The Blog at MSPC

Much has been said about Idaho’s new $5,000 education tax credit and the $50 million price tag attached to it. Critics have framed it as a costly new entitlement at a time when the state faces budget pressures. But there’s a critical fact missing from much of the debate: When a student leaves the public school system and uses the tax credit instead, the state saves money. Here’s why. Idaho spends roughly $9,000 per student, per year, of state funds on public education. Under

Lawmakers who opposed the Parental Choice Tax Credit last year, advanced a new bill to cut it—by 4 percent immediately and another 5 percent in 2027—before the program has even fully begun.

Even under the most conservative assumptions, thousands of Idaho families are expected to participate — a strong indication that educational choice is not a niche issue, but a mainstream priority.

Over and over, justices pressed on two major problems: whether petitioners even have standing to bring the case at all, and whether Idaho’s Constitution truly can be read to prohibit the state from supporting an education policy outside the public school system.