Idaho
The Idaho Constitution strictly prohibits public funds for religious schooling
Legislators who insist on using taxpayer money to pay for private schooling consistently claim that their so-called “school choice” schemes would not violate the Idaho Constitution by making public funds available for religious education. They are dead wrong. Article IX, Section 5 of that revered document, sometimes called the “Blaine Amendment,” emphatically states that no public funds shall ever be used “to help support or sustain any school, academy, seminary, college, university or other literary or scientific institution, controlled by any church.”
Some people, who simply don’t know what they are talking about, falsely claim the Blaine Amendment has been overruled by the United States Supreme Court. Quite to the contrary, the Supreme Court has decided two cases dealing with the Blaine Amendment and neither has overruled it. In the latest case, Carson v. Makin, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote: “A State need not subsidize private education. But once a State decides to do so, it cannot disqualify some private schools solely because they are religious.”
What the Court was saying is that if, and only if, a state establishes a program to provide taxpayer money for private schooling, it must also provide program money for religious schooling. Some politicians are trying, for the first time in Idaho history, to force Idaho taxpayers to pay for private schooling, which would then open the back door to require that taxpayers also pay for religious schooling. So-called “school choice” legislation is a workaround to evade and subvert the Constitution. Whether the use of public funds for private schooling is–by means of a tax credit or school voucher or some other form–it is still a raid on the public treasury in violation of the Blaine Amendment.
A dispute over the Blaine Amendment arose during a candidate forum held by the Greater Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce last month. Representative Wendy Horman, a strong advocate of using taxpayer money to pay for private education, claimed the Blaine Amendment had been voided by the Supreme Court. Representative Stephanie Mickelsen correctly responded that it is still the law of Idaho. She said, “When you take public tax dollars, and you give them to parochial and private schools,” there is no accountability for the spending. She pointed out that school choice schemes have become budget busters for many, many states.
No matter what you call a school choice plan, it is still a violation of the Idaho Constitution if it results in public money being used for religious instruction. The Legislature has consistently violated its constitutional obligation to adequately fund the public school system, both for instructional purposes and for construction and maintenance of school buildings. Thanks to the good work of pro-education legislators, progress was made this year in addressing both deficiencies. This is not the time to require taxpayers to shoulder the additional burden of financing private and religious schooling.
It should not go unnoticed that one of the most vociferous interest groups pushing for school choice programs is the Idaho Freedom Foundation (IFF). That organization is dedicated to the proposition that the State has no business educating our kids. The IFF’s avowed plan is to do away with public schools. A school choice plan would certainly be a big step in that direction.
Other powerful out-of-state interests have spent heavily to force budget-busting school choice programs on the Gem State. Idaho Business for Education recently disclosed that a Texas-based organization, American Federation for Children (ADF), together with two other dark-money interest groups, spent a total of $134,148 unsuccessfully promoting school choice during this legislative session. ADF has vowed to defeat legislators who opposed these schemes and is rewarding those who bent to its will. Voters should take heed and vote for those like Mickelsen who support our Constitution.
The Idaho State Police say that Robert Giesick, 40, from Billings is the man missing in a crash on State Highway 55 near Cascade, about 80 miles north of Boise.
A pick-up truck driven by Giesick ended up in the Payette River after a head-on crash with another pick-up truck.
Watch Idaho crash story here:
Idaho state troopers identify Billings man missing in traffic accident
“I was able to find some people that saw a male, an adult man, swimming for the shore from the truck,” said Idaho State Trooper Richard Knapp, who attempted to rescue Giesick. “Unfortunately he didn’t make it. He got swept downriver. Witnesses lost sight of him, and that was the last time anybody saw him.”
Knapp says search crews looked extensively for the 40-year-old, but after 24 hours, it became a recovery effort for the Idaho Mountain Search and Rescue Unit.
After that on Monday came the monumental task of removing the pickup truck from the raging water.
“It was an intensive a recovery, honestly, our operators were tested, their knowledge was tested,” said Mark Boisvert, Code Red Towing owner. “They said it was a very extreme recovery for them, more than usual.”
Idaho business owners have less than a month to decide how to comply with a new state law criminally banning trans people from using restrooms that align with their gender identity.
The law is set to take effect July 1, which would make it a misdemeanor for the first offense and a felony for subsequent offenses within five years.
It’s currently being challenged in federal court by the ACLU of Idaho.
On Tuesday, a panel sponsored by Idaho Employment Lawyers encouraged companies to prepare now as if the law will remain in effect as litigation continues.
Cody Earl, a lawyer for St. Luke’s Health System who spoke on the panel in his personal capacity, said there are several paths businesses can take.
Converting all bathrooms into single-use, gender-neutral facilities is one option, though it could be costly for larger businesses. Earl said companies could take other steps to make the transition more affordable.
“Even if it is a gender-specific restroom, [adding signage] that indicates where the closest gender-neutral restroom is so you could at least show that you’re giving employees an option or a choice,” he said.
Simply adding locks and only allowing one person at a time to a multi-stall bathroom is another choice, though panelists said that could be problematic for businesses with large amounts of customers, like restaurants and bars.
Idaho Employment Lawyers owner Pam Howland said companies also need to consider how this will affect their staff.
“This could definitely create some culture issues,” said Howland. “Do you have the policies you need to ensure your expectations as an employer of respect and civility are being followed? Possibly code of conduct provisions related to that? How about privacy?”
Those policies could include limiting or outright banning recording at the workplace.
Another legal wrinkle to complying with the law, the panel said, is that precedent in both the U.S. Supreme Court and 9th Circuit Court of Appeals prohibit discrimination based on someone’s gender identity.
Gender dysphoria, a mental health designation that causes severe distress to someone when their sex doesn’t align with their gender identity, has been considered a protected condition under the Americans with Disabilities Act in certain cases.
Republican state lawmakers argued earlier this year that Idaho needs to take this first-in-the-nation step to protect women and girls when they use the restroom in private businesses.
A 2025 study out of UCLA hasn’t found any increased risk to safety by allowing transgender people to use restrooms aligning with their gender identity.
A federal court in Boise will hear arguments over whether to approve or reject a preliminary injunction on June 5.
Copyright 2026 Boise State Public Radio
Remember that 250 years ago, nobody had ever heard of Idaho, and the name was mostly made up by an entrepreneur who impressed the federal government with an exaggeration about his knowledge of indigenous culture. But a large number of people who live in the state can trace ancestry to the colonial era, and I believe most Americans still have a love of country, even if some polls give an indication they may not quite know how to express it.
I Was at the Heart of the Bicentennial
Looking back 50 years, I was in Washington, D.C. at the beginning of July. Washington also didn’t exist in 1776. My memory is that its reputation as a hot, sticky swamp was well earned. I traveled there with a history club from school. On a rattling old yellow bus. The city was packed, and many of the people on the streets were foreign tourists. It told me that despite the anti-Americanism common on streets elsewhere around the world, we were still fascinating others.
We’re Still One Nation
1976 was a unifying experience and followed a very turbulent previous 15 years. Some people fear the 250th jubilee won’t bring us together. Look, those rent-a-mobs you see on TV and online are actually a small fraction of America. Picnics in the park don’t make news. Riots and tear gas get the attention of newsrooms. There are still far more picnics.
The recent Memorial Day commemorations were reverential. Independence Day 2026 is going to be a party. The media focus will be on President Trump and a festival far away. Meanwhile, across Idaho, grills will be fired up, and we’ll be proud to be Americans.
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