Laura 02/07/25
After more than two hours of debate, the Idaho House on Friday voted to send a $50 million "parental choice tax credit" bill to the Senate.
Nearly half the members of the chamber stood up to speak during a debate over if the bill was sufficiently accountable, which state agency should be tasked with overseeing such a program, and whether public school funds should go to private school tuition. Members voted 42-28 in favor of the bill.
Rep. Wendy Horman, R-Idaho Falls, sponsored the bill, which is an amended version of a bill proposed last year that failed to make it out of committee.
“If I thought for one minute that this bill would harm public schools or children, I would not be standing here with it,” Horman said Friday.
HB 97 would allow for parents to receive up to $5,000 per K-12 student to be used for qualified educational expenses, which could include private school tuition. Priority would be given in the first year to households earning at or below 300% of the federal poverty level. In the following years, priority would be given to families that previously had the credit.
Students up to age 21 with disabilities would be eligible for up to $7,500.
Students enrolled full-time or part-time in public school at the time of application would not be eligible.
Several Republicans spoke to concerns they had about the lack of oversight into private schooling and the potential for the costs of the program to grow if demand increases.
Horman said the accountability in the bill is that misusing the funds would be considered tax fraud and parents would be required to fill out a survey rating their satisfaction with the schooling. There are requirements that the instruction includes, at a minimum, English language arts, mathematics, science and social studies. There would be required record retention of instruction to demonstrate it meets that minimum instruction requirement and that it “be available in case of any audit by the state tax commission.”
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