School Choice Heads to Governor

One step closer to universal school choice in Idaho

House Bill 93, the much-debated and much-discussed parental choice tax credit bill, cleared its penultimate hurdle this afternoon, passing the Senate 20-15 after several hours of debate.

Graphic by Citizens Alliance of Idaho / Idaho Signal

Last Saturday, President Donald Trump posted a message of support for the bill and for Gov. Brad Little on Truth Social:

At the same time, several senators who were on the fence came around in support of the bill. Sen. Brian Lenney said in debate that he initially opposed the bill, but a careful reading convinced him that it would not bring government regulation to homeschooling families.

Sen. Camille Blaylock said she had debated with herself a hundred times but came to the conclusion that the good outweighed the bad, and said she was excited at the potential it would bring Idaho families. Blaylock also said she had gotten support from the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Lori Den Hartog, for ending the Empowering Parents grant program in the future.

Sen. Brandon Shippy debated against the bill, citing his family’s experience being persecuted in the name of homeschooling. Conversely, Sen. Ben Toews said that many homeschooling families in his district support the bill.

Sen. Treg Bernt debated against the bill, reiterating his point from the committee hearing that it would allow discrimination. Sen. Doug Ricks debated in favor of the bill, saying it wasn’t perfect but was a good start, and he’d even like to see some deregulation of the public school system.

Sen. Jim Guthrie debated against the bill, saying it was not about school choice rather it was sending public money to private institutions. Sen. Kevin Cook debated against the bill twice, at one point quoting Ada County GOP vice chair Ryan Spoon as saying that the $50 million cap would inevitably rise. (Spoon thinks that’s a good thing, while Cook clearly disagreed.)

Sen. Den Hartog called it a “watershed moment” while Sen. Tammy Nichols called it a “new dawn” for school choice. Sen. Christy Zito said that all the debate about tax credits and public funds was missing the most important thing: it’s about enabling every child in Idaho to succeed.

This is just a small sampling and paraphrase of what was a very long debate on a very important issue. In the end, 20 senators voted for school choice — a marked increase from the 2023 vote on S1038 which failed 12-23.

H93 now goes to the desk of Gov. Little. President Trump has already preemptively congratulated him for supporting school choice, and so we wait for him to put pen to paper and make school choice the law of the land in Idaho.