Idaho will have vouchers. Now I’m worried my family will lose our school choice | Opinion
Tens of thousands of parents across the state were sorely disappointed to see Gov. Brad Little sign House Bill 93 into law.
Rather than rehash the funding, accountability and safety issues with that boondoggle legislation, I want to share my education choice story. Specifically, I want to talk about the Empowering Parents microgrants that are now on the Legislature’s chopping block.
About 87% of Idaho kids attend public schools, including mine. When I was a grade-schooler way back in the dark ages, we had regular access to art, P.E. and music.
My kiddo does too, but not to the same extent. To supplement what she doesn’t get at school, I’ve relied on the Empowering Parents grant. This micro-grant is up to $1,000 and pays for learning kits, lessons, equipment and other things.
What does this look like? At my house, the kiddo and I have used learning kits to explore geology, practice sewing and grow seeds. Empowering Parents has paid for swim lessons — a crucial skill in a state where drowning is a leading cause of accidental death. It’s paid for school supplies, which are a big cost for families every year.
As a single-income household in 2025, money is tight. Empowering Parents gives me the opportunity to give my child lessons that enhance in-school learning.
I will never have access to private school. Even with a $5,000 tax credit, private school tuition (likely to go up now that it’s publicly subsidized) is already far out of reach.
Senate Bill 1142, a bill under consideration in the Legislature right now, would repeal the program that funds Empowering Parents. A proposal to expand Empowering Parents to cover tuition under school choice guidelines the governor set forth in January was rejected in favor of the tax cut.
Right now, nearly 80% of Idaho school districts rely on levies for funding. Homeowners like myself pay a higher property tax burden via these school levies just to keep the lights on and the heat going. Just think: with fully funded public education, your property taxes could go down. It’s not happening this year, though, despite the 32k calls for a veto. Another casualty when the legislature doesn’t fully fund public education, is that programs like art or music are the first cuts made. Empowering Parents has allowed me to provide some of that education on my own time in my own home. And now this, too, is at risk of being taken away.
As a parent, public school is my only real choice, and luckily, my first choice. I didn’t want a fancy tax break I won’t be able to use—I wanted fully funded public schools. Now, our property taxes will go up even more to prop up crumbling schoolhouses and programs like Empowering Parents will get cut. More kids will go through school without access to art, music, or sports. They won’t learn how to swim or get the support or 1:1 attention they need. I once heard a school admin quip: school funding isn’t rocket science; it’s more complicated and more expensive. It’s about to get worse. That tax break for wealthy families isn’t going to pay for itself.
This story was originally published March 25, 2025 at 4:00 AM.