By Zach Hagadone
Reader Staff
Days after a coalition of Idaho public education advocates and individuals filed a lawsuit Sept. 17 challenging the state’s new private education tax credit program, the Indianapolis-based Partnership for Educational Choice announced Sept. 19 that it would intervene to defend the legislation, which was signed into law by Idaho Gov. Brad Little in February.
According to a news release, the Partnership for Educational Choice is a joint project of the Institute for Justice and EdChoice.
The Institute for Justice is an Arlington, Va.-based “nonprofit, public interest law firm,” according to its website. “Our mission is to end widespread abuses of government power and secure the constitutional rights that allow all Americans to pursue their dreams.”
IJ is advancing litigation in 109 cases in 38 states, as well as Washington, D.C., with offices in Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Texas, Virginia and Washington.
EdChoice is an Indianapolis-based nonprofit founded in 1996 as the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice by Milton and Rose, advocates for school privatization through vouchers and other programs. It is a member of the State Policy Network, which Idahoans are familiar with as an affiliate with the ultra-conservative Idaho Freedom Foundation, which has also long opposed funding for public education.
The Idaho Parental Choice Tax Credit, otherwise referred to as Idaho House Bill 93, established a refundable tax credit of up to $5,000 per student to defray tuition and other educational costs for students enrolled in private schools in Idaho — including religious schools — and up to $7,500 per student with special needs.
The Idaho Legislature passed H.B. 93 during the 2025 session, allocating $50 million to the tax credit program. Dist. 1 Sen. Jim Woodward, R-Sagle, and Dist. 1A Rep. Mark Sauter, R-Sandpoint, voted against the bill. Dist. 1B Rep. Cornel Rasor, R-Sagle, voted in favor.
According to the lawsuit, filed directly with the Idaho Supreme Court by the Idaho Education Association; Moscow School District; Mormon Women for Ethical Government; former-Superintendent of Public Instruction Jerry Evans; Rep. Stephanie Mickelsen, R-Idaho Falls; the Committee to Protect and Preserve the Idaho Constitution; and several citizens, alleges H.B. 93 violates the Idaho Constitution.
The Idaho Constitution stipulates that the Legislature is obligated to “establish and maintain a general, uniform and thorough system of public free common schools.” In addition, the Blaine Amendment bars public monies to be put toward private, religious education.
However, the Partnership for Educational Choice argued that, “The Idaho Parental Choice Tax Credit is a landmark step forward for educational freedom in Idaho,” as stated by Thomas Fisher, executive vice president and director of litigation at EdChoice Legal Advocates.
“It empowers parents, not bureaucrats, to decide what learning environment best serves their children,” Fisher added. “We will stand firmly against efforts to roll back this progress and ensure Idaho families keep the choices they have fought so hard to secure.”
Even President Donald Trump threw his support behind H.B. 93, writing on his social media platform, Truth Social, in February: “Congratulations to Governor Brad Little, and Idaho Legislators, who are fighting to bring School Choice to their beautiful State. $50 million Dollars to empower parents to provide the very best Education for their child — GREAT news for Idaho families. This Bill, which has my Complete and Total Support MUST PASS! [sic]”
According to the Partnership for Educational Choice, IJ has won lawsuits related to educational choice in “numerous state supreme courts, intermediate courts of appeal and trial courts, as well as four times at the U.S. Supreme Court,” including Zelman v. Simmons-Harris, Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v. Winn, Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue and Carson v. Makin.
The coalition challenging H.B. 93 is represented by Boise-based law firm Hawley Troxell.
Speaking on Sept. 17, Boise attorney and president of the Committee to Protect and Preserve the Idaho Constitution Daniel Mooney said that the “14 words” of the Idaho Constitution that require the Legislature to support public education “are simple, yet they’re profound, and H.B. 93 has no basis in them.”
Critics argue that the $50 million put toward the private school tax credit would be better used in service of the Legislature’s constitutionally mandated support for public schools, while the new tax credit lacks accountability for how public dollars will be spent on private education. In addition, opponents worry that the initial $50 million allocation will grow, as similar investments in private educational support in other states have done.
Speaking to attendees at a Sept. 11 gathering hosted by Save Our Schools in Ponderay, Woodward said the $50 million cap was included in the legislation to make it “more palatable, but that cap will be challenged.”
“If it’s not removed by the Legislature, then that cap will be challenged in court, I believe,” added Woodward, who serves on the powerful Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee, which sets the state’s budgets.
In states such as Arizona and Florida, private school tax credit and voucher programs have grown into the hundreds of millions of dollars in recent years.
University of Idaho education researcher Elizabth Wargo, who also spoke at the Sept. 11 Save our Schools presentation, said that one of the advocates of H.B. 93 said the $50 million appropriation will rise to $250 million “in the blink of an eye.”
Nonprofit organization Reclaim Idaho is currently gathering signatures for a petition titled “Not A Dollar More!” to oppose H.B. 93. Find it at reclaimidaho.org.
Referring to H.B. 93, IJ Senior Attorney Renée Flaherty stated, “This program is no different than the many other programs across the country that have been upheld as constitutional and helped thousands of families. Our clients will fight to defend it every step of the way.”
