On Feb. 27, Governor Brad Little signed House Bill 93, creating the Parental Choice Tax Credit program. To many Idahoans, this came as a surprise—over 32,000 residents contacted the office in opposition.
According to the governor’s office, 32,366 calls and emails were in opposition, 86.4% of the total 37,457. This is after duplicate phone calls and emails were removed. Only 5,091 contacted the office in support.
The Parental Choice Tax Credit program will offer up to $5,000 for private- or home-school students in the state, with up to $7,500 for special-needs students. Applications for refundable tax credits for qualifying education expenses will open Jan. 15, 2026. The program is currently capped at $50 million.
Little has been criticized for his quick turnaround on the bill, as he had “previously expressed skepticism about spending public dollars on private schooling,” according to the Idaho Capital Sun. Little had previously said, in his 2025 State of the State address, that HB 93 was not “fair, responsible, transparent and accountable.”
Many educators and legislators around the country have spoken up against private school voucher programs. The National Education Association says that, by using state funds to refund parents for private school costs, “public taxpayer dollars [are] being redirected to private school tuition.”
According to ConsumerAffairs, Idaho is ranked no. 47 out of 51 in overall education. In school funding and resources, Idaho is no. 48. In their 2024 report on the 2022-23 school year, the NEA listed Idaho’s per-student spending as $9,599, the lowest in the nation.
As for the future costs of private school vouchers, this plan could have negative effects. Elinor Chehey of United Women in Faith said to the Idaho Education Association, “Other states that have gone down this path have found themselves short on revenue, and the school districts have had to ask for more supplemental property tax levies.”
Heather Williams, the director of the Idaho Rural Schools Association, also spoke to IEA about the impacts of the bill on rural schools. “When you think about places like Clark County, Dubois or Camas County, Fairfield … there are not private schools in those areas now,” she said. “As we siphon off funds from those schools already and continue to divert funds away from operations and facilities that have been undermined for rural districts because of policy decisions the last few years … It’s going to be problematic.”
The ACLU of Idaho notes that students have far fewer civil rights protections at private schools. “This is because public schools are run by the government and private schools aren’t, and the First Amendment only controls what the government can and can’t do,” according to their website.
HB 93 was sponsored by Rep. Wendy Horman, R-Idaho Falls, Senate Majority Leader Lori Den Hartog, R-Meridian, House Majority Leader Jason Monks, R-Meridian and Sen. C. Scott Grow, R-Eagle.
The Office of the Governor did not respond to The Argonaut for comment.
Dakota Steffen can be reached at arg-news@uidaho.edu.
Samson Large
Great Coverage! Love the inclusion of Brad's hypocrisy and the statistics on per student spending in correlation with how we rank nationally on education. Keep it up with the great journalism and Go Vandals!