New private school choice bill emerges

A new bill would tether state funds to students moving from public schools to private schools.

Sponsored by Rep. Lance Clow, R-Twin Falls, the bill would create education savings accounts (ESAs) that could be spent on tuition and other private school and homeschool expenses. It would also create an income tax deduction equaling the amount that eligible students spend on private school tuition.

It’s the third active private school choice bill moving through the Statehouse. But Clow’s bill is distinct in one major respect: Only students transferring out of public schools would be eligible. Students already attending private school would be ineligible.

“(These are) not funds that are gonna go to people that have already made that choice,” Clow told the House Education Committee.

Kindergarten students, from any school, would also be eligible as they enter first grade for the first time.

The Idaho Department of Education would administer the program. Eligible students would receive a spending account furnished by a portion of the per-pupil state funding that goes to public schools. The per-pupil figure, calculated as a statewide average, is currently $8,440, Clow said, and it does not include federal or local funding.

Students with special needs would be eligible for 100% of the per-pupil distribution. For all other students, the ESA amount would depend on their adjusted gross income (AGI):

Households with an AGI less than $75,000 would get 80% of the average per-pupil distribution, or $6,752.

Households with an AGI between $75,000 and $99,999 would get 60% of the average per-pupil distribution, or $5,064.

Households with an AGI between $100,000 and $124,999 would get 40% of the average per-pupil distribution, or $3,376.

Households with an AGI equal to or greater than $125,000 would get 20% of the average per-pupil distribution, or $1,688.

The leftover money — after the ESA cut is applied to the per-pupil average — would stay with the public school district that the student previously attended. This money would reserve a seat in the district in case the student comes back, Clow said.

Only accredited private schools would qualify as an eligible expense for the ESA.

The bill also includes a standardized testing requirement for ESA recipients hoping to renew their benefit year-to-year. Private school students would have to show confirmation that they took a nationally normed test while homeschool students would have to show evidence that they tested at grade level or better to remain eligible.

Homeschool parents would also have to create a “personalized student education plan” demonstrating that their child is being provided a “thorough education” in at least reading, writing, grammar, mathematics, social studies and science, the bill says.

The income tax deduction would also be restricted to public school students transferring to private school. The deduction would allow parents of private school students to reduce their state taxable income by an amount equivalent to tuition.

This is different from the refundable tax credit proposed by House Bill 93, which would give tax filers a refund if their claimed expenses are higher than what they owe the state.

Rep. Jack Nelsen said he’s skeptical of the idea, but he applauded Clow’s effort and supported introducing the bill.

“I still have heartburn about public money going to private, religious schools,” said Nelsen, R-Jerome. “But for all the motions … and bills that are flying through this building right now, this is a really thoughtful approach to add to the discussion.”

House Education voted to introduce the bill Thursday, setting the stage for a future public hearing.

The total cost of the ESA and tax deductions are unclear. There’s no cap on enrollment, meaning all 313,000 of Idaho’s public school students would have the option to transfer to a private school and claim the ESA.

If 3,100 students enrolled in the ESA it would cost the state $21 million, according to a fiscal note attached to the bill. The tax deduction would cost another $8.7 million, the estimate says.

New bill aims to protect campus free speech

Rep. Barbara Ehardt Thursday introduced a bill aimed at protecting free speech rights on Idaho’s college and university campuses.

The bill would prohibit colleges and universities from placing limitations on speech in campus common areas that are more restrictive than the time, place and manner restrictions allowed by the First Amendment. It would also bar colleges and universities from charging security fees for controversial campus speakers.

“We have had a problem in Idaho with students being able to express themselves on a campus,” Ehardt told the House Education Committee. “This legislation makes very clear that … First Amendment protection should not apply with less force on college campuses than in the community at large.”

Ehardt, R-Idaho Falls, said she worked on the bill with the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian advocacy group. She said she also consulted with Boise State University officials.

The bill would give students and student organizations the right to sue their college or university for violating the proposed protections, and could seek up to $25,000. On Thursday, Ehardt made a last-minute amendment — requested by Boise State officials, she said — to give colleges and universities 30 days to “cure” an alleged violation before legal action commences.

Rep. Jack Nelsen, R-Jerome, asked Ehardt to address the “overlap” between free speech on campus and speech rights of private businesses with campus locations. Without calling it out by name, Nelsen referred to Big City Coffee’s lawsuit against Boise State.

Ehardt said the proposed protections would have prevented the lawsuit, had they been in place. “It would have given the clarifying direction that would have potentially prevented all of it.”

House Education voted to introduce the bill, setting the stage for a future public hearing.

Active-duty military families offered priority charter school admissions under new bill

Also on Thursday, the House Education Committee introduced a bill to give active-duty military families priority access to public charter schools.

Idaho charter schools have enrollment caps that often lead to lengthy waitlists. While waitlist applicants are admitted through a lottery system, existing state law allows charters to prioritize admission to certain types of students.

The bill from Rep. David Leavitt, R-Twin Falls, would add active-duty military members to the priority list.

“A lot of kids suffer as they go from duty station to duty station, making friendships and having that continuity in this life,” Leavitt said. “This provides a little bit of a reprieve for them.”

Currently, charter school admission preference can be given to:

Children of the charter school’s founders.

Siblings of applicants already selected through the lottery system.

Applicants seeking to transfer from another charter school.

Applicants who reside within the school’s primary attendance area.

Charters can also weight their lottery-based admission systems in favor of educationally disadvantaged applicants, including children who are living in poverty or foster care and those with learning disabilities, among other characteristics.

New in the Senate: Public school ESAs, literacy training, tech awareness

Without discussion, the Senate Education Committee rapidly introduced three bills Thursday afternoon.

A bill sponsored by former Senate Education Chairperson Steven Thayn would open the door to allow public schools and charter schools to offer education savings accounts. The schools would have to opt in to Families who opt into a parent-supported instruction model,” allowing students to study at home part-time or full-time. Parents would be able to use ESAs for items such as curriculum, tutoring and educational supplies.

A literacy training bill would require the Idaho Department of Education to offer professional development to kindergarten through third-grade reading teachers. The state training would run over a “multiyear period.” The program would have a $5 million-a-year pricetag. Sen. Van Burtenshaw, R-Terreton, is sponsoring the bill.

A tech awareness bill would require the Education Department to create and offer an online “parent tech awareness program.” The program would address online threats and “the potential dangers inherent in the use of devices with internet capabilities,” among other items. Sen. Kevin Cook, R-Idaho Falls, is the bill’s sponsor.

House passes higher ed contracts bill

The House unanimously passed a bill Thursday designed to help state universities compete for contracts with state agencies.

House Bill 34 would allow agencies to contract directly with Idaho’s four-year schools.

After Thursday’s vote, the bill heads to the Senate.

Committee OKs bill to streamline IESDB budgeting

A new bill could streamline the budgeting process for the Idaho Educational Services for the Deaf and the Blind.

Currently, the IESDB is required to submit a budget to the state superintendent’s office. The new bill would allow the IESDB to skip that step, and send its budget request directly to the governor and the Legislature.

The House Appropriations Committee printed the bill Thursday.

This story is from Idaho Education News, a nonprofit supported on grants from the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Family Foundation, the Education Writers Association and the Solutions Journalism Network.