Idaho Education Association President Layne McInelly released the following statement on behalf of IEA’s thousands of educator members in reaction to the Idaho Legislature’s approval of House Bill 93 — legislation calling for a tax credit voucher in Idaho:  

Governor Brad Little should veto House Bill 93.  

As the dozens of principled and conscientious lawmakers who voted against this legislation pointed out, House Bill 93 is a huge step backward for Idaho’s students and public schools.  

This bill was not “done the Idaho way,” as Governor Little called for during his State of the State address. Instead, lawmakers gave Idahoans legislation cut-and-pasted from other states by out-of-state lobbyists backed by billionaires who want to plunder Idaho’s public school budget for their own profit.  

Lawmakers gave Idahoans legislation cut-and-pasted from other states by out-of-state lobbyists backed by billionaires who want to plunder Idaho’s public school budget for their own profit.  

House Bill 93 ignores the governor’s call for voucher legislation to be “fair, responsible, transparent and accountable” in the same ways public schools are accountable to elected officials, parents and taxpayers.  

In his State of the State address, Governor Little said “accountability in government is an Idaho value, and it is what taxpayers demand and deserve.”  

He is absolutely right.  

In a poll of likely voters commissioned by IEA members last fall, nine in 10 respondents said that any voucher program adopted in Idaho must include accountability similar to that required of public schools. Accountability measures for voucher recipient schools that poll respondents wanted to see were:  

• Background checks for teachers, administrators and other school staff with access to children (93.7% support) 
• Compliance with state and federal laws that provide protections to students with disabilities (91.2% support) 
• Compliance with state laws that protect parental rights in education (85.3% support) 
• Disclosure of operating budgets to taxpayers as a form of transparency similar to public schools (85% support) 
• Compliance with state and federal laws that protect students from discrimination based on sex, race and religion (84.5% support) 
• Compliance with state laws that prohibit indoctrination and grooming (76.8% support) 
• Testing of students to determine taxpayer’s return on investment (69.3% support) 
• Ensure the funding only goes to low-income families who could not otherwise afford tuition (59.7% support)  

House Bill 93 meets none of these standards. It should be vetoed by Governor Little.  

And this is just the start. Voucher proponents will not be satisfied with House Bill 93’s $50 million price tag. As in other states, like Arizona, pro-voucher forces will begin their lobby campaign to expand the program during the 2026 legislative session. And in 2026’s elections, their out-of-state millions will flow into the campaign coffers of pro-voucher candidates to fortify their ability to siphon tax dollars away from public schools and into the pockets of their benefactors.  

Idaho’s educators and public schools provide exceptional value, innovation, care and creativity for the taxpayer dollars they receive. Rather than siphoning public tax dollars to for-profit, private and religious schools, we should invest in the future of our children by finally ending the state’s chronic underfunding of education. It’s time for us to discover how much greater our schools could be.  

IEA members call on Governor Little to stand with the bipartisan — and veto-sustaining — coalition of lawmakers of integrity who voted against this legislation.  

Governor Little should veto House Bill 93. 

Layne McInelly is president of the Idaho Education Association and a professional certified educator who taught in Idaho public schools for 12 years.