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MSPC policy recommendations were a huge hit in 2025
As we prepare for the start of the 2026 Legislative Session in a few weeks in Idaho, Washington and Wyoming (there’s no legislative session next year in Montana), it’s a good time to look back and reflect on the many exciting things that occurred in 2025. Here are just a few that stand out

Jason Mercier
3 hours ago3 min read


Education choice setback for Montana families requires legislative action
Montana families seeking flexible education options for students with special needs received disappointing news last week when a District Co

Meg Goudy
Dec 163 min read


Does higher spending increase student outcomes?
Just as low-quality steel will lead to a lower quality chassis of a car, poorly educated American workers will lead to a drop in quality of

Luke Hill
Dec 103 min read


Parents should act now to be ready for the Parental Choice Tax Credit application
The Idaho Parental Choice Tax Credit is a new refundable tax credit program that allows parents to apply for a tax credit of up to $5,000 for each eligible student, and up to $7,500 for each eligible special needs student, for qualified education expenses.

Meg Goudy
Dec 22 min read


Legislators, not judges, should decide school funding
The Wyoming Supreme Court made the right decision earlier this month to pause education mandates from Laramie District Judge Peter Froelicher that seemed more like royal decrees. Legislators can now wait until the appeal to his February 26 order is decided in the Wyoming Supreme Court, which heard arguments in the case on November 12.

Marta Mossburg
Dec 13 min read


Idaho should embrace performance-based funding for higher education
Whether and where to attend college can be a life-changing decision with significant impacts on an individual's future job opportunities and potential debt liabilities. Students, parents, and policymakers all have a vested interest in ensuring the return on investment is worth the considerable expense.

Sam Cardwell
Nov 173 min read


Loving parents will always triumph over angry agitators
A small group of agitators may be determined to intimidate parents, but the rest of Idaho shouldn’t let them. These meetings belong to families. The conversation belongs to the community.

Chris Cargill
Nov 143 min read


MSPC amicus brief filed in support of Idaho's parental choice tax credit
On November 10, 2025, Mountain States Policy Center filed an amicus brief addressing the IEA’s claims with national case law analysis demonstrating that HB 93 is a constitutionally sound program that serves a legitimate public purpose benefiting Idahoans.

Meg Goudy
Nov 113 min read


MSPC provides digital safety keynote address at Idaho Department of Education conference
Over 300 teachers, principals, and community leaders came together for this year's event, giving a state-wide perspective on all the things we should be doing to better equip our parents and students with what they need to succeed in educating their youth.

Sebastian Griffin
Nov 52 min read


Idaho families: Important dates for the Parental Choice Tax Credit program
This exciting new tax credit was enacted through House Bill 93 to help Idaho families pay for qualified private education expenses.

Meg Goudy
Oct 292 min read


Meg Goudy joins MSPC as Director of the Baldwin Center for Education
Mountain States Policy Center (MSPC), the leading free-market think tank serving the Mountain West, is pleased to announce the hiring of Meg Goudy as Director of the Bill & Milly Kay Baldwin Center for Education.

MSPC Newsroom
Oct 272 min read


MSPC launches Idaho Kids Win -defending, informing and expanding education freedom
The campaign will include the launch of a website to answer questions, a robust series of public town hall meetings across the state, a multi-phase media effort, and legal support to protect the law from special interest challenges.

MSPC Newsroom
Oct 32 min read


A lawsuit fighting ed choice could unleash tax chaos in Idaho
If the courts adopt the unions’ radical theory, Idaho’s tax code could be turned upside down, creating chaos for families, uncertainty for schools, and higher costs for everyone. That’s not justice—it’s activism at its worst.

Chris Cargill
Sep 302 min read


Choice and common schools: The Constitution allows us to do both
Public schools and education choice are not enemies. They are complementary tools that serve the same purpose: ensuring every child has access to a quality education that fits their needs.

Chris Cargill
Sep 242 min read


Idaho activists sue taxpayers and target children: Six takeaways
There is no mention of improving outcomes for Idaho children.
Instead, petitioners spend nearly nine pages of the legal filing arguing they have standing and another nine pages begging the court to require taxpayers reimburse their attorney fees.

Chris Cargill
Sep 185 min read


Moscow school district uses taxpayer money... to sue taxpayers
Moscow’s school board isn’t standing up for students. Instead, it's standing in the way of parents, punishing taxpayers, and trying to take choices away from Idaho families who need them most.

Chris Cargill
Sep 173 min read


New federal school choice law is a historic breakthrough for children
The old saying that states are the “laboratories of democracy” was apt in the passing of the new federal school choice law as part of the “One Big Beautiful Bill” enacted in early July.

Jason Mercier
Sep 23 min read


Idaho's latest test scores: The good, the bad, the ugly
Yes, the state technically “met its goals,” but no one should be satisfied with half of Idaho kids struggling to meet watered-down expectations.

Chris Cargill
Aug 272 min read


Vouchers, ducks and the need to be honest
Opponents of parental choice in education are reviving their favorite scare tactic: the "voucher" boogeyman.

Chris Cargill
Aug 202 min read


Every school, public or private, should have to prove its worth
Idaho’s new school choice program is turning up the heat. That’s great news — because every school, public or private, should have to prove its worth.

Chris Cargill
Aug 152 min read
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