School Choice
For years, Idaho policymakers have debated whether to direct public funds to private schooling. While other Republican-led states, like Arizona, Florida and Iowa, have adopted or expanded their own private school assistance programs in recent years, advocates for private school choice in Idaho so far have been stymied.
That’s in part due to a contingent of public school supporters and their Statehouse allies, who have argued that vouchers, education savings accounts and other mechanisms to subsidize private education would be unaccountable to taxpayers and would siphon limited state funds available for public schools. Meanwhile, the Blaine Amendment, a provision in the Idaho Constitution, continues to prohibit public resources from benefitting religious schools, effectively blocking most of Idaho’s private schools from receiving state assistance if such a program existed.
But these roadblocks could be weakening heading into the 2025 legislative session — when GOP leaders have promised a renewed push for private school choice. Republican voters in May ousted some of the Legislature’s most ardent skeptics of private school choice, and an ongoing lawsuit threatens to strike down Blaine, potentially clearing the path for a policy bill directing public funds to private schools.
Idaho EdNews will closely track the ongoing debate in the coming months and curate our stories here. For questions about our school choice coverage or tips about what we should pursue, contact reporters Ryan Suppe ([email protected]) and Kevin Richert ([email protected]).
Analysis: A surprising school choice twist, and a tangled facilities law
Two takeaways from this week’s school administrators conference in Boise: State superintendent Debbie Critchfield repositions on private school choice, and an unexpected glitch in a new school facilities law.
Attorney general seeks to intervene in Blaine Amendment lawsuit
The lawsuit centers on whether a church can use a public school facility.
GOP primary results could shift dynamics of school choice debate
House Education’s anti-voucher wall may be coming down, while the Senate has lost its most powerful school choice proponent.
UPDATED: IEA-funded group targets Horman over school choice
Right 2 Learn has received $90,000 from the Idaho Education Association’s political arm. The PAC has spent close to $70,000 in an attempt to oust state Rep. Wendy Horman, R-Idaho Falls, the co-chair of the Legislature’s budget committee.
School choice PAC: Statehouse opponents are targets
“If you’re a candidate or lawmaker who opposes school choice – you’re a target,” an American Federation for Children director told Idaho Education News. The group has spent close to $228,000, mostly on negative campaigning.
New lawsuit challenges Idaho’s Blaine Amendment
The lawsuit argues that the state’s ban on taxpayer resources going to religious institutions unconstitutionally violates religious freedom and free speech rights.
Charter law promises innovation and school choice
“I would contend that charter schools are perhaps more popular, more successful in Idaho than any other place in our great nation,” said Gov. Brad Little.
No, the Blaine Amendment isn’t ‘null and void.’ Here’s why
Five Idaho attorneys general since 1989 have been asked to analyze a constitutional provision that bars religious schools from getting state funds.