Hearings for these two bills are scheduled on Monday, March 15, 2021, and Tuesday, March 16, 2021. Immediate action is needed. You can provide written testimony, testify in person at the committee hearing, or testify remotely. 

H 294

Description: Strong Students Grant & and Strong Students Scholarship Program. This new bill makes small changes to H215, by extending a December grant program that used federal stimulus funds from the CARES Act which originally helped families pay costs for education technology or online learning for K-12 students. Under Part One parents of students at a public, charter, private or home school will receive a $500 per student per year education grant to pay for educational expenses. Part Two provides scholarships for a limited number of students who have previously attended a public school and need alternative options. Scholarships would be 90% of the average state appropriated funds per student in public school.  Parents could use the money for private, religious, or home schools. The fiscal impact would be $30 million in one-time federal funds and $5 million ongoing state general funds. This would provide state taxpayer dollars to fund up to 70,000 students in Part One and 800 student scholarship of approximately $6,041.

Bill status: H 294 will receive a hearing on Tuesday, March 16, at 3 p.m./MT in the Senate Education Committee.

H 293

Description: Education Parents, Reimbursement. This bill is basically a mini-voucher bill to require schools to remain open for full-time in-person instruction at least 4 days/week or allow parents to take the money allocated for their child’s education and spend it on educational expenses, including private education. The funds distributed to the family would be taken from the local school district or public charter school.

Bill status: H 293 will receive a hearing on Monday, March 15, at 3 p.m./MT in the Senate Education Committee. 

League position: OPPOSE ALL– The League supports consistency in state education funding based on long-term educational goals. To allow local school districts to plan more effectively and deal with local needs, caution is urged in the use of one-time funding and in attaching detailed “strings” to school appropriations. Inducements to lowering class size should be offered. (LWVID Position on Education Funding, Adopted July of 1991)

Take Action - Write to:

Secretary: Florence Lince
Email: sedu [at] senate.idaho.gov
Phone: 208-332-1321

Senate Education Committee. Chair Steven P. Thayn , Vice Chair Carl Crabtree , Lori Den Hartog ,Jim Woodward , Dave Lent , Daniel G. Johnson . Kevin Cook , Janie Ward-Engelking , David Nelson 

Suggested Script: "I am writing to oppose. . ." or "As your constituent I urge you to oppose. . ." Select some talking points. Include your address and phone number after your signature.)

• Both bills are vouchers in disguise, as they would shift Idaho tax dollars from public schools and give the money directly to parents for alternative education in private and home schools.  
• Both bills disrupt school budgeting plans for instructional services.
• Both take local control away from districts. The Idaho Association of School Administrators and Idaho School Boards Administration testified against HB294 arguing districts take input from community stakeholders (parents, teachers, students, and community members) to make important decisions regarding the health and safety of students and teachers during the COVID-19 crisis.
• Idaho already ranks at the bottom in the nation for per student funding. Both bills would withhold the funding for public school districts. HB 294 includes a controversial $5 million for scholarships for nonpublic school students who previously attended public schools.  
• HB 294 explicitly states that nothing in the bill “shall be construed to give the state authority to regulate the education of non-public students.” Idaho has some of the most lenient homeschooling regulations in the country. Almost 5,000 homeschool students applied for a similar grant last fall.
• Public school districts and charter schools are held accountable for taxpayer funding through required annual reports for academic achievement, attendance, and high school graduation. There is no accountability for home school students or private schools.
• HB 294 would remove language about the state “auditing” the use of those grant funds, but families would still need to report how they spend the money.
• HB 294 contradicts H 293 that students’ emotional, social, and educational needs are not being met when there is not full-time in-class learning. If so, why would money be shifted to promote home schools.