BOISE — Another proposal to put state funds toward private school tuition has been introduced in the Idaho Legislature.
Sen. Lori Den Hartog, R-Meridian, presented legislation Monday morning to the Senate State Affairs Committee that would expand the existing Empowering Parents grant program to include a $6,000 tuition grant.
“This is in response to some other things that have been happening legislatively,” Den Hartog said.
A large universal educational savings account program was rejected by the Senate on Feb. 27.
Three new “school choice” bills were discussed last week in the House Education Committee; Den Hartog gave a brief summary of this proposal at that meeting. One of those bills, for a limited educational savings account, was later narrowly rejected by the education committee after a contentious debate, Idaho EdNews reported.
The tuition grant program would be a pilot project, Den Hartog said, and it would be set to be evaluated in 2028 by the Legislature. The Department of Education would be tasked with creating a report evaluating the sustainability, accountability and participant outcomes of the tuition grant process.
The Empowering Parents program was created last year, and Gov. Brad Little in his budget proposal this session recommended $30 million in ongoing funding to make the program permanent. It was created to provide grants for education needs, from tutoring to technology, that are up to $1,000 per student or $3,000 per family.
Committee introduces bill to add grants to parents’ program
BOISE – Another proposal to put state funds toward private school tuition has been introduced in the Idaho Legislature. Sen. Lori Den Hartog, R-Meridian, presented legislation Monday morning to the Senate State Affairs Committee that would expand the existing Empowering Parents grant program to include a $6,000 tuition grant.