(Idaho State) A Democrat cast a surprising swing vote Monday to advance a bill to unlock state funds for private schooling and homeschooling.
The Senate Education Committee sent Senate Bill 1025 to the floor on a 5-4 vote. Sponsored by Sen. Dave Lent, R-Idaho Falls, the bill would expand Idaho’s Empowering Parents program from $30 million to $50 million, increase yearly grants from $1,000 to $5,000, and add private school tuition as an eligible expense.
The bill also promises public schools an additional $30 million in special education funding to partly address a funding gap estimated at $80 million. This pledge won over Sen. Carrie Semmelroth, who broke ranks with the Democratic caucus, which has fervently opposed subsidies for private education. Semmelroth, a Boise State University instructor specializing in special education, told Idaho Education News that her vote wasn’t about “partisan politics.”
“Policymaking is about serving the public good,” she said after Monday’s hearing. “This is the first time I’ve seen legislation that’s actually trying to put money into special ed. Separate from partisan politics, separate from vouchers, as a special education teacher, I have to take efforts like that seriously.”
SB 1025 is one of two bills Idaho lawmakers are considering to direct public funds to private schooling and homeschooling. The other proposal, House Bill 93, would create a refundable tax credit. It’s awaiting a public hearing in the House.
Lent, chairman of Senate Education, touted the accountability measures in his proposal, particularly one to require participating private schools to accept students with disabilities.
“If we’re going to have a school choice bill, it has to look like this,” he said during Monday’s hearing. “We have to have exactly the right kind of sideboards to protect not only our students but our parents, our families, and the people of the state of Idaho.”
To be an eligible expense in the Empowering Parents program, private schools would have to be accredited by a body recognized by the State Board of Education. They would also have to:
- Comply with state laws related to special education, nondiscrimination and parental rights.
- Maintain enrollment and performance data.
- Administer a nationally normed standardized test.
- Conduct criminal background checks on employees who have unsupervised contact with students.
The bill also includes a sunset clause requiring a reevaluation in five years. And it has income restrictions: 95% of the money would be reserved for families earning $80,000 or less in adjusted gross income.
Three Republican senators supported advancing it — with little enthusiasm. Sen. Jim Woodward made the successful motion to send the bill to the full Senate, but he didn’t include a “do-pass” recommendation, which typically accompanies legislation that clears a committee. Woodward, R-Sagle, said he’s “not interested ” in going down the road of funding private education.
“But I think we’re on the road … If we’re going to be considering a proposal, I’d much rather consider this piece than the others.”
Sen. Van Burtenshaw said Lent’s bill is the closest any proposal has come to meeting Gov. Brad Little’s conditions for sending state funds to private schools.
“We’ve been asked to gather a bill that is fair, responsible, transparent and accountable,” said Burtenshaw, R-Terreton. “Everything else that we’ve seen in other legislation hasn’t had any of that transparency and accountability.”
Sen. Janie Ward-Engelking, D-Boise, joined three Republicans in opposition. Sen. Christy Zito, R-Hammett, said a provision capping household grants at $15,000 was “discriminatory” toward families with many children. Sen. Cindy Carlson, R-Riggins, worried that accreditation requirements could exclude certain schools. And Sen. Tammy Nichols, R-Middleton, said the various facets of the bill could violate the Idaho Constitution’s “single-subject rule,” which prohibits legislation from addressing multiple policy areas.
The vote followed a curtailed public hearing, where most testimony opposed the proposal. Hundreds of people had signed up to testify, according to Sen. Kevin Cook, R-Idaho Falls, Senate Education’s vice chair, who chaired Monday’s meeting while Lent presented his bill.
Just 15 people had an opportunity to speak. This included Stoney Winston, superintendent of the Fruitland School District. Winston said the bill is unconstitutional, diverts state funds away from “underfunded” public schools and offers pre-K funding to private schools while public schools don’t receive the same support.
Winston also noted that SB 1025 doesn’t provide a mechanism for delivering the promised special education funds. “Our students with disabilities deserve clarity, not vague promises. Special education funding must be a priority, not an afterthought, bundled in with unrelated policies.”
SB 1025 now heads to the full Senate.
