Using Idaho’s budget gap to attack education choice is irresponsible

Idaho’s budget gap deserves a serious conversation. What it does not deserve is to be turned into a political weapon.

Yet that’s exactly what’s happening. Longtime opponents of education choice are now claiming that Idaho’s education choice law is responsible for the state’s fiscal challenges. That claim may be convenient, but it is not grounded in facts — and it’s irresponsible to suggest otherwise.

The education choice program totals about $50 million, representing roughly 0.90% of Idaho’s overall budget. Public schools, by contrast, receive about $2.8 billion in state funding, and no one is proposing to cut that budget.

Those numbers matter.

A program that accounts for less than one percent of state spending cannot plausibly be blamed for a statewide budget gap. Suggesting it can ignores basic math and misleads the public about how state finances actually work.

What’s missing from this narrative is the broader context: Idaho is not alone.

States across the country are grappling with similar budget pressures, largely due to recent federal tax law changes and the complex question of whether — and how — to conform to them at the state level. Changes to the federal tax base can significantly affect state revenues, even before lawmakers take a single new policy action of their own.

In other words, Idaho’s budget gap is part of a national trend, not the result of a single, small education policy passed this year. In many ways, Idaho's budget is looked upon as a model.

If the context were acknowledged, the argument against education choice would collapse. Instead, critics have chosen to single out a modest, capped program they already opposed.

If this standard were applied consistently, any problem facing Idaho could be blamed on education choice. If revenue forecasts miss the mark, it’s school choice. If inflation rises, it’s school choice. If it rains in Idaho, critics might blame education choice.

That’s not analysis. It’s scapegoating.

What makes this especially clear is that many of the same voices making these claims opposed education choice long before the budget gap existed — including during years when Idaho ran historic surpluses and increased education spending. The policy didn’t suddenly become objectionable because of fiscal conditions; the budget gap simply became a new excuse.

That approach isn’t just misleading — it’s a slap in the face to parents.

Families who use education choice are not responsible for Idaho’s budget challenges. They are parents trying to do what every parent does: find the best educational fit for their children. Blaming them for a complex fiscal situation driven by national tax policy shifts and revenue volatility is unfair and wrong.

If lawmakers and advocates want to address the budget gap, they should focus on the real drivers. They could tackle federal tax law changes, Medicaid, post-surplus revenue normalization, and broader policy decisions that can have far greater fiscal impact than a small, capped education choice program.

Idaho can debate education policy honestly. But we should not pretend that taking a $50 million program away from families will fix our challenges.

That claim doesn’t hold up — and making it undermines the serious discussion Idahoans deserve.