The Idaho Tax Commission has released its first in-depth report on year one of the state’s new parental choice tax credit, and the overwhelming evidence shows it has been a monumental success.

The analysis, released Friday, documents 12,216 final student awards, $49.3 million allocated for educational assistance, and awarded parent applications in every legislative district in Idaho. In addition, there are now 137 families on the tax credit waitlist.

Those are substantial results for a program that has spent much of its early existence under political attack – from both legislators who have sought to defund it and activists who tried to knock it down in court. Both efforts proved unsuccessful.

In full, the analysis gives Idaho a strong foundation on which to build—and good reason to focus on helping more families participate.

The data shows that, of 6,875 awarded parents, 3,075 (or 44.7%) qualified under the program’s income priority, meaning their income on their 2024 return was at or below 300% of the federal poverty level. That number will vary based on household size. It includes families below the poverty line and families earning up to three times that threshold.

Despite the claims that money would only be allocated to those living in Boise, Ada and Canyon counties account for just over half of awarded parents. More than 3,300 awarded parents—48% of the statewide total—are outside those two counties. They account for $22.64 million in educational assistance.

In fact, on a per-capita basis, Idaho, Latah and Kootenai counties showed the largest participation rates.

Eastern and southeastern Idaho provide another useful perspective, particularly given that most of the opposition to education choice came from those areas.

Across the eight counties in that region, 647 parents were awarded help worth $4.27 million. Bannock and Bonneville counties alone account for 461 awarded parents and nearly $3 million.

The report also shows families using different educational arrangements.

Approximately one in five awarded students is homeschooling or planning to homeschool. The school table lists homeschool awards averaging approximately $2,776, accounting for about 19% of student awards but only 13% of award dollars.

Separately, 3,092 awarded students—25.3%—had previously attended public school.

Families are also reporting expenses beyond tuition. Although tuition accounts for 93.5% of expenses claimed to date, the remaining categories total approximately $2.5 million, including more than $1 million for curricula, approximately $600,000 for tutoring, $544,000 for transportation, and $246,000 for textbooks.

These are practical expenses that every family may experience. There is no evidence of any Idaho parents submitting reimbursement requests for large screen TV’s or vacations. This is important to note given the prediction of opponents who claimed that funds would be abused.

Now that we know the Idaho Parental Tax Credit to be such a roaring success, what should Idaho do with these findings?

First, we should help approved families receive the assistance already allocated to them. The report identifies 430 parents who filed returns without claiming approved credits totaling $2.1 million. Some filed before receiving approval and may need to amend their returns.

Second, we should examine the 1,232 applications that were started but not completed or submitted.

Third, lawmakers should consider additional capacity.

The current allocation averages approximately $4,038 per final student award. Holding that average and the current administrative share constant, a $75 million annual budget could help a total of approximately 18,300 students, about 6,100 more than current capacity. A $100 million budget could support some 24,400 students.

Skeptics of Idaho’s Parental Choice Tax Credit have done everything possible to stop, obstruct and delay the program. Now they are receiving a report that again shows they were wrong.

Give credit where credit is due: the Idaho Tax Commission administered the program with great professionalism. Thousands of parents pursued assistance despite efforts to repeal or block the program. More than 12,000 students received final awards. Families in every legislative district participated. Income-qualified advances reached thousands of children, including a disproportionately large share of participating students with disabilities.

Idaho should build on that foundation: help families complete their claims, improve access where participation is lower and create room for more eligible students.

The families who applied have given lawmakers a concrete reason to celebrate – and keep moving forward.