Crapo, Wyden, LaMalfa, Neguse Lead Push for Passage of Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization
Washington, D.C.--U.S. Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), alongside their colleagues Representatives Doug LaMalfa (R-California) and Joe Neguse (D-Colorado), led a bipartisan coalition of 89 lawmakers in sending a letter to House leadership requesting urgent consideration of S.356, the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) and Self Determination Act. The bill, which unanimously passed in the Senate in June of 2025, would reauthorize the program through Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 and provide lapsed payments for FYs 2024 and 2025.
Funding for the SRS program lapsed in September of 2023, with the last authorized payments distributed to counties in early 2024.
". . . Counties and school districts across 41 states have seen a 63 percent cut in funding. This $177 million loss is devastating for rural communities, leading to school closures, delayed road and bridge maintenance and reduced public safety services. These are not abstract policy debates; they are tangible consequences for local governments and the communities that steward untaxed federal lands," the letter reads.
"Counties applaud Senators Crapo and Wyden and Representatives LaMalfa and Neguse for leading this bipartisan push to reauthorize Secure Rural Schools,” said National Association of Counties (NACo) Executive Director Matthew Chase. “With unanimous Senate support and strong bipartisan support in the House, the path forward should be clear: SRS keeps schools operating, roads maintained and public safety services funded in communities that manage vast federal lands, and must be reauthorized now. Given that more than 700 rural counties have been awaiting these payments since the program lapsed at the end of FY 2023, we urge House leadership to act expeditiously by passing the bipartisan, bicameral SRS package.”
“Every public school student in this country should have opportunities and resources that are not determined by their ZIP code,” said Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association. “Our students deserve access to a wide range of learning experiences that prepare them for the real world. Today, one in five public school students attends a rural public school. Rural students and the communities that support them need sustained investment. That is why we applaud the bipartisan, bicameral call for the U.S. House of Representatives to pass the Secure Rural Schools Reauthorization Act and send it to the President for signature. Our nation’s rural students need this support to reach their full potential. We are grateful to Senators Crapo and Wyden and Representatives LaMalfa and Neguse for their steadfast commitment to rural communities, their families, and their students through their leadership on this important measure.”
"Western Governors appreciate the efforts of many leaders in Congress, including Senators Crapo and Wyden and Representatives LaMalfa and Neguse, to ensure rural communities will continue to have financial support for essential services," said Jack Waldorf, Executive Director, Western Governors’ Association. "The Governors believe it is incumbent upon the federal government to ensure counties and states receive continued, predictable, and full payments under each of the three titles of the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) program."
View the full text of the letter HERE.
Background on the SRS program:
- The first SRS program was authorized in 2000 with enactment of the SRS and Community Self-Determination Act.
- This legislation specifically assists counties containing tracts of federally owned forest land that are tax-exempt.
- The program provides payments to county governments in areas where those forests are located because counties do not receive tax revenue from federal land; the payments come through timber receipts and other revenue generating activities within U.S. national forests.
- In Idaho, $25 million was distributed across 34 counties to help pay for educational programs, emergency response systems and other services this past year.
- Since the program was not reauthorized, county payments reverted to 1908 timber sharing law, which represents about an 80 percent cut for some counties.
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