Rep. Wendy Horman (R-Idaho Falls) moved a step closer to her dream of saddling Idaho taxpayers with Arizona-style private school vouchers this week, when the Idaho House passed House Bill 93 by a vote of 42-28. 

Legislators debated the bill for more than two hours. Several members acknowledged the deluge of emails and phone calls they have received from their constituents — one referenced 1,000 emails against the bill — when debating HB 93. IEA members from the Treasure Valley took advantage of a snow day to pack the House gallery.  

Yet despite the stated public opposition, and despite vociferous pushback from both Republicans and Democrats over the fiscal irresponsibility of the program, House members chose to pass the legislation. It’s unknown when the bill will come before the Senate.  

“This isn’t the outcome we hoped for, but we’re not done fighting this bad bill,” said Idaho Education Association Executive Director Paul Stark. “As so many lawmakers pointed out during the debate, it’s fiscally irresponsible, unaccountable, and will siphon precious dollars from our rural schools so parents who can already afford private schools get a tax break.” 

Opponents Rail Against Cost Concerns

The debate on the House floor seemed to pit lawmakers who champion fiscal prudence against lawmakers who insist Idaho’s public schools are failing students.  

Rep. Stephanie Jo Mickelsen (R-Idaho Falls) said the bill was fiscally irresponsible, pointing to the lack of prohibition against parents taking advantage of multiple existing school choice programs offered by the state.  

“There is nothing conservative in this bill,” Mickelsen said. 

Rep. Lance Clow (R-Twin Falls) — who introduced his own voucher bill this week — pointed out HB 93 would reimburse families whose children are already enrolled in private schools.  

“I’m probably going to be labeled anti-choice,” Clow said about his “no” vote. But, he said, the cost of HB 93 would be too great. “This is the most expensive way possible for us to get more kids into choice,” Clow said.  

Several legislators, including Rep. Mark Sauter (R-Sandpoint) and Rep. Lucas Cayler (R-Caldwell), insisted the bill goes against a core Republican principle.  

“I hate to use these words,” said Rep. Lucas Cayler (R-Caldwell). “But it’s another type of social welfare program.”  

Rep. Mark Sauter (R-Sandpoint), went a step further, saying HB 93 “really serves as wealth distribution.”  

In addition, the oversight provision within the bill — which would dedicate two full-time employees at the Idaho Tax Commission to administer the program — came under attack.  

“Not only are we asking the state tax commission to audit qualified receipts, we’re also asking them to audit a documented portfolio on students’ growth — where they have little to no experience,” said Rep. Jon Weber (R-Rexburg). 

Rep. David Cannon (R-Blackfoot) began his comments by describing his love of free markets, explaining his vote to institute another government program by insisting choice and competition have done more to better people’s lives than “any government program ever will.” Lawmakers’ concerns about decreased funds for public education are unfounded, he said.  

“I think that it would be a mistake for us to buy into the idea that Idaho is going to be the first state that adopts school choice and then guts the public education budget,” Cannon said. 

Thank the Legislators Who Stood Up for Public Education 
Want to share your support for the representatives who stood against House Bill 93? Click on the links below for their contact information.  
 
Rep. Todd Achilles (D-Boise) 
Rep. Steve Berch (D-Boise) 
Rep. Lucas Cayler (R-Caldwell) 
Rep. Rick Cheatum (R-Pocatello) 
Rep. Monica Church (D-Boise) 
Rep. Lance Clow (R-Twin Falls) 
Rep. Jeff Cornilles (R-Nampa) 
Rep. Megan Egbert (D-Boise) 
Rep. Marco Erickson (R-Idaho Falls) 
Rep. Ben Fuhriman (R-Shelley) 
Rep. Rod Furniss (R-Rigby) 
Rep. Soñia Galaviz (D-Boise) 
Rep. John Gannon (D-Boise) 
Rep. Dan Garner (R-Clifton) 
Rep. Brooke Green (D-Boise)  
Rep. Clay Handy (R-Burley) 
Rep. Chris Mathias (D-Boise) 
Rep. Lori McCann (R-Lewiston) 
Rep. Stephanie Jo Mickelsen (R-Idaho Falls) 
Rep. Jack Nelsen (R-Idaho) 
Rep. James Petzke (R-Meridian) 
Rep. Mike Pohanka (R-Jerome) 
Rep. Britt Raybould (R-Rexburg) 
Rep. Jerald Raymond (R-Menan) 
Rep. Ilana Rubel (D-Boise) 
Rep. Mark Sauter (R-Sandpoint) 
Rep. Jon Weber (R-Rexburg) 
Rep. Josh Wheeler (R-Ammon) 
 

Will Senate Bill Get a House Hearing?

The Senate Education Committee passed Senate Bill 1025, a voucher that would broaden the state’s existing Empowering Parents program to include vouchers, on Wednesday. But House leadership has already indicated the bill will be dead on arrival.  

As Boise State Public Radio reported on Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Moyle (R-Star) said, “I would say (House Majority Leader Jason Monks, R-Meridian) is going to tell you that it’s not going anywhere, so I’d probably agree with him.” 

Committee Chair Sen. Dave Lent (R-Idaho Falls), will bring his bill to the Senate next week. It would allow private school students to apply for grants worth up to $5,000 per child or $15,000 per family.  

Lent’s bill includes additional layers of accountability, including an oversight panel of parents and legislators, stipulations that any grant money must be used within three years, and would disqualify parents who abuse the program by misusing funds. (Parents would have the option to appeal a disqualification.) In addition, schools that receive money from the program must comply with state laws related to special education, nondiscrimination and parental rights, must maintain student enrollment and performance data and must administer standardized tests. Criminal background checks would be mandatory for any employee who has unsupervised contact with students.   

Although it’s not known when SB 1025 will hit the Senate floor, it is expected in the next couple of weeks.  

Clow, Thayn Introduce ESA Programs 

Rep. Clow introduced legislation in the House Education Committee that would give the parents of public school students a tax break if they transferred out of public schools and into private education. The bill would also create education savings accounts that could be spent on tuition or other private school expenses. In addition, parents could deduct private school tuition from their income taxes if their students are enrolled in the program.  

Former Sen. Steven Thayn, a Republican from Emmett — introduced a bill in the Senate Education Committee that would allow public schools, including charters, to offer education savings accounts for tutoring, supplies and other items.  

IEA Reporter will be watching Clow and Thayn’s bills and will have updates as they become available.