Idaho

Idaho’s new education tax credit has fewer reporting requirements than similar programs

Published

6 months ago

December 16, 2025

Idaho’s new education tax credit has fewer reporting requirements than similar programs

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.

House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel, D-Boise

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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Idaho

Idaho angler reels in record 43.25-inch lake trout at Payette Lake

Published

3 hours ago

June 24, 2026

Press Room

Idaho angler reels in record 43.25-inch lake trout at Payette Lake

MISSOULA, Mont. — An Idaho Falls angler is back in the Idaho record books after landing a record-setting lake trout at Payette Lake.

Idaho Fish and Game said Dylan Smith caught and released a 43.25-inch lake trout on May 2, setting a new state catch-and-release record for the species. The fish surpassed the previous record of 42 inches.

The catch marks Smith’s second appearance in Idaho’s record books. He previously held the state catch-and-release lake trout record after landing a trophy fish in 2018 before that mark was later broken.

According to Fish and Game, Payette Lake has become one of Idaho’s premier lake trout fisheries thanks to years of management efforts aimed at improving both lake trout and kokanee populations.

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Idaho

Boise’s North End finds new way to mark Pride after Idaho law halts flag display

Published

13 hours ago

June 24, 2026

Press Room

Boise’s North End finds new way to mark Pride after Idaho law halts flag display

Pride Month looks different this June along Boise’s Harrison Boulevard, where a long-standing tradition of hanging Pride flags on lamp posts has been put on hold after a new state law restricted which flags can be flown on government property.

For several years, Pride flags lined lamp posts along Harrison Boulevard in Boise’s North End neighborhood. But Idaho House Bill 561, signed by Gov. Brad Little in March, restricts which flags can be flown on government property, including the City of Boise’s Harrison lamp posts.

In response, a group of neighbors formed Pride North End and launched a distribution effort to help residents show support from their own front yards. The group has been making Pride flags and yard signs available to people who want to display them at home.

“I thought that I would…be a personal example of ‘yes, this is what I do.’ This is what I believe in,” said Edna Schochat, a North End resident.

Pride North End has already distributed more than 900-yard signs and 250 flags. The group’s original donation goal was around $2,000 to order 100 flags and 200 yard signs, but it has exceeded that GoFundMe goal, reaching $10,000 worth of donations.

The group plans to continue holding public flag and sign distributions through the end of the month.

“We cannot just say something without doing something that proves that we mean what we say,” Schochat said.

Pride North End said any leftover funds after materials are distributed will go to local LGBTQ+ nonprofits. A link to the group’s GoFundMe can be found here.

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Idaho

New Idaho education laws: What students, parents and educators should know

Published

23 hours ago

June 23, 2026

Press Room

New Idaho education laws: What students, parents and educators should know

July 1 isn’t just the start of a new fiscal year for Idaho public schools. It’s also the effective date for many new education-related laws.

From mandatory moments of silence to restrictions on taxpayer funding for teachers’ unions, the Legislature enacted a slew of new policies affecting public schools during this year’s session.

Here’s what educators, parents and students should know:

School trustees, administrators and teachers

Here are the new laws that will affect school trustees, administrators and teachers:

Union activities. Public schools can no longer use taxpayer resources to accommodate teachers’ unions — including by giving teachers paid time off for union “activities” or by using payroll systems to deduct union dues.

The list of union “activities” in House Bill 516 is long. Among other things, it includes:

Supporting or opposing candidates for office
Influencing legislation
Promoting union membership
Participating in the “administration business or internal governance” of a teachers’ union
Preparing, conducting or attending a union event
Distributing union communications
Speaking on the union’s behalf
Engaging in union negotiations
Filing a grievance on behalf of the union

A school district can’t give teachers paid time off to participate in these activities, unless the union reimburses the district.

HB 516 was based on a report from the Washington-based Freedom Foundation, an anti-union think tank, which alleged that public schools have spent more than $1 million subsidizing teachers’ unions.

The bill also prohibited districts from:

Deducting union dues through payroll systems.
Increasing teacher pay to cover union dues.
Requiring that teachers meet with the union.
Sharing employees’ contact information with the union.
Communicating on the union’s behalf.

Civics instruction. Public schools must now ensure that their civics instruction aligns with a law aimed at cultivating the “virtue and knowledge necessary for self-government.”

Senate Bill 1336 codified nearly four pages of requirements for civics instruction. By the time public school students graduate, they must exemplify the virtues of “prudence, justice, fortitude, moderation and patriotism” while understanding the “fundamental principles of the nation’s republican form of government” along with the “history, meaning, significance, and effect of key historical documents.”

Click here to read the list of principles and texts that students must understand.

The bill also required that high school students complete two credits in American history and two credits in American government. These classes must include instruction on the American Revolution and founding along with instruction on the incompatibility of totalitarianism with the principles of American government.

The bill also “encouraged” public schools to display historical portraits of George Washington “in a conspicuous place” in each classroom where civics is taught.

Public charter schools can request an exemption from many of the new requirements. Traditional public schools cannot.

Lastly, the bill pushed back the implementation date for a new civics test that the Idaho Department of Education is writing. The new test will be required in 2027-28, rather than during the upcoming school year.

High-needs funding. Public schools are now eligible to receive up to $100,000 in state funding for “high-needs” special education students.

Senate Bill 1288 set aside $5 million for students who require full-time staff support or specialized equipment. Districts can apply for the state funds to cover students whose individual education program-related costs exceed $30,000 annually.

The state will fully reimburse costs between $30,000 and $80,000. Costs above $80,000 will be reimbursed at 80%, and reimbursement is capped at $100,000. Forty percent of the state funds are reserved for rural schools.

Sexual abuse reporting. School districts are no longer allowed to conduct an internal investigation of abuse in lieu of reporting an incident to law enforcement.

Sen. Tammy Nichols, R-Middleton, proposed the law in response to sexual abuse complaints against Gavin Snow, a former special education assistant in the Boise School District.

Senate Bill 1412, which passed with unanimous support, also requires that school districts ask job applicants for sworn statements disclosing pending or prior investigations, resignations during investigations or disciplinary action stemming from misconduct. An applicant who lies in the disclosure is no longer eligible for the job.

Funding flexibility. Public school districts and charter schools are now eligible for flexibility in how they spend state funds — if they meet performance benchmarks.

To qualify for the “earned autonomy,” districts would have to post high marks on test scores and graduation rates while charters would be graded on academics and financials.

House Bill 883’s sponsors estimated that about 10 districts and 15 charters would qualify.

Parents

Here are the new laws that parents should be aware of:

Social transition reporting. Parents will now have a right to be notified if their child identifies as a different gender at school. Schools could face a six-figure penalty for failing to comply.

House Bill 822 requires that public school officials notify parents within 72 hours if their child requests help with “social transitioning.” This includes when a student asks to go by a different pronoun or use a bathroom or participate on a sports team that doesn’t align with their birth sex.

Sponsored by Rep. Bruce Skaug, R-Nampa, the law gives parents the right to sue a school or healthcare provider for relief and monetary damages if they aren’t notified within the 72-hour window.

The attorney general can also seek a civil penalty up to $100,000.

Rep. Bruce Skaug, R-Nampa

Virtual school policy. Parents of virtual-school students will have new restrictions on money they receive to cover the costs of home learning.

After a state report last year found examples of taxpayer money being misused, lawmakers added limits on “supplemental learning funds.” According to House Bill 624, this money can only be spent on “eligible educational expenses, including:

Computer hardware, internet access or other devices used to meet a student’s educational needs.
Textbooks, curricula or other instructional materials, including educational software.
Fees for standardized tests, advanced placement exams, certificate exams or college admissions exams.
Therapies, including behavioral, physical, speech-language and audiology therapies, along with other State Board of Education-approved services.

In addition to the rules around supplemental learning funds, HB 624 added reporting requirements for private vendors that contract with virtual schools. Vendors must disclose the costs and services they provide while demonstrating a “clear relationship between the public funds received and the services provided.”

Military preference on charter waitlists. Active-duty military parents could be eligible for preference on charter school waitlists.

Lawmakers passed a bill that allows charter schools to place children from military families third among categories of students given preference on waitlists. It’s up to each charter school whether they implement the change.

Students

Here are the new laws that students should know about:

Moment of silence. Public school students will now have to start each school day with a moment of silence.

They can use the 60 seconds however they want — to reflect, meditate or pray — but they must be silent, and “no other activities shall take place,” according to House Bill 623.

Sponsored by Rep. Bruce Skaug, R-Nampa, the law requires that a moment of silence occur “at or near the beginning of each school day.” It prohibits teachers from instructing students on the “nature of any reflection” they might engage in.

School leaders also must notify parents about the moment of silence and “encourage” them to “provide guidance” to their children on how to use it, according to the law.

Idaho Launch cuts. Less state aid will be available for students going to college after they graduate in 2027.

For the current fiscal year and next fiscal year starting July 1, state lawmakers — with Gov. Brad Little’s approval — cut $10 million from Idaho Launch. The program offers high school graduates $8,000 to spend on an in-state higher education degree or workforce training certificate.

While the award amounts will remain the same, the state now has $65 million in scholarship money to dole out, compared to $75 million in previous years.

IDLA cuts. Fewer students are eligible to take discounted courses through the state’s online learning platform, the Idaho Digital Learning Alliance (IDLA).

House Bill 940 cut funding for IDLA’s elementary program, limiting the platform to students in grades 6-12. The bill also cut driver’s education, and eliminated state funding for students attending all-virtual schools and non-public schools — although private- and home-schoolers can pay IDLA’s full course fee and seek reimbursement through the Parental Choice Tax Credit.

HB 940 also set new fees for courses that are eligible for state funding. Courses that satisfy a graduation requirement are $40, while courses that don’t meet a graduation requirement are $100.

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