Opinion: HB 93 is an entitlement program dressed up as 'school choice'

In 2025, House Bill 93 created Idaho’s first statewide program for funding private school tuition by offering sizable tax credits for parents making the choice to send their children to private or religious schools. State income and sales tax provide $50 million in annual funding, skipping the legislative appropriation process. HB 93 is effectively a permanent government entitlement that subsidizes a select group of Idaho families.

Supporters claim it offers “choice” and “competition” in education. In reality, HB 93 represents a large expansion of state government, locks in ongoing redistribution of taxpayer dollars and undermines our constitutional responsibility to “maintain a general, uniform and thorough system of public, free common schools.”