School Choice Bills

Please note: Parental School Choice bill H39 has been replaced with H 93, so if you are following this bill on Bill Tracker, make the appropriate changes to your list! 

The new bill H93, is about the same as the original, H39, but it clarifies which education types qualify as eligible expenses — private schooling and homeschooling as well as learning pods and micro-schools. It also requires that schools benefiting from the tax credits either be accredited or maintain a portfolio demonstrating learning growth in English, math, social studies, and science. And it requires tax credit recipients to complete a “satisfaction and engagement survey.”

As you can see from the following, the two (out of 4) school choice bills left are H93 and S1025. 

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Idaho Ed News did a good recap of the school choice bills out now, so rather than reinventing the wheel, here you go (with my comments in parenthesis):

House Bill 93 — Refundable tax credit ($50 million)

https://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/2025/legislation/H0093/

This bill would create a refundable tax credit offering private school and home-school students up to $5,000 for tuition, tutoring, standardized test fees, curriculum, books, transportation, and other education expenses. Students with special needs would qualify for up to $7,500. 

On Jan. 30, House Bill 93 replaced with a handful of changes.

(This is the best parental school choice bill out there so far, and although I think it could be so much better, I do support this one.  It's a place to start)

Sponsors

• Rep. Wendy Horman, R-Idaho Falls
• Sen. Lori Den Hartog, R-Meridian 
• Rep. Jason Monks, R-Meridian
• Sen. C. Scott Grow, R-Eagle

What’s the total cost to the state? 

The tax credit program would be capped at $50 million. This cap could be lifted in the future. The bill directs the Idaho State Tax Commission, which would administer the program, to create a waiting list “demonstrating who would be eligible on a first-come, first-served basis if the annual maximum limit…increased.”

Who is eligible?

Parents of non-public school students, ages 5-18, or 5-21 for students with disabilities, would be eligible to apply for the tax credit.

Which schools are eligible? 

Expenses covered by the tax credit include tuition at a K-12 private school that teaches English language arts, mathematics, science and social studies. 

It also requires that schools benefiting from the tax credits — including private schools, micro-schools and learning pods — either be accredited or maintain a portfolio demonstrating learning growth in English, math, social studies and science.

Are home-schoolers eligible? 

Yes.

Are there income limits?

Applicants with household incomes 300% or below the federal poverty limit would be given priority access to the tax credits. They would also be eligible for advance payments. 

Senate Bill 1025 — Empowering Parents Tuition Grant

https://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/2025/legislation/S1025/

This bill would expand the state’s existing Empowering Parents program and open it up for private school tuition.

It would increase grant awards from $1,000 per child to $5,000 per child. Families with multiple children could receive up to $15,000 per household.

The bill would also hike annual funding for the Empowering Parents program from $30 million to $50 million annually.

Sponsor

• Sen. Dave Lent, R-Idaho Falls

What’s the total cost to the state? 

In addition to increasing Empowering Parents funding from $30 million to $50 million per year, the bill would send an additional $30 million to public schools for special education expenses. 

The new state spending would be $50 million in total.

Annual spending on the Empowering Parents program would be capped at $50 million, but this cap could be lifted in the future.

Who is eligible?

Parents of public school, private school, and home-school students between 3 and 18 years old would be eligible for the grants.

Eligible expenses for Empowering Parents currently include books, curriculum, tutoring, computer hardware, therapy, and standardized test fees, among other things.

Which schools are eligible? 

Private schools would have to abide by several measures to have their tuition qualify as an eligible expense. These include:

• Accreditation by an accrediting body recognized by the State Board of Education.
• Compliance with state laws related to special education, nondiscrimination and parental rights.
• Maintenance of enrollment and performance data.
• Administration of nationally normed standardized tests.
• Criminal background checks for any employee who has unsupervised contact with students.

Are home-schoolers eligible? 

Yes.

Are there income limits?

Grant awards would be distributed based on adjusted gross income (AGI):

• 75% would go to families with an AGI less than $60,000.
• 20% would go to families with an AGI between $60,000 and $80,000.
• 5% would go to families with an AGI above $80,000.

House Bill 1 — Refundable tax credit ($250 million)

This bill would create a refundable tax credit offering private school and home-school students up to $9,500 for non-public school education expenses, including tuition, books, curriculum, transportation costs and others. 

Sponsor

• Rep. Clint Hostetler, R-Twin Falls

Senate Bill 1017 — Self-directed learner reimbursement

Sponsors

• Sen. Dave Lent, R-Idaho Falls
• Former Sen. Steven Thayn of Emmett