Moving a law school to a bigger city? Idaho did it.

A task force looking at moving the University of South Dakota law school to Sioux Falls is looking to Idaho for advice.

Don Burnett, former dean of the College of Law at the University of Idaho, shared his experience with task force members Wednesday. 

Nearly two decades ago, the Idaho law school began exploring the possibility of moving to the state's largest city, Boise, in an effort to bring students closer to the state capital, state supreme court and the opportunities afforded by an urban location.

Today, law students in Idaho can complete their entire law school experience at both the University of Idaho's main campus in Moscow and at the second location in Boise.

"It's worked out surprisingly well so far," said Mark Adams, dean of the College of Law. 

The comparison with Idaho raises questions about whether two law school campuses could be in South Dakota's future.

"It's possible that it would make sense to say, hey, maybe the third year ought to be brought up to Sioux Falls so there's more experiential learning," said Mark Mickelson, chair of the Law School Task Force. "But we haven't gotten to that." 

No formal recommendations have yet been made by the task force, though Mickelson expected Wednesday to be the final meeting before the group writes a final report. 

A tale of two law schools

Conversations about the future of Idaho's law school started similarly to the ones in South Dakota. 

"There was certainly some talk with some folks about moving the whole operation," Adams said. 

But it quickly became clear that wouldn't be an option, he added. 

The school faced two unavoidable realities, Adams said. One, they faced too much opposition to moving the entire law school, which had been in Moscow for more than a century. 

Two, state education leaders knew if they didn't have a public law school presence in Boise, it was likely that a private school would swoop in and fill that need. (Concordia University School of Law opened in Boise in 2012, two years after the University of Idaho opened a law school branch in the city). 

How is South Dakota different?

The situation in Idaho differs from South Dakota in that part of the reason for the move was to have a law school presence in the state's capital. 

A move to Sioux Falls — or opening a second law school location — would not change the reality that state legislators and the South Dakota State Supreme Court are in Pierre, hours away from students. 

Moscow and Boise are also considerably further away from each other than Sioux Falls and Vermillion. Mickelson said it was unlikely the task force would recommend two locations 55 miles apart offering the exact same courses.

What happened in Idaho?

The South Dakota task force has seen pushback from local residents in Vermillion about the potential impact if the school moves away. 

In Idaho those same concerns were voiced, Adams said. 

"There was certainly a concern for Moscow," he said. "If we're moving into Boise, will there still be strong demand for Moscow?" 

So far, Adams said, the answer is yes. Both the Moscow and Boise locations have similar enrollment, and overall enrollment in the University of Idaho's law school has increased. 

Idaho's law school move happened gradually. 

In 2010, the school offered third-year law classes in Boise, later expanding to second-year classes in 2014. Starting this fall, students can take courses for all three years of law school in either location. 

The school needed increased financial support from the state to maintain the second location, and it's challenging to maintain a singular school community over two cities. 

Overall, though, it's been beneficial, Adams said. 

"We've just expanded our impact," he said. 

Advice for South Dakota

Adams said one of the best decisions Idaho made was forming a committee to look at all of the options. 

There were state government officials, faculty, people from the legal and business communities, alumni and others who came together to make decisions. 

"Let all people voice all their different concerns and expectations," Adams said, adding later, "It's also a very slow process."