Despite unanimous testimony in opposition to the move, a Senate committee voted to mothball the Empowering Parents education microgrant program.

Senate Bill 1142 would repeal the $30 million program on June 30 — five years after the state began using a patchwork of federal and state dollars for the grants.

Launched in 2020, during the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic, the microgrants helped families cover the expenses of at-home instruction, said Sen. Camille Blaylock, R-Caldwell, the sponsor of the repeal bill. She said the program was designed to be a “temporary solution for a temporary problem,” and is now largely funding laptops and computer equipment for public school students’ families.

“It’s turning into a technology slush fund,” Blaylock said.

Supporters painted a different picture. They said the grants, up to $1,000 per student or $3,000 per household, open extracurricular options to homeschooling families.

Amanda Wayne — a home-schooling mother from Rexburg and a Red Cross-certified water safety instructor — said many of her students are using Empowering Parents grants. “It is being used to protect the lives of children in Idaho.”

“The needs of our students have not diminished,” said Barbara Schriber of Sandpoint, who served on a parent advisory program that reviewed Empowering Parents in 2023.

Empowering Parents supporters also questioned the timing of a repeal — less than a month after the state passed a $50 million tax credit for private school tuition. And Sen. Cindy Carlson, R-Riggins, said an Empowering Parents repeal seemed premature.

The Senate Education Committee disagreed. The committee voted to send the bill to the floor for a vote, over Carlson’s objection.

New virtual charter bill introduced

A new version of a bill to move all virtual charter schools under the purview of the Idaho Public Charter School Commission debuted Monday. 

Currently, school districts can authorize virtual schools. Sen. Dave Lent’s bill — which replaces Senate Bill 1176 — would move existing and future online schools under the state charter commission’s umbrella.

The updated proposal would give virtual charter schools — including the Idaho Home Learning Academy (IHLA) and Gem Prep Online — more time to transition to the charter commission. The deadline would be July 1, 2026.  

“This bill is a course correction for Idaho’s fragmented virtual education landscape,” Lent told the Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee. “We’re trying to create some lanes so that this new area of education in our educational landscape has … some sideboards to work with.”

The bill would also prohibit school districts from offering virtual programs to students outside of the district’s boundaries.

And it would require advance approval for virtual charter schools to contract with education service providers. A charter authorizer — like the charter commission, in the case of virtual schools affected by the bill — would have to sign off on agreements before they’re executed. 

Earlier this year, lawmakers questioned IHLA’s agreements with third-party providers. Through these contracts, students at the Malad-based virtual charter school — which is authorized by the Oneida School District — are offered $1,800 education savings accounts. 

Lent, R-Idaho Falls, told Idaho Education News Monday that his bill wouldn’t do away with this arrangement. “The intent is just to get them under one umbrella so that the oversight can work.”

SB 1176 was introduced last week, and it quickly faced pushback from online education advocates. The Coalition of Idaho Charter School Families said the bill would “gut funding” for virtual schools, strip school boards of their authority and hand control to a “a bloated state bureaucracy that’s hostile to online learning.” 

Lent sought to ease concerns Monday. 

“We respect their students as Idaho public school students and are committed to provide a platform for learning that best suits their needs,” he told EdNews. “We, as a state, have a stewardship to handle the funding mechanisms…but our first priority is helping our students be successful.”

Civics exam bill heads to the Senate

A bill mandating a new high school civics exam is headed to the Senate.

The Senate Education Committee threw its unanimous support behind House Bill 397. The bill would ditch the current exam — the 100-question test used in the naturalization process — and require the Idaho Department of Education to develop a new test.

“We want a meaningful requirement that’s aligned to our standards,” said Greg Wilson, chief of staff for state superintendent Debbie Critchfield, who supports the change.

“Civic literacy is at an all-time low,” said Sen. Cindy Carlson, R-Riggins, the bill’s Senate co-sponsor.

During a brief committee hearing, League of Women Voters of Idaho co-president Jean Henscheid argued against the bill. She questioned the claim that the state could create a new test using existing funding — and said a new statewide test is an affront to local control.

HB 397 could get a Senate vote in the next few days. The House has already passed it.

School transportation bill clears Senate committee

A bill designed to open up more school transportation options will go to the Senate.

A key provision in House Bill 396 would allow schools to use cars or vans to transport students, as an alternative to the traditional yellow school bus.

Two rural superintendents from Eastern Idaho — Tyler Telford of the West Side School District and Greg Larson of the Rockland School District — said the flexibility could save hundreds or thousands of dollars per trip to a sporting event or student program.

The Senate Education Committee passed the bill unanimously.

House passes property tax relief cleanup bill

The House quickly passed a late-session cleanup to a $100 million property tax cut.

House Bill 435 pertains largely to timing. It clarifies that the state would shell out the $100 million for property tax relief this summer — shortly after the July 1 start of the 2025-26 budget year. Idahoans would get the $100 million in tax relief later this calendar year.

Half of the $100 million is designed to offset the cost of voter-approved school bonds and levies.

Passed unanimously, HB 435 now goes to the Senate.

Modest STEM Action Center budget passes House

As the 2025 legislative session lurches toward adjournment, lawmakers are working their way through a host of agency “enhancement” budget bills. These include large, or sometimes not so large, line items for new spending.

The House passed a small education budget “enhancement” bill, which would provide the STEM Action Center an additional $9,900 for IT.

The vote was 69-1, with Rep. Kyle Harris, R-Lewiston, casting the sole no vote. The bill now goes to the Senate.