Families fight back as teachers’ union sues to block Idaho school choice program

Mere months after Idaho launched its first school choice program, three families who depend on it are now battling to defend it – with help from a national legal group taking on the teachers’ union trying to shut it down.

The Partnership for Education Choice, created by EdChoice and the Institute for Justice, filed a motion to intervene in a lawsuit over Idaho’s Parental Choice Tax Credit. 

Signed into law by Gov. Brad Little in February, the tax credit allows parents to receive up to $5,000 per student – and $7,500 for a student with a disability – toward education expenses for students not enrolled in public school.  

The funds can be used for tuition assistance, textbooks for homeschooling, tutoring and other expenses, per the law, which allocates nearly $50 million to the program. 

Yet, the Idaho Education Association teachers’ union sued over the program in September, arguing it diverts needed funding from the state’s “chronically underfunded public schools.” 

The lawsuit cites the state’s constitution, which tasks the Legislature with establishing and maintaining a “system of public free common schools,” and argues the school choice program goes beyond the Legislature’s mandate. 

The school choice backers defending the program argue that keeping it in place is a necessary safeguard for educational freedom and parental rights. 

The Partnership for Educational Choice says it is stepping in to defend Idaho’s school choice program on behalf of three families who intend to use the school choice funds to help cover education costs for their children. 

“The parents we represent aren’t asking for favors. They’re asking for fairness,” EdChoice Legal Advocates executive director Thomas Fisher says. 

“The Idaho Parental Choice Tax Credit ensures that a child’s access to the right school isn’t determined by family income. We will fight to protect these families’ constitutional right to direct their children’s education from being taken away by a lawsuit that puts politics ahead of students’ needs.” 

Institute for Justice senior attorney Renee Flaherty agreed, noting that the families “are dedicated to defending their right to direct the upbringing of their children and the legislature’s generous choice to provide a means to do so.”  

“For over 30 years, parents across the country have successfully done the same.” 

The Idaho families include the LoBue family, which has seven children, including a 15-year-old girl on the autism spectrum. She attends a treatment and learning center called Wired2Learn Academy, where the LoBues have hoped to also send their 11-year-old with dyslexia through the school choice program.   

Another mom represented by the legal group, Katie Demczyk, has five children, including a 13-year-old who also attends Wired2Learn Academy so she can access a “small learning environment and teachers who can watch for warning signs related to her seizure disorder,” the legal group said.  

The third family in the lawsuit has planned to use the school choice program for private math, science, and language arts tutoring “for their youngest to better meet her learning needs.” 

The families’ experiences highlight exactly what Idaho’s governor appeared to envision when he signed the program into law – giving parents alternatives when traditional schools can’t meet their children’s specialized needs. 

“With the passage of the $50 million Parental Choice Tax Credit program, Idaho boasts even more abundant schooling options for Idaho students and families,” Little said when signing the school choice law in February. 

“Idaho can have it all – strong public schools AND education freedom.”  

Feature image: Idaho Education Association (Facebook)