The Blog at MSPC

The proposal would raise Idaho’s income tax rate from 5.3% to 5.325% and repeal the Parental Choice Tax Credit — just months after families began applying for it.

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

To put that in perspective: if the students currently represented in applications formed a single public school district, it would rank as the 6th largest district in Idaho. And the application window doesn’t close until March 15.

Since applications opened on January 15, a total of 6,030 families have applied, covering 10,105 students. That’s not a one-day surge. That’s nearly a month of steady participation.

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.

In a comprehensive opinion, the Court denied the petition for a writ of prohibition, dismissed the case in full, rejected every major constitutional theory advanced by the petitioners, and awarded attorney fees to the State. The result is about as close to a clean sweep as constitutional litigation gets.

Since applications opened on January 15, 5,056 families have applied for the credit, covering 9,341 students. That’s nearly three weeks of data, which gives us something much more useful than opening-day excitement alone: an actual pace.

the legal theory petitioners are asking the Court to adopt isn’t narrow. It’s sweeping. If accepted, it could transform Idaho constitutional law into a weapon against not just this program, but other long-standing public policies—and even ordinary tax credits.

On day one of the application window for Idaho’s new parental choice tax credit, more than 3,300 families applied. That’s 200 per hour. Four every minute. Since the window opened at midnight, applications have poured in at a pace that’s impossible to ignore.

Opponents of parental choice in education are reviving their favorite scare tactic: the "voucher" boogeyman.