Idaho

Today, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon signed the Steamboat Legacy Scholarship Act into law, bringing the total to 15 states with universal (or near-universal) school choice! Last week, Idaho Governor Brad Little ushered in school choice for families statewide. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee brought education freedom to Tennesseans a few weeks ago. Last year, Alabama and Louisiana got the job done. The year prior, 2023, included Iowa, Utah, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Oklahoma, Ohio, and North Carolina enacting universal school choice in their states. All of these wins were built upon the courageous, bold, and forward-thinking leadership of West Virginia Senator Patricia Puertas Rucker and Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, who led the way in 2021 and 2022, helping advance universal school choice Read More ›

Gov. Brad Little (R) came through for the families of Idaho last Thursday morning by signing House Bill 93, the Parental Choice Tax Credit bill, into law shortly before the 11:46 a.m. deadline. Idaho now has a school choice program for the first time in the state’s history. The bill enacts a $50 million private school choice tax credit program with all schoolchildren statewide eligible. Idaho becomes the 14th state in the nation to enact universal (or near-universal) school choice, joining Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, and West Virginia. Upon signing the bill, Gov. Little declared, “With the passage of the $50 million Parental Choice Tax Credit program, Idaho boasts even more abundant schooling options Read More ›

Most state 2025 legislative sessions kicked off last week or this week. The remaining states will have their sessions underway by early February. Louisiana is the only exception, and it is not scheduled to convene its legislature until April. During the legislative sessions, K-12 education will continue to be a common top policy area throughout the country. Efforts to enact and expand school choice legislation will be front and center in several states, as has been the case since 2021. The prolonged public district school closures gave parents a front-row seat in their children’s classrooms through the remote Zoom sessions. What they saw concerned them greatly — a lack of quality academic learning and far-left political indoctrination. Public support for Read More ›

Huge historical legislative victories have occurred over the past four years, advancing school choice in states nationwide. In some states, the wins have entailed the creation of new school choice programs, while in other states, it has involved expanding existing programs to reach more students. Most noteworthy has been the enactment of universal or near-universal school choice in 12 states since 2021. Introduction The public education monopoly isn’t working, and it is failing to fulfill its function to a greater degree than in years and decades past. There is a better way: education freedom, which allows parents to choose the school or other learning avenue that best fits their unique child. A few years ago, widespread school choice was nearly Read More ›

Discovery Institute Bailey Takacs (206) 292-0401 x1290 btakacs@discovery.org Education expert applauds Idaho’s move towards student-centered learning He recommends a game plan for advancing education reform “Idaho’s model education legislation is an outstanding step in the right direction,” according to Don Nielsen, former Seattle School Board President and author of Every School: One Citizen’s Guide To Transforming Education.  He was referring to the legislature’s work with the Governor to eliminate the cap on the 20 schools that can enter the state’s pilot program for “mastery-based education.” “Next up Idaho should move forward in creating ‘Institutes for Educational Leadership’,” explained Nielsen, and added that “These institutes would have extraordinarily high admission standards, and would be populated with instructors from business, education, and Read More ›