The University of Idaho will no longer offer a simple a 3L program in Boise; they’ve extended their reach to include 2L as well, after a 5-3 vote by Idaho’s State Board of Education. This vote was determined without the cap that many wanted added to it, a cap on law school enrollment, as many did not want the second year, which costs $400,000 a year for the state, only for this program to produce more JDs in a market seemingly saturated in all it needs for lawyers.
Said Board member Rod Lewis, the Boise community lets students get where the action is, at the state’s government and courts, business community, and a large center of legal professionals. “I certainly have felt that the quality of the program, both in terms of instruction, in terms of enrollment, etc. would be improved,” he said. “It’s not their intent that by doing so, they would significantly expand the size of the school.”
Why increase the size, since the program isn’t going to increase too much?
As said Board member Richard Westerberg, who ultimately voted against it, “Frankly, I’m still conflicted, because what we’re really talking about here is almost another million-dollar annual subsidy to produce lawyers (by adding the second-year program to the third) … If we actually got another million dollars going forward to spend on something, is the highest and best use to produce attorneys?”
But with schools like Concordia Law School opening up on Boise, raking in 70 students, it suggests there might be more of a market in Boise. And so perhaps getting voted a 2L without a cap was in fact a boon?
The state’s higher education funding has meanwhile dropped by $48.7 million in 2009 when it was at $285.2 million, and expecting a wider reaching program without any curb on the number of students involved, has torn the vote.