Idaho’s private education tax credit is primarily subsidizing tuition for wealthy families whose children were already enrolled in a private school, according to a report released Friday.

The Idaho State Tax Commission, for the first time, released a wide range of data that sheds light on the beneficiaries of the $50 million, taxpayer-funded Parental Choice Tax Credit program. GOP members of the Idaho Legislature and Republican Gov. Brad Little created the state’s first private school choice program last year through House Bill 93.

Here are some of the highlights from the report:

• 12,216 students received a tax credit or advance payment.
• 80.7% attend a private school and 19.3% are home schooling.
• 74.7%  have never attended a public school.
• $178,000 is the average adjusted gross income for recipient households.
• 1.7 is the average number of students per household that received a credit.
• 55.5% of households earn more and 44.5% earn less than 300% of the federal poverty level, a benchmark determining who had the first dibs on the credits.
• 93.5% of tax credits covered tuition expenses.

In other words, the typical credit covered private school tuition for a family of four that earns $178,000 and whose children never attended a public school.

This data undermines a key selling point of the bitterly debated private school choice program: that it would help students who couldn’t otherwise afford private education options.

“Idahoans were sold a lie about this voucher scheme,” House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel, D-Boise, said in a news release Friday. “We were told this program would help low-income children leave public schools for supposedly better-performing private schools. Instead, more than half of the families awarded tax credits are above the income threshold Republicans promised to prioritize, and nearly three-quarters of students have never attended an Idaho public school.”

Idaho Education News and others had sought data on the program’s rollout for months, but the Tax Commission denied records requests, promising a report by January. The agency ultimately published the report earlier than expected but 10 days after the Nov. 3 election, when all 105 state lawmakers and the governor were up for re-election.

“Voters deserved this information before casting their ballots,” Rubel said. “We should repeal this program or, at the very least, end subsidies for higher-income families.”

However, the report includes more data than HB 93 required. A provision in the bill told the Tax Commission to compile a report on the program’s first year with several data points. But it didn’t call for the percentage of students who previously attended a public school.

In a statement Friday, Little said his administration “went above and beyond to provide as much information and data as possible while protecting taxpayers’ personal information.”

“This report gives policymakers and the public a clearer picture of the program and provides the best available data to evaluate its effectiveness, identify opportunities for improvement, and ensure it continues to serve Idahoans well,” Little said in a news release.

The report also includes a list of private schools where the state is reimbursing tuition. This data also wasn’t required by HB 93.

Here were the top five beneficiary schools:

• Cole Valley Christian School — 642 awards — $3.1 million
• The Ambrose School — 572 awards — $2.7 million
• Bishop Kelly High School — 406 awards — $1.9 million
• Nampa Christian Schools — 373 awards — $1.7 million
• Logos Classical Christian School — 343 awards — $1.5 million

Click here to read the report.

This is a developing story. Check back later today for more details.