Idaho School Choice Tax Credit Constitutional Ruling: What the Supreme Court Decided

The Challenge

Almost immediately after HB 93 created the Parental Choice Tax Credit in 2025, a coalition challenged the law in court. In Committee to Protect and Preserve the Idaho Constitution, Inc., et al. v. State of Idaho (Idaho Supreme Court Docket No. 53264), public school advocates, teachers' unions, and school districts asked the Idaho Supreme Court to strike down the entire program.

Their two arguments:

Article IX, Section 1 of the Idaho Constitution — the clause requiring the legislature to maintain "a general, uniform, and thorough system of public, free common schools." The petitioners argued that diverting tax revenue toward nonpublic education undermined this constitutional mandate.

The Public Purpose Doctrine — the claim that using state funds (through refundable tax credits) for private and homeschool expenses constitutes spending public money for private benefit, which the constitution prohibits.

The Ruling

On February 5, 2026, the Idaho Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision dismissing the petition and upholding the constitutionality of Idaho Code Section 63-3029N.

The Court's reasoning came down to two points:

First, the constitutional duty to maintain public schools does not restrict the legislature's authority to enact tax policies or support educational options beyond the public system. The public school mandate is a floor — the state must fund public schools — not a ceiling that prevents the legislature from doing anything else related to education.

Second, the Court held that facilitating parental educational choice serves a valid public purpose and upheld the credit as a permissible tax policy.

What This Means Practically

The program's legal foundation is settled. The unanimous ruling — not a split decision, not a narrow majority — means the Parental Choice Tax Credit is on solid constitutional ground in Idaho.

For families considering the credit, this resolves the constitutional challenge described in the case. The Tax Commission proceeded with applications and award disbursements under the upheld statute.

If you've been hesitating because you read about the lawsuit and weren't sure if the program would survive, the answer is clear: it survived, unanimously.

The Statutory Protections Stay Intact

The ruling also preserved the explicit anti-regulation provisions that HB 93 built in. Idaho Code Section 63-3029N(20) states that nonpublic schools cannot be required to alter their creed, practices, admissions policy, or curriculum as a condition of accepting students whose tuition is covered by the tax credit.

Participation in the credit program does not give the Tax Commission, the State Board of Education, or local school districts authority to approve homeschool curricula, set instructional hours, or inspect home classrooms. The court's ruling didn't modify or weaken these protections.

For homeschool families concerned about government oversight — a common and legitimate concern in Idaho's independent homeschool community — the constitutional ruling and the statutory protections together provide a clear legal framework: the credit is constitutional, and accepting it does not invite regulatory control over how you educate your children.

The Idaho Parental Choice Tax Credit Parent Guide includes a legal status summary covering the court ruling, the statutory protections, and what they mean for your family's autonomy when participating in the program.

See more Idaho guides →