Most Recipients of Idaho's Private Education Tax Credit Never Attended Public School - KMVT

Most recipients of Idaho’s private education tax credit never attended a public school, according to a report released Friday by the Idaho State Tax Commission.

The data sheds light on the $50 million, taxpayer-funded Parental Choice Tax Credit program, which was established last year through House Bill 93 under the backing of Gov. Brad Little and the Republican-led legislature.

The report reveals that 74.7% of the 12,216 students who received a credit or advance payment have never attended a public school. For many families, the state-funded credit is functioning as a subsidy for educational costs that were already being shouldered privately.

“Idahoans were sold a lie about this voucher scheme,” said House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel, D-Boise, in a news release. “We were told this program would help low-income children leave public schools for supposedly better-performing private schools. Instead, more than half of the families awarded tax credits are above the income threshold Republicans promised to prioritize, and nearly three-quarters of students have never attended an Idaho public school.”

The financial profile of the average recipient household shows the average adjusted gross income for recipient households is $178,000. While the program used a benchmark of 300% of the federal poverty level to determine who had the first dibs on the credits, the data shows that 55.5% of households receiving the credit earn above that benchmark.

Most Recipients of Idaho's Private Education Tax Credit Never Attended Public School - KMVT

The program offers a refundable tax credit of up to $5,000 for students, or $7,500 for those with special needs, to cover expenses such as tuition, tutoring, and curriculum costs. Currently, 93.5% of the issued credits are being applied to tuition expenses. The report identified the following institutions as the top recipients of the state-funded awards:

School Name	Number of Awards	Total Funding
Cole Valley Christian School	642	$3.1 million
The Ambrose School	572	$2.7 million
Bishop Kelly High School	406	$1.9 million
Nampa Christian Schools	373	$1.7 million
Logos Classical Christian School	343	$1.5 million

The timing of the data release has been noted. Although the Idaho State Tax Commission had previously denied records requests for this information, it published the findings on Friday—10 days after the November 3 election, in which all 105 state lawmakers and the governor were up for re-election.

Rubel argued that the public was deprived of this context before casting their ballots, suggesting that the legislature should repeal the program or at least end subsidies for higher-income families.

The report includes more data than HB 93 required. While House Bill 93 mandated a report on the program’s first year, it did not call for the percentage of students who previously attended a public school or a list of private schools where the state is reimbursing tuition. Gov. Little maintained that his administration went above and beyond to provide as much information and data as possible.

“This report gives policymakers and the public a clearer picture of the program and provides the best available data to evaluate its effectiveness, identify opportunities for improvement, and ensure it continues to serve Idahoans well,” Little said in a news release.

The report confirms that the majority of the program’s beneficiaries were already outside the public system when the credits were issued.