Moscow superintendent calls HB 93 a 'gut punch'
Feb. 28—MOSCOW — The Moscow School District superintendent called the passing of an Idaho bill to send state dollars to private education a "gut punch to a public education system."
"I do think it's a sad day for public education," said Shawn Tiegs.
Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed House Bill 93 on Thursday, which provides a $50 million tax credit that can go toward educational expenses, including private school tuition.
Tiegs said Idaho is combining two systems that have "fundamentally different missions and different sources of accountability."
Tiegs said he is not against school choice, but he said public schools are designed to serve all students and they cannot discriminate against who can enroll.
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Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Yahoo
Idaho LWV sought state's help (and didn't get it) to raise awareness of Parental Choice Tax Credit
Members of the Idaho House of Representatives hold a floor session on March 10, 2025, at the Idaho Capitol Building in Boise. (Pat Sutphin for the Idaho Capital Sun) The co-president of the League of Women of Voters of Idaho said state agencies including Gov. Brad Little's office and the Idaho State Tax Commission have not accepted the league's invitation to work together on a public awareness campaign highlighting a new state education tax credit Little signed into law this year. Founded in 1920, the League of Women Voters is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that seeks to increase voter participation and access, and inform the public about major policy issues. Co-President Jean Henscheid said members of the league tried working for weeks with the Idaho State Tax Commission and Little's office to create a public awareness campaign around the new Idaho Parental Choice Tax Credit. The law has been effective for nearly six months. Henscheid said members of the league felt it was important to try to facilitate a discussion or public forum on how families can participate in the tax credit and how accountability will work. 'Over the course of the 80 years we have been active in Idaho we have provided dozens, if not hundreds, of opportunities for public education events including candidate forums, roundtable discussions, community events asking people what they think of particular polices and providing them with the kind of information they need to be informed voters,' Henscheid said. 'Even in its embryonic state, there is enough interest in this $50 million initiative that we felt it would be a service to the public to offer and to facilitate it, which is what the league has done for 80 years,' Henscheid said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for the Idaho State Tax Commission said the state does not yet have answers to many of the questions the League of Women Voters of Idaho gathered for a public awareness campaign. 'We're still working out the details of the Idaho Parental Choice Tax Credit program,' Idaho State Tax Commission public information officer Renee Eymann said Wednesday. 'This is a complex piece of legislation, and we want to have the correct information available.' The law creating the tax credit has already taken effect. House Bill 93 was written so that it took effect retroactively on Jan. 1, 2025. The new credit in House Bill 93 provides up to a $5,000 refundable tax credit for qualifying education expenses, including tuition at a private, religious school. Under the law, parents, guardians or foster parents can receive the credit for qualified expenses such as private school tuition and fees. Eymann said officials with the Idaho State Tax Commission are still: Reviewing the definitions as they relate to taxes Looking at the reporting requirements so the commission can roll them into the application process Determining the commission's administrative duties and how they'll align with the law's requirements Henscheid said the league was open to all sorts of ideas for a public forum or public awareness campaign – including a town hall event, a webinar, a literature campaign or a Q&A of some format. 'If they thought meeting on aisle 12 at Walmart and talking to people about it would help, we would have done it, Henscheid said. During his Jan. 6 State of the State address Little said: 'I recognize the growing desire to expand school choice, especially for students with unique physical or developmental conditions.' Little then recommended spending $50 million 'to further expand education options for Idaho families,' and he signed House Bill 93 into law on Feb. 27. CONTACT US For this article, Little's office referred questions about the Idaho Parental Choice Tax Credit and the League of Women Voters of Idaho's outreach efforts to the Idaho State Tax Commission. Parents will be able to apply for the new Idaho Parental Choice Tax Credit on Jan. 15, 2026, Eymann said. Once the Idaho State Tax Commission has the details and requirements of the new law sorted out, officials will seek to share those details with the public, the commission said. 'As we finalize more information, we'll be sharing it with all groups that are willing to help us spread the word,' Eymann said. 'This will include issuing news releases, compiling frequently asked questions, providing steps on how to fill out the application for the credit, and explaining what 300% below poverty level means.' Financial Information How do tax credits work in general? Are there examples similar to the Parental Choice Tax Credit Program? Will the same system used for determining qualified expenses through the Empowering Parents grants be used for the Parental Choice Tax Credit Program? Who will be responsible for determining the eligibility of individual family expenses (e.g. qualified instructional materials or travel)? Will the Empowering Parents grants program process be combined with this process? Will levels of compliance and noncompliance be reported publicly (see also accountability Question #23 below) Can families who do not file taxes apply? Could you clarify the following: Parents seeking an advanced payment may also receive a tax credit in the same year. Is that correct? Does that mean one student could receive as much as $10,000 or $15,000 during the first year of eligibility? Is there a limit to the number of children per household who may be eligible for the tax credit? Will a student who registers for an enrichment program, after school activity, or music lesson through a public school, public charter school, public virtual charter school, public magnet school, or part-time public kindergarten while they are using the tax credit forfeit the entire credit for that term? How will this impact future applications? Who will be tasked with tracking ineligible enrollment and recovering the tax credit? Will a nonpublic school that disenrolls a student during an academic term in which a tax credit is being used retain the tax credit funds? If not, will the remaining funds be returned to the state or to parents? Who will be tasked with tracking this? Will a closing nonpublic school receiving tax credit funds retain those funds or return the remainder to the parents? Do closing nonpublic schools have any obligations to enrolled students using the tax credit funds? Application Process What information will be required on the application form? How was the 60-day application window determined? Is this like other programs? Will parents whose modified adjusted gross income does not exceed 300% of the federal poverty level have an early window during the 60 days to apply? If not, how will the preference process work? The law says parents who are reapplying will be given preference over parents who qualify under the federal poverty level criteria. This seems to shift the program's priorities from the first year. Is this correct? Will parents have someone to help them through the application process? Student Learning The law states that tax credits may be used to cover academic instruction in English language arts, mathematics, science, and social science. Who will be tasked with verifying (and reverifying) that these subjects are taught? Will it be a self-report by the school? Who will be tasked with defining a portfolio of evidence or learning record that indicates the student's growth? Will this be up to each school? Will portfolios and learning records be housed at the Tax Commission? If so, will they be secured? Does the student retain ownership of the intellectual property in these documents? Who will conduct the audit of these records to establish that the instruction meets the requirements listed in Question 14 above? What does 'sufficient' evidence for an audit mean? Accountability Could you tell us more about what is meant by an 'accredited' school? How will parents reapplying for the program certify that they have completed the mandatory satisfaction and engagement survey? What evidence will be required? Will someone be tasked with ensuring that students with disabilities are receiving services under 20 U.S.C. 1412 of the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act? Will parents of students with disabilities have an advocate who will help students get the help they need? What remedy will be applied if the Tax Commission determines that services mandated by federal law are not provided by the nonpublic school to students with disabilities? The law states that its provisions shall not be construed to permit any government agency to exercise control or supervision over any nonpublic school student and nonpublic schools shall not be required to alter their creeds, practices, admissions policies, or curriculum in order to accept students using parental choice tax credits. Are remedies through the state available to parents if schools fail to comply with the disabilities education act or are identified through the satisfaction and engagement survey as failing in their duty to students? Do the Legislature, Governor's Office, or Tax Commission constitute government entities not permitted to control or supervise nonpublic school students or impact creeds, practices, admissions policies, or curriculum of nonpublic schools? If not, why is this the case? Which state employee or employees will be responsible for developing the mandatory satisfaction and engagement survey? Will results be available to participating parents, nonpublic schools, or other stakeholder groups outside the Tax Commission, the governor, and relevant legislative leadership and committees? Will results be made available to the public as state-generated documents? Will results be analyzed? If yes, by whom and for what purpose? Will results be used to improve the program, the nonpublic schools, or student learning? Will results of the annual program report to the governor and relevant legislative leadership and committees be made public and/or used to inform program improvement? SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Yahoo
Utah voucher law found unconstitutional. Idaho's law is also vulnerable.
A classroom at Woodrow Wilson Elementary School in South Salt Lake is pictured on March 12, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch) A district judge in Utah issued a marvelous decision on April 18, finding Utah's school voucher law to be unconstitutional. The 60-page decision was based on a variety of constitutional flaws that the Utah law shares with Idaho's recently-enacted education tax credit law. The Utah law was enacted in 2023 with $42.5 million in state funds. State funding increased by $40 million in each of the next two years. The Utah judge said the Utah Constitution gives 'a direct command to the legislature to perform a single duty: establish and maintain the state's education systems.'' The judge continued, 'This clear expression of one duty — coupled with the absence of any general duty to provide for the education or intellectual improvement of Utahns — impliedly restricts the legislature from creating a publicly funded school or education program outside of the public school system.' In other words, Utah's Legislature is restricted from using public funds to support any form of private education. Of interest is the fact that every member of the Idaho Legislature was sent a 'Legislative Alert' on the first day of the 2025 legislative session, warning that any scheme to use taxpayer money for private education would be violative of the Idaho Constitution in a number of respects. The alert was provided by The Committee to Protect and Preserve the Idaho Constitution, a group that participated in the successful lawsuit to overturn the restrictive initiative law enacted in 2021. The alert identified the same constitutional flaw focused upon by the Utah judge — that Idaho's Constitution prohibits the funding of private and parochial education. That has been the law of Idaho ever since statehood in 1890. The alert spelled out several other constitutional infirmities that any voucher scheme would entail, including a deliberate transgression of Idaho's strong prohibition against state support for religious education, discrimination against rural kids and Idaho religions that don't operate parochial schools, lack of accountability for taxpayer money expended on private schooling, and diminution of state money necessary to support Idaho's public school system, which has been chronically underfunded for decades. The Utah judge's decision mentioned a number of other infirmities in the Utah law — private schools often exclude students with special needs, or condition admission upon adherence to certain religious beliefs, or fail to provide 'free' schooling as constitutionally required for taxpayer-supported education. These flaws are also inherent in House Bill 93, the subsidy bill approved by the Legislature this year. The Idaho Legislature was clearly warned of the serious constitutional problems with House Bill 93, which will subsidize private and parochial education to the tune of $50 million in just the first year. Yet, because of massive funding from out-of-state groups that are seeking to weaken public schools across the nation, a majority of our legislators cast aside the Constitution and passed the subsidy bill. The governor lacked the courage to veto the legislation, despite overwhelming public outcry against it. Now, as with the similar travesty in Utah, concerned Idahoans will have to resort to the courts in order to protect the wishes of Idaho's constitutional drafters. Please stay tuned. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Yahoo
Protecting public schools funding is an investment in Idaho's future
The Idaho Parental Choice Tax Credit bill is a thinly veiled attempt to privatize education by diverting critical state funds away from public schools, writes guest columnist Sivani Kuruvada. (Getty Images) As a pediatric resident physician in Idaho, I am concerned about the recent signing of House Bill 93, the Idaho Parental Choice Tax Credit bill, by Gov. Brad Little. This bill, which allows taxpayers to redirect state funds to private school scholarships, is a step backward for Idaho's public education system and poses serious long-term risks to the future of our children. Idaho Gov. Brad Little signs law that directs state funds to private school tuition The Idaho Parental Choice Tax Credit bill is a thinly veiled attempt to privatize education by diverting critical state funds away from public schools. It provides tax credits to individuals or corporations who contribute to private school scholarship organizations, ultimately funneling state resources into private institutions that are not held to the same standards of accountability, oversight, or inclusivity as our public schools. This not only diminishes funding for public schools but further entrenches educational inequality. As a pediatrician, I understand the importance of a strong and equitable public education system for the health and development of children. Public schools serve as the cornerstone of our communities, providing every child-regardless of background, income, or identity with a safe space to learn and grow. The resources and programs available in our public schools are crucial, not just for academic learning, but also for promoting physical, emotional and social well-being. Disinvesting in public education will disproportionately harm our most vulnerable students: those from low-income families, children with disabilities and students of color. The Idaho Parental Choice Tax Credit bill also undermines the very principle of equitable access to education. By diverting state funding to private schools, we risk further expanding the gap between wealthy families who can afford private education and low-income families who rely on public schools. This is not just an issue of finances; it's an issue of fairness. Every child, no matter what their background is, deserves access to high-quality education. Idaho's children deserve the best opportunities for success. Rather than diverting resources away, our focus should be on strengthening public schools, and ensuring every child in these schools has the tools, support, and opportunities they need to thrive. As a physician and concerned citizen, I believe we should work to ensure public education remains strong and equitable for all Idaho students. I firmly stand against this change. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
