school year, compared with one in nine urban students. That measure covers IDLA courses generally—not dual credit alone—and does not show how rural dual-credit participation has changed.
Simmons said a survey he conducted found that about 70% of responding rural districts identified cost as a barrier to students taking dual-credit courses, Idaho Education News reported. The reported IDLA enrollment drop and that survey highlight a concern about access, but neither establishes how many students stopped pursuing college credit or whether they switched providers.
