The Senate Education Committee has approved HB 603, the bill to restore "97 percent" funding protection to Idaho school districts to protect them from sharp state funding drops if they lose enrollment from year to year, but to charge the districts themselves to pay for it. The House-passed measure, backed by the Idaho Association of School Administrators, now moves to the full Senate for a final vote. Previous funding protections for school districts from sudden year-to-year funding swings were eliminated as part of the "Students Come First" school reforms, after state schools Supt. Tom Luna argued they amounted to funding "ghost students." Idaho doles out much of its state funding for schools through a formula based on student enrollment, as measured by average daily attendance.