The big news: Rep. Wendy Horman (R-Idaho Falls), the co-architect of Idaho’s new voucher program and disastrous changes to the state’s appropriations process, is accepting a job in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington.
• Horman will serve as director of the Office of Child Care in the Administration for Children and Families.
Why it matters: Horman has long been involved in shaping public education policy. Before joining the Legislature, she served on the Bonneville School Board and as president of the Idaho School Boards Association.
• In 2012, Horman joined with then-State Board of Education member Milford Terrell to form YES! For Idaho Education, a campaign to prop up the wildly controversial Luna Laws at the ballot box. Idaho Education Association members vociferously opposed the Luna Laws and organized voters; the referendum to ratify the laws was soundly defeated in 2012.
• In 2016, Horman co-chaired the failed attempt to modernize the public school funding formula. She rejected calls for an independent adequacy study and instead controlled which funding concepts advanced. The effort lacked broad stakeholder buy-in, stalled at minor technical changes and ultimately collapsed, leaving Idaho’s core funding formula unchanged.
• In 2023, she became the co-chair of the powerful Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee, which sets the state’s budget. That year, she and co-chair Sen. Scott Grow (R-Eagle) presided over a big change: the committee would not advance budget bills unless there was a consensus from members of the Senate Finance Committee and the House Appropriations Committee. That change, combined with a new way of hearing prospective budgets in 2024, led to vocal public arguments among lawmakers and a delayed end to the session.
• IEA members will long remember Horman as an architect and co-sponsor of House Bill 93, which created Idaho’s new $50 million tax credit voucher program. She lobbied relentlessly for the passage of the bill while also voting for huge tax cuts the state could not afford. As a result, the state now has a projected $58 million shortfall that could bloom to $1.5 billion in fiscal year 2027.
Horman’s greatest hits: Horman has developed a reputation for her sometimes-cavalier quips:
• Earlier this month, she called the projected $58 million state budget shortfall a “rounding error.”
• She drew criticism for her “misleading at best” claims that the state invested $400 million into education during the 2025 session.
• She has drawn upon the legacy of the civil rights movement to promote vouchers, calling them “the civil rights issue of our time.”
What’s next?: The Bonneville County Republican Central Committee will nominate three suggested replacements. Gov. Brad Little will appoint one of the three nominees to Horman’s seat, presumably in time for the 2026 legislative session.
