Idaho Voucher Lawsuit
Idaho Education Association and Petitioners Challenge House Bill 93
in public dollars diverted to private schools.
On February 27, 2025, Governor Brad Little signed HB93, the Idaho Parental Choice Tax Credit, which creates the state’s first voucher program to funnel $50 million in public funds to private K–12 education — money that could otherwise support Idaho’s chronically underfunded public schools.
Key Idaho Education Funding Facts:
- Idaho ranks 51st in the nation for per-pupil funding.
- School districts are facing an $82.2M special education budget shortfall.
- More than $8B is needed to repair school facilities across the state.
Article IX, Section 1, of the Constitution of the State of Idaho states:
“The stability of a republican form of government depending mainly upon the intelligence of the people, it shall be the duty of the legislature of Idaho, to establish and maintain a general, uniform and thorough system of public, free common schools.”
Legislators cannot fund a private-school program while starving public schools for decades and fulfill their sworn constitutional duty.
September 17, 2025
The Idaho Education Association joined nine petitioners in filing a lawsuit against the Idaho State Tax Commission.
- For IEA Members
- For all Idaho educators
- For our students
- For Idaho
Watch the press conference announcing the legal challenge of Idaho’s voucher subsidy program at the Idaho State Capitol.
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About The Lawsuit
Challenging Idaho's Parental Choice Tax Credit Program
32,000 People
House Bill 93 established a tax credit voucher that allows Idaho families to claim a refundable tax credit of up to $5,000 per eligible student ($7,500 if that student has a disability) to pay for education expenses outside of the state’s public school system.
The legislation was signed into law despite vocal outcry from thousands in opposition to it, including more than 32,000 people who called the governor’s office to urge him to veto it.
The legal challenge was filed with the Idaho Supreme Court and asks for a Writ of Prohibition against the State of Idaho’s execution of the new law. The suit names the Idaho Tax Commission, which was tasked by lawmakers with implementing the legislation. Hawley Troxell, a prominent Boise-based law firm, represents the coalition in the suit.
9 Petitioners
The lawsuit includes nine petitioners:
- Committee to Protect and Preserve the Idaho Constitution
- Moscow School District
- Mormon Women for Ethical Government
- the members of the Idaho Education Association
- Kristine Anderson, mother of students with special needs in the Madison School District
- Jerry Evans, former State Superintendent of Public Instruction from 1979 to 1995
- Marta Hernandez, a member of the Idaho Education Association and educator at Burley Junior High in Burley
- Idaho Representative Stephanie Jo Mickelsen (R-Idaho Falls)
- Alexis Morgan, an Idaho parent
1 Clear Mandate
The lawsuit challenges HB93 by pointing to language in the Idaho Constitution mandating the Legislature to “establish and maintain a general, uniform and thorough system of public free common schools.”
By diverting taxpayer funds to private schools, it is funding a parallel system of private schools outside of the single public school system prescribed by the constitution. A system of taxpayer-funded private schools cannot be “general, uniform and thorough” by its nature. Nor can it be “public” when private schools are not open to all, nor are they accountable to taxpayers in open and transparent ways.
Idaho Voucher Lawsuit
Press Releases + News
IEA Takes Voucher Fight to Idaho Supreme Court
The Idaho Education Association, along with a coalition of petitioners and supporters including IEA Board of Directors member Marta Hernandez, filed a case asking the Idaho Supreme Court to strike down the state’s new voucher…
NEWS RELEASE:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Suit Challenging Idaho’s Voucher Subsidy Program Filed with Supreme Court An alliance of pro-public education organizations and individuals committed to defending Idahoans against unconstitutional overreach today announced a legal challenge to the…
Little Signs Voucher Bill Against Rampant Opposition
Governor Brad Little signed House Bill 93, the most unaccountable and expansive private school voucher program option the Idaho Legislature considered this session, into law on Thursday. The voucher, which is in the form of…
Stark: Keep Vouchers Out of Idaho
For decades, anti-public education forces have spent millions of out-of-state dollars promoting their favorite government entitlement: private school vouchers. And for decades, Idahoans have rejected these schemes in favor of common-sense fiscal responsibility and the…
IEA Poll Reveals Idahoans Support Educators, Classify Vouchers as Low Priority
The vast majority of Idaho voters approve of the state’s public school educators and only a tiny fraction think publicly-funded private school vouchers should be a priority for the Idaho Legislature, according to a recent…
“In the end, this isn’t just about schools. It’s about the kind of future we want for Idaho. We want communities where every child — no matter where they live, no matter who they are — has access to a strong, free, public education. That’s what the Idaho Constitution requires."
– Paul Stark, Executive Director, Idaho Education Association
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The lawsuit is in motion.
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Research, studies, articles and more
Learn More About Vouchers and Public Education in Idaho
Idaho Passed $2 Billion in Funding for School Building Repairs. It’s Not Nearly Enough. - ProPublica
[Read the Report] – “A new cost estimate and early reports from districts receiving state funds show that small districts are still struggling to meet their most dire needs, forcing them to turn to voters to approve additional funds.”
Private School Vouchers Are Especially Harmful to Rural Communities - Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy
[Read the Report] – “The Center found that nearly half of all counties in Idaho (20) do not contain a single private school, and only 22 percent of Idaho’s 121 private schools are in rural towns.”
The Fiscal Consequences of Private School Vouchers - Education Law Center
[Read the Study] – “..nearly all the states examined were diverting hundreds of millions of dollars to voucher programs annually by the end of the period studied.”
The Reality of Switchers - J. Cowen, National Education Policy Center
[Read the Study] – “Widespread reporting across multiple states has confirmed a pattern established by researchers of school voucher schemes: that new voucher programs subsidize a large number of students already in private schools.”