Vociferous opposition from Idaho Education Association members, thousands of concerned voters, and some of the most influential business and education groups in the state wasn’t enough to stop the Idaho Senate from passing a $50 million voucher program that will use public money to pay for private schooling.
The Senate passed House Bill 93 on Wednesday by a 20-15 vote.
Lawmakers have been under tremendous pressure to pass the bill. Lobbyists from the Heritage Foundation, Mountain States Policy Center, EdChoice and more have been courting legislators for months, but the coup de grâce came in a social media post from President Trump himself.
HB 93 is now in Governor Brad Little’s hands. It’s unknown whether he will find HB 93 meets the “fair, responsible, transparent and accountable” test he set out for any proposed voucher scheme when he asked legislators to set aside $50 million for the purpose at the start of the legislative session.
“IEA members have battled against unfair and unneeded vouchers for years,” said IEA President Layne McInelly. “The fact that it took a tweet from the president to push this unpopular bill over the finish line is truly a testament to IEA members and our allies.”
As HB 93 advanced in the Legislature, anti-public school lawmakers continually pointed out in hearings, Idaho is one of the last ‘red’ states without a voucher program.
“That is because of you, IEA. But the fight isn’t over,” McInelly said. “We will fight to secure the governor’s veto of the bill. If it becomes law, we will fight to keep the program limited. And we will continue to push Idaho’s lawmakers to do right by the state’s public school educators and students.”
Lawmakers Question Fairness, Accountability, Responsibility and Transparency
HB 93 allows non-public school students to receive $5,000 in public tax dollars to pay for private school tuition, tutoring, curriculum and other private education expenses. HB 93 allows families earning up to 300 percent the federal poverty limit — $93,600 annually for a family of four — to apply for the funds. Students with special needs could qualify for up to $7,500.
IEA members and other pro-public education voters sent thousands of emails and letters voicing opposition to HB 93, which creates a tax credit for parents of private school students. Idaho Ed News reported that members of the House Revenue and Taxation Committee, where the bill was introduced, received more than 1,000 emails before a Feb. 5 public hearing. Ninety-four percent were in opposition to vouchers.
The program will be administered through the Idaho State Tax Commission, a provision that provoked consternation among lawmakers debating HB 93 on the Senate floor Wednesday. The bill’s “accountability” measures include a survey, distributed by the tax commission, that participating parents must fill out.
Idaho’s new voucher bill is strikingly similar to Arizona’s disastrous program, which is considered the gold standard among anti-public school lobbyists.
“We can’t afford to take on private religious schools at this point,” Sen. Janie Ward-Engelking (D-Boise) said. “When we see what’s happened in other states, and there are a lot of them — Florida, Indiana, Arizona. Not only have these states’ budgets ballooned and critical areas have reduced, like infrastructure water projects in those states, but there’s also been a lot of fraud and exploitation.”
Sen. Treg Bernt (R-Meridian) read a letter from a constituent whose children were denied entry to a Treasure Valley Christian school because they are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
“I don’t care how you slice it, that is discrimination,” he said. “I pose a question: What safeguards are included in this bill that would prohibit private Christian schools from potentially discriminating against those that feel that Mormons aren’t Christians?”
There are no provisions in HB 93 that would require private schools to enroll all students who apply, as public schools do.
Sen. Kevin Cook (R-Idaho Falls), who serves on the Senate Local Government and Taxation Committee, spoke twice against HB 93 during the floor debate. The funding system HB 93 creates, Cook said, is not transparent and will lead to further increases.
“When somebody says it won’t affect public schools — it will affect everything,” Cook said. “It will affect your roads, your schools, your bridges, everything that we do here at the State of Idaho. It will affect (it) because you’re taking that money away.”
Sen. David Lent (R-Idaho Falls), who introduced a voucher program that failed on the Senate floor last week, countered nearly every argument anti-public school lawmakers have made for HB 93. Without naming names, he targeted the assertion Rep. Wendy Horman (R-Idaho Falls) has been making for months — that “school choice is the civil rights issue of our time.”
“I think the civil rights issue is that this legislation provides an opportunity for us to institute publicly funded discrimination,” Lent said, later adding, “about 95 percent of the population of our state will be paying taxes for about five percent of our students to attend a private school.”
Sen. Doug Ricks (R-Rexburg) gave a preview of what taxpayers can expect if Governor Little signs HB 93: More taxpayer money flowing into private schools.
“It will be a start,” he said. “We pass legislation every session on public schools. It’s always being amended. That process will continue on if we open this door, and for the private school option, it’ll continue to evolve.”
