A key selling point of Idaho’s new private education tax credit was that it would open doors for students who couldn’t otherwise attend private school. But it’s uncertain whether data that would test this claim will be made public after the first round of credits goes out next year. 

The Parental Choice Tax Credit’s authors wrote data reporting requirements that are leaner than those tied to similar programs in other states. For instance, the new law doesn’t require the Idaho State Tax Commission — the agency responsible for administrating the refundable tax credit — to report how many recipients were already enrolled in private school.

This data would help answer one of the most hotly contested questions surrounding the program: whether the nearly $50 million in state subsidies would benefit families that need help attending private school, as supporters argued, or whether it would be a tax break for families that could already afford private school, as opponents claimed.

While all nonpublic school students can apply for the credit, priority will be given to applicants that earn 300% or below the federal poverty level — about $96,000 in household income for a family of four.

In Iowa, Oklahoma, Florida, Arkansas, North Carolina and Arizona — states with “universal” private school choice programs, like Idaho’s, that are open to all nonpublic students — most subsidies have gone to students that didn’t previously attend a public school. 

“In other states they have found that the more transparency there is, the more data is released, the more damning it is for the voucher programs,” said House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel, D-Boise, who’s pushing for a repeal of Idaho’s credit. “The more it reveals that, in fact, this is all a means of lining the pockets of the very wealthy, who already have their kids in private schools and who were perfectly able to pay for it already.”

Bill sponsor doesn’t oppose additional data release 

House Bill 93, the tax credit legislation, directs the Tax Commission to compile a report with eight data points on the program’s rollout. The report, which is due to the Legislature before the 2027 session, must include: 

• The number of tax credits provided.
• The number of parents who applied.
• The average credit in dollars.
• The number of credits distributed to households below 300% of the federal poverty level.
• The number of parents who requested an advance payment rather than a tax credit.
• The “geographic area” of parents applying.
• The number of eligible students on a waiting list to receive a credit.
• The list of the categories of qualifying expenses that were claimed for reimbursement. 

The bill forbids the Tax Commission from including “any personally identifying information of eligible students, their parents, or their households.” The Idaho Public Records Act also protects personal tax information collected by the commission. 

But neither HB 93 nor public records law restrict the Tax Commission from releasing additional anonymous data — on income, residency or previous school enrollment. 

Rep. Wendy Horman, a co-sponsor of HB 93, said the reporting requirements were designed to inform a “data-driven approach” to potentially growing the program, if demand justifies it. And they’re meant to ensure that applicants earning 300% or below the federal poverty level receive a credit. These students are the “focus” of the program, said Horman, R-Idaho Falls. 

Horman said she “doesn’t have any problem” with the Tax Commission releasing data on how many tax credit recipients switched from public school to a private or home-school. But she noted that some families who attend online public schools, such as the Idaho Home Learning Academy, consider themselves home-schoolers, even though they attend public schools. 

“You would just need to be cautious about assumptions you’re making,” she said. “If they made the switch, I would consider that a different class of public school students, if you will, than traditional brick-and-mortar students.”

The Idaho Legislature’s Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee co-chairwoman Rep. Wendy Horman, R-Idaho Falls, listens to proceedings during a January 2023 hearing. (Otto Kitsinger for Idaho Capital Sun)

Tax Commission mum on data

Whether this data will be publicized is now up to the Tax Commission. The commission will know how many recipients were existing non-public school students, and how many switched from a public school to a private setting with the tax credit’s help. 

Idaho Education News obtained, through a public records request, a draft of the tax credit application that’s scheduled to go live Jan. 15. While not finalized, the application includes 19 sections that ask a range of questions, from basic biographical information to details about the private schools where tuition would be reimbursed.

The questionnaire also asks whether the applicant previously attended a public school and requests the date on which the applicant started attending a nonpublic school. 

Click here to read the draft. 

Last week, a spokeswoman said the commission is “committed” to publicizing information beyond what HB 93 requires. However, she declined to answer questions about specific data.

“The Tax Commission will provide the report as required by law, and we’re committed to providing other publicly available information as it becomes available as long as it doesn’t expose any personally identifiable taxpayer information,” Renee Eymann, senior public information officer for the Tax Commission, said by email. 

For now, the commission is focused on “ensuring the application process goes smoothly” before it opens next month, Eymann added.

Idaho children and parents hold signs supporting a 2024 bill to create a $5,000 tax credit offsetting private education, a precursor to House Bill 93, which passed in 2025. (Darren Svan/Idaho EdNews)

Arizona releases quarterly reports

The Arizona Department of Education publishes data on its education savings account (ESA) program in quarterly reports. The reports include a percentage of new ESA enrollees who haven’t attended a public school. 

When the $985 million Arizona program became universal two years ago, 79% of new recipients hadn’t attended a public school. Today, 43% of new ESA enrollees are existing private- or home-school students. 

Previous school enrollment data is necessary to test one other claim from advocates for private school choice: that subsidizing privately educated students is cheaper than supporting public school students. Spending between $5,000 and $7,500 per-pupil through Idaho’s tax credit program is lower than the $8,830 that the state spends per public school student.

But savings will only come from tax credit recipients who switched from public school to a private setting. Students who were already educated privately will be a new cost to the state.

Arizona also releases data on the ZIP codes of families receiving an ESA. This led to a ProPublica analysis that found wealthier ZIP codes have higher rates of students receiving ESAs than poorer ones.

While HB 93 requires the Tax Commission’s report to include “geographic” data, it doesn’t say how specific the data should be by reporting a state, county, city or ZIP code. Horman said it’s open to the Tax Commission’s interpretation. 

The commission, meanwhile, was silent on its interpretation. 

Evidence of learning not required up front in application

The Tax Commission did confirm one thing in response to questions from EdNews last week: Parental Choice Tax Credit applicants won’t have to include a portfolio of learning materials.

HB 93 requires that tax credit recipients either attend an accredited school or maintain a portfolio with evidence that the student is learning English, math, science and social studies. But the bill wasn’t clear on when the portfolio would need to be available.

Senate Majority Leader Lori Den Hartog, R-Meridian

During an October town hall, Sen. Lori Den Hartog, a co-sponsor of HB 93, said the Tax Commission was planning to ask for the portfolio through the application process, even though the bill’s authors intended the portfolio to be required only in the event that a recipient is audited. 

“The Tax Commission has been telling families that they’re going to need to submit these things up front,” Den Hartog said during the Oct. 22 town hall in Garden City. “We had felt a little differently and didn’t think the law was crafted that way.” 

This doesn’t appear to be the case anymore. The draft application doesn’t include a question about the portfolio, and Eymann said Tuesday that the portfolio or evidence of school accreditation “must be made available upon request.” She didn’t address a question about what has changed since October.