(UPDATED, 3:08 p.m., with Senate committee votes on State Board confirmations.)

A divided House State Affairs Committee spared the Idaho Commission on Hispanic Affairs from closing.

On a 7-7 vote, the committee spiked a bill that would have closed the commission, effective July 1.

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Heather Scott, R-Blanchard, said little about the commission’s work itself. But she linked her bill to the Legislature’s DOGE Task Force, which spent the 2025 off-season looking to cut what she called “bloat in government.”

“This is one that really caught our attention,” she said.

In December, the DOGE Task Force recommended defunding the commission.

Scott said the repeal would save the state $546,400 in taxpayer and dedicated funds.

But a bipartisan group of lawmakers voted against introducing the bill, killing it before a hearing.

Republicans Erin Bingham and Stephanie Mickelsen of Idaho Falls, Shawn Dygert of Melba, Mike Pohanka of Jerome and Bruce Skaug of Nampa joined Boise Democrats Monica Church and Anne Henderson Haws in opposing the bill.

After the bill died on the tie vote, Scott’s Senate co-sponsor went on X to criticize his colleagues.

“(Diversity, equity and inclusion) is alive and well in the Idaho Legislature,” said Sen. Brian Lenney, R-Nampa, who attended Thursday’s committee hearing but did not speak.

Thursday’s vote does not preclude Scott, Lenney or another lawmaker from bringing back a similar bill later in the session.

New bill would update law banning instruction on sexual orientation, gender identity

Rep. Dale Hawkins Thursday introduced a bill that would “clean up” a 2025 law barring public schools from teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity. 

Last year, the Legislature passed House Bill 352, and Gov. Brad Little signed it into law. Co-sponsored by Hawkins, R-Fernwood, the bill directed public schools to adopt policies that prohibit instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity “from kindergarten through grade 12 or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.” 

The new bill would eliminate the clause that starts with the words, “or in a manner.”

This language was unintentionally left in last year’s bill. It’s creating confusion, Hawkins, the new chair of the House Education Committee, told committee members.  

“It’s just cleaning the bill up,” Hawkins said of his new proposal. 

But this might be understating it. 

Rep. Chris Mathias, D-Boise, asked Hawkins whether changing the law would block parents from opting their children into “age-appropriate” instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity. For example, what if a high school senior wanted to participate in a classroom discussion on Hecox v. Little, the court case challenging Idaho’s restrictions on transgender women and girls joining female sports teams?

The current law appears to allow “age-appropriate” instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity. In an October report that said most districts aren’t following HB 352, the Idaho Family Policy Center described the existing law as preventing instruction that’s “age-inappropriate.”  

In response, Hawkins said HB 352 is separate from a law that requires schools to get parents’ permission for instruction on “human sexuality” — House Bill 239. This bill included “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” under the definition of instruction on “human sexuality” that requires a permission slip.

“We’re not talking about sex ed, which is the opt in,” Hawkins said. 

Rep. Barbara Ehardt, who sponsored the “human sexuality” opt-in bill and the transgender athletics bill, added that she doesn’t believe Hawkins’ proposal will “interfere” with HB 239. 

“If they wanted to discuss the Hecox case, say in a government class, they’d certainly be able to,” said Ehardt, R-Idaho Falls.

House Education unanimously voted to introduce Hawkins’ “cleanup” bill, setting the stage for a public hearing.

The committee also introduced a new bill from Mathias that would require public school leaders to notify parents when their children are involved in a “serious bullying incident.” Last year, the House passed a similar bill, but the Senate rejected it.

Blaine Amendment repeal clears its first hurdle

A North Idaho lawmaker is taking another run at the “Blaine Amendment,” a section of the Constitution that sits at the heart of Idaho’s private school choice debate.

The amendment, like counterparts in roughly three dozen other states, bans the use of public dollars to support religious organizations. These bans are discriminatory, and they conflict with federal constitutional protections for churches, said Rep. Elaine Price, R-Coeur d’Alene, the repeal’s sponsor.

Price cited a recent Idaho court case on the matter. In October, Chief U.S. District Court Judge David Nye said Sage International School violated Truth Family Bible Church’s First Amendment rights when the school canceled the church’s lease of a school gymnasium, citing the Blaine Amendment.

The House State Affairs Committee voted unanimously to print Price’s proposed repeal. That sets the stage for a full public hearing at a later date.

However, amending Idaho’s constitution is a daunting prospect. Amendments must pass both houses by two-thirds majoirties. Then an amendment goes to the voters, requiring majority support.

Many multi-child households are applying for private education tax credit

Many families applied for the state’s new private education tax credit on behalf of multiple students, according to new State Tax Commission data. 

The commission announced Wednesday that it has received more than 4,650 applications covering 7,300 students who are hoping to claim a Parental Choice Tax Credit. The application period opened Jan. 15, and closes March 15. 

This means many of the applications — although it’s unclear exactly how many — came from households with multiple children attending private school or learning from home. House Bill 93, the tax credit law, didn’t limit the number of students per household that can claim the subsidy. 

Of the 7,300 people who have applied so far, more than 6,150 requested the refundable tax credit and more than 1,150 requested the advance payment. 

Applicants can claim the credit for expenses already incurred, or an advance payment covering anticipated expenses. Only households earning 300% or less than the federal poverty level qualify for the advance payment. 

The program covers non-public school expenses up to $5,000 — or $7,500 for students with special needs. The state will award funds on a first-come, first-served basis until distributions reach a cap of nearly $50 million. 

Wednesday’s news release didn’t directly address recent calls by Democratic Statehouse leaders to pause advance payments. House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel and Senate Minority Leader Melissa Wintrow last week penned a letter urging the agency to freeze them “until sufficient oversight measures are in place to prevent the misuse of public funds.”

But the commission reiterated program rules aimed at deterring fraud and waste. “Parents who are awarded the advance payment must save receipts for actual, qualifying expenses they paid in 2026,” the news release said. “They’ll be required to provide them to the Tax Commission at the end of 2026. Any funds from the advance payment that they didn’t use for qualifying expenses must be repaid to the Tax Commission.”

On Friday, the Idaho Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a lawsuit challenging the tax credit law. A coalition of opponents, including the Idaho Education Association and Moscow School District, asked the court to declare the program unconstitutional. 

Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador’s office is defending the state, along with private attorneys hired by the Legislature. In a news release Thursday, Labrador’s office said the program is “fully constitutional” and cited polling that shows public support.  

“Parents — not government — have the God-given right to direct their children’s education,” Labrador said in the release.

State Board appointments head to the Senate floor

Two State Board of Education appointments are headed to the Senate floor, with committee blessing.

Without discussion, the Senate Education Committee voted to confirm Jennifer White as the State Board’s executive director and Pete Koehler as a State Board member.

The unanimous votes came after a pair of brief, convivial confirmation hearings Wednesday.

White, a former trial lawyer and Boise State University government affairs director, was named executive director in April. Koehler — a former Nampa School District superintendent, Idaho Public Charter School Commission member and chief of staff to former state superintendent Sherri Ybarra — joined the State Board in October.

Both appointments now go to the full Senate for a final vote.