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Idaho Legislature: Ask legislators to VOTE NO on S1025 - Empowering parents grant program (posted 01/29/25, updated 02/15/25)
Bill: legislature.idaho.gov/s…
Contact Legislators: emailidaho.com
(Check the linked page or use My Bill Tracker for the bill’s current status.)
→ 02/14/25 FAILED SENATE 6-28-1
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SB1025 expands the Empowering Parents Grant to $5,000, allows it for tuition and fees at participating schools until July 1, 2030, allows it for child care (ages 3 and older); eliminates reporting requirements for public and charter schools beyond what’s required by the federal government; and provides a continual $30 million appropriation for special education funding.
This bill should be defeated for many reasons, including the fact that it’s expensive, unnecessary, discriminatory, and creates more dependency on government. Do we really want to be California, Oregon, and all the other bankrupt blue states who simply throw money at education and expect different results while turning citizens toward government dependency rather than independent, resilient citizens?
Key objections:
Expands government control: Participating nonpublic schools must be accountable and accredited using the same standards as our failed public schools.
Expands the scope of government: Publicly funds childcare for pre-kindergarten children. Public funding for education is constitutionally required; however, childcare is the parents’ responsibility, not the state’s.
Increases ongoing costs: Includes $30 million continual appropriation for special education programs.
Positive and negative transparency: Creates the Idaho Education Red Tape Reduction Program to identify “all reporting currently required by the state of Idaho and federal government for public schools and charter schools.” This could could reveal inefficiencies and administrative bloat in public education. However, it also disallows public and charter schools reporting that’s more stringent than the often lax federal requirements.
Grants preferential treatment: Money is reserved for “the neediest families,” and thus doesn’t offer true “universal” school choice.
Grants excessive non-enumerated powers to Federal Government: By largely eliminating all reporting requirements for public and charter schools that go beyond federal government standards, the bill lets the federal government decide how Idaho should administer its public education system. Education policy is not an enumerated power of the federal Constitution. The bill therefore dilutes 10th amendment state sovereignty rights.
Unjustly discriminates against large families: Capped at $15K per household, regardless of how many eligible students exist within the family. Undermines America’s traditional values.
Limited-time effects: Expands educational opportunities for ~10,000 students. But also sunsets on July 1, 2030.
Reference:
Idaho Freedom Foundation (-5):
