Little signs school choice tax credit bill

BOISE — Idaho Gov. Brad Little on Thursday signed House Bill 93 — a $50 million tax credit that can go toward educational expenses, including private school tuition.

This is the first time in state history that state funds will be able to go toward private and religious K-12 education.

“With the passage of the $50 million Parental Choice Tax Credit program, Idaho boasts even more abundant schooling options for Idaho students and families,” Little said in an emailed statement. “Combined with the continuation of Idaho’s astoundingly successful Launch program, Idaho has become the first state to offer education freedom from kindergarten through career.”

The bill, sponsored by Idaho Falls Republican Rep. Wendy Horman and Meridian Republican Majority Leader Sen. Lori Den Hartog, makes up to $5,000 available per student, which can be paid in advance to families making 300% of the federal poverty level and below. Families with students with a disability can receive up to $7,500 for those students.

The income poverty level for a four-person household is $32,150, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services — 300% of that is $96,450.

The first year, families at or below the 300% of federal poverty guidelines would receive priority. After that, families that had previously received the credit would get priority.

HB 93 passed narrowly out of committee, advanced out of the House in a 42-28 vote and passed the Senate 20-15. The bill has faced strong opposition from public school advocates, who argue that Idaho is not meeting its constitutional obligation to fully fund public education, and shouldn’t be looking to also put funding toward a different system of education.

Idaho Education Association President Layne McInelly said in an emailed statement Thursday that signing the bill is “a huge mistake.”

“House Bill 93 is just the beginning,” McInelly said. “Voucher proponents — eager to help out-of-state billionaires plunder Idaho’s public school budget — are already planning how to exploit and expand this program during 2026’s legislative session. Each year, they will try to siphon more and more tax dollars away from public schools as a gift to private and religious schools and their patrons.”

McInelly cited several other states’ programs, which have grown in cost since their implementation.

For example, when Arizona created its educational savings account (ESA) program, it had eligibility restrictions and had about 12,000 participants — at the end of 2024 it had about 83,000 recipients. Wyoming last year enacted a school choice bill with income limitations on eligibility, and this year is considering a bill to remove those limitations, Cowboy State Daily reported.

Supporters argued that parents should have some assistance to educate their children differently if they decide the public system isn’t working. They said those parents are paying taxes and should therefore be able to receive some of the taxpayer funds to educate their child as they see fit.

“The Idaho Parental Choice Tax Credit not only alleviates the tax burden on Idaho families, but also ensures that all students, including those with special needs, have access to the resources that will best support them,” Den Hartog said in an emailed statement. “We believe that parents should have the freedom to choose the best educational path for their individual children. This is a victory for parental rights and the future of education in Idaho.”

The bill is likely to face a legal challenge.

Former Idaho Attorney General Jim Jones and his group, Committee to Protect and Preserve the Idaho Constitution, notified the governor they plan to file a lawsuit if he allows HB 93 to go into effect.

“The Committee is planning for two possible legal actions,” Jones wrote in a news release. “One action would go to the Idaho Supreme Court to enforce Idaho’s constitutional prohibition against spending public money on religious education. The other action would be filed in district court to force the Legislature to obey its constitutional mandate to adequately fund both the instructional side of public education and the facilities side — construction and maintenance of public school buildings.That case would require a full-blown trial with expert testimony.”

Idaho’s Constitution prohibits state funds from going to religious institutions and causes. However, recent Supreme Court decisions have found that states that enacted a school voucher or other policy that allows private schools to access state funds cannot prohibit religious schools from accessing those funds.

While there have been a number of proposals that would allow state funds to go to private schools over the years, the pressure increased in Idaho since around 2020. The national school choice group, the American Federation for Children, has been a top lobbying spender and one of the top campaign spenders in the past couple of years in Idaho.

In 2024, the group spent $220,223 lobbying in Idaho and $301,826 in electioneering. Several of the Republicans who had opposed prior attempts to allow state funds to go to private education fell in their primary contests in the 2024 election.

Idaho Democrats have, for the most part, been staunchly opposed to these types of school choice proposals.

The Democratic joint legislative caucus released a statement Thursday condemning the governor’s decision to sign the bill.

“Today, Gov. Brad Little betrayed his promise to Idahoans that he would stand up for public education and would veto any voucher bill that does not meet standards of fairness, accountability, responsibility, and transparency,” the statement said. “HB93 has none of these, but, like so many Republicans, he bowed to out-of-state billionaires instead of prioritizing the needs of real Idahoans.”

The group argues that the money sent toward this system is money that could have gone toward public education. Its supporters argue it doesn’t take any money from public education.

The Mountain States Policy Center, which has been pushing for school choice since it formed in Idaho in 2022, celebrated the decision. The policy center was on the advisory board for the Heritage Foundation’s presidential transition plan for Donald Trump, Project 2025, which called for dismantling the U.S. Department of Education and allowing federal funds to go toward a national school choice voucher program.

Trump on Feb. 16 posted on Truth Social that he supported Idaho’s school choice bill.

Little’s office had been accepting input on his decision, with a voicemail poll asking if Idaho residents thought he should veto or sign the bill. His office as of Thursday morning had not responded to repeated requests for the results of the poll, which had been up since Feb. 20.

Guido covers Idaho politics for the Lewiston Tribune, Moscow-Pullman Daily News and Idaho Press of Nampa. She may be contacted at lguido@idahopress.com and can be found on Twitter @EyeOnBoiseGuido.