A bill creating a refundable tax credit for private school and home-school expenses cleared its first hurdle Wednesday.
The House Revenue and Taxation Committee voted along party lines to introduce the proposal from Rep. Wendy Horman, R-Idaho Falls, and Senate Majority Leader Lori Den Hartog, R-Meridian.
The bill would make non-public school students eligible for up to $5,000 in state funds covering tuition, tutoring, curriculum and other education expenses. Families earning 300% or less of the federal poverty limit — $93,600 annually for a family of four — would have priority access to the funds, and they could request a one-time advance payment in their first year. Students with special needs could qualify for up to $7,500.
“The reason I ran for elected office in the first place was because I care about the education of every child, no exceptions,” Horman told the committee. “…School choice policies provide families with new opportunities, while taking no existing opportunities away from other children.”
The program would be capped at $50 million in tax credits, issued annually. The Idaho State Tax Commission would administer the program, including vetting applications. Applicants would have to document their eligible expenses.
During Wednesday’s introductory hearing, Horman preempted questions about accountability, which are likely to surface in a full public hearing at a later date. The bill restricts eligible expenses to school settings that teach English language arts, math, science and social studies. But it doesn’t require standardized testing or other measures of student performance required of public schools.
“You regulate government monopolies differently than you regulate the free market,” she said.
Private schools “already have their own responsible and accountable metrics and standards,” Horman said, before questioning the efficacy of public schools’ evaluations processes. Idaho public school teachers are consistently given near 100% proficiency ratings — 98.4% last school year — while 60% of students are reading at grade level, Horman said.
“It may be viewed as an accountability metric to some, but if too many children can’t read, that’s hardly fair to them, and it appears ineffective.”
Only Democrats opposed the bill’s introduction. Rep. Steve Berch, D-Boise, took issue with Horman’s characterization of public education as a government monopoly.
“There is no government monopoly on education, and I know we have every single choice that…” Berch started to argue before the committee’s chairman cut him off. “The time to object to that has passed,” said Rep. David Cannon, R-Blackfoot. “Restrict your debate to the motion.”
Berch continued, “My concern about this bill is that there is no performance accountability… There’s no assurance whatsoever…that the dollar amount won’t increase.”
Rep. John Gannon, D-Boise, wondered whether the $50 million cap was enforceable. He suggested that a tax filer locked out of the program due to the cap could file a lawsuit, claiming they’re eligible for the credit. “I’m not aware of any other tax that is structured like this,” Gannon said.
House Majority Leader Jason Monks, R-Meridian, and Sen. C. Scott Grow, R-Eagle, are also listed as co-sponsors on the bill’s statement of purpose. Grow and Horman co-chair the Legislature’s budget-setting Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee.
