BOISE, Idaho — The Idaho Supreme Court heard arguments Friday in a high-profile challenge to the state’s new Parental Choice Tax Credit, a $50 million school choice program that allows families to apply for a refundable tax credit for private education expenses.
The case was filed by the Committee to Protect and Preserve the Idaho Constitution, along with the Idaho Education Association, the Moscow School District, and several parents, asking the court to block the credit. Petitioners argue the program violates Article IX of the Idaho Constitution, which requires the state to provide a “general, uniform and thorough” system of public schools.
WATCH: Idaho Supreme Court hears challenge to new school choice tax credit.
“They dedicated an entire article to public education,” said petitioners’ attorney Marvin Smith. “And for many, that article is the crown jewel of the Idaho State Constitution because it secures, establishes, and maintains a general uniform and thorough system of public free common schools for generations of Idaho children.”
Smith argued the tax credit creates a parallel system by diverting public money outside public schools.
“The program is unconstitutional because it publicly funds and maintains a system of schools that are not general, uniform, thorough, public,” Smith added.
Justices pressed petitioners on whether the Constitution bars the state from supporting other education programs beyond public K-12.
“What happens to the LAUNCH funds, to WAMI, to the other programs by which the state appropriates money, to give to individuals to obtain different educational opportunities?” Justice Colleen Zahn asked. Another questioned whether striking down the credit could undermine other public programs, including Idaho LAUNCH.
Attorneys for the Idaho State Tax Commission defended the credit, calling it a tax policy decision that does not replace the public school system.
“All the text requires is that the legislature establish and maintain a thorough system of public schools, and nobody here today disputes that it’s done that,” said state attorney Michael Zarian. He added that “this law advances education, and education is a public purpose.”
After more than an hour of arguments, the court took the matter under advisement without issuing a ruling. Justices did not indicate when they will decide the case.
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