In 1982, brothers Sam, Robert, and Floyd Shippy were sentenced to six months in jail. Their crime? Homeschooling their children.
Compulsory school attendance was written into our state constitution at the height of the Progressive Era. The state’s founding fathers believed that without such a requirement, generations would come of age lacking the basic literacy and knowledge needed to be engaged citizens of our Republic.
Over the years, however, many families sought a different path. By the second half of the 20th century, educational opportunities had expanded dramatically. Students had access to radio, television, a wealth of books, and even school curricula on records or VHS tapes. Why remain constrained to the old system? Today we have the sum total of all human knowledge in the palm of our hands, so the 19th century public school system seems more obsolete than ever.
In 1963, the Legislature revised the compulsory attendance law to allow parents to instruct their children at home — provided they followed what local school districts deemed appropriate. Today, such oversight seems ridiculous, but lawmakers must have been wary about granting too much freedom. Many districts interpreted the law as granting them veto power over homeschooling families.
Several families, including the Shippys, stood against this overreach, refusing to let public school districts dictate their homeschooling. Their efforts helped pave the way for reform. A decade later, homeschool father and state representative Fred Tilman introduced House Bill 502, which revised Idaho’s compulsory attendance laws by removing districts’ regulatory authority over homeschooling. By the early 2000s, Idaho had become one of the most homeschool-friendly states in the nation.
Given this history, it is entirely understandable why homeschooling families remain vigilant against laws they fear could reintroduce government control. Families were jailed for defying education mandates within living memory. The election of Sen. Brandon Shippy last year — a man whose very name is synonymous with fighting government overreach — has put a homeschool champion in the Legislature.
Homeschooling families, particularly those represented by organizations such as Home School Idaho (HSI), have long opposed any school choice proposals considered by the Legislature. They worry that accepting government money will inevitably lead to government mandates.
Two measures currently before the Idaho Legislature show promise, both in expanding school choice and protecting the right of families to educate their own children. House Bill 93 is a parental choice tax credit, while House Joint Resolution 1 is a proposed amendment that would remove compulsory education entirely from the Idaho Constitution.
Before discussing the specifics of these bills, I want to address a concern within the homeschooling community. I’ve spoken to longtime homeschool parents who view the post-COVID migration from public schools with skepticism. Many of these new homeschoolers only left when the system’s failures became glaringly obvious. They lack a generational tradition of sacrifice and community-building in the homeschooling movement. This has created what I believe is an unfortunate divide in the community, with veterans claiming the status of true homeschoolers.
However, I believe a little humility is necessary if we are to preserve freedom and opportunity for future generations. Not all of us can say our parents literally went to jail for our right to homeschool. We should honor those pioneers, but let’s not pull up the ladder as others seek to follow in their footsteps.
I believe that many homeschool families — especially those active in advocacy organizations — simply want to maintain the status quo: to educate their children as they see fit, free from government interference. Yet we should not forget that we live in a society. Ignoring the struggles of public school students, with less than 40% proficiency rates and constant leftist indoctrination, threatens all of us in the long run. Today’s public school students are tomorrow’s voters and elected leaders.
For a community built on self-reliance, there is an ironic sense of gatekeeping in how some outspoken homeschool advocates respond to the prospect of school choice. They often frame their opposition in sweeping terms — saying, “We don’t want this,” rather than recognizing that some families might indeed value some form of assistance. I’ve even heard arguments that homeschoolers should not be allowed to take the tax credit for fear it could open the door to future regulation.
Shouldn’t families have the right to make that choice for themselves, rather than advocacy groups making it for them?
Some homeschool leaders have even aligned with public school officials against school choice. For example, HSI board member Audra Talley participated in an anti-school choice panel alongside then-Rep. Julie Yamamoto and Nancy Gregory of the Idaho School Boards Association. Yamamoto, despite being unseated by school choice advocate Rep. Kent Marmon, has continued to fight against education freedom, recently appearing alongside Idaho Democrats.
Is this really the company that groups like HSI want to keep? Is this a classic case of Baptists and bootleggers, where opposing sides unite on an issue for vastly different reasons?
HSI opposed Senate Bill 1038 two years ago, despite clear provisions prohibiting new government regulations on homeschoolers or private schools. Now they stand against House Bill 93, the parental choice tax credit, making the same claim — that it’s a Trojan horse for state control.
Here’s why I respectfully disagree. The concerns about government overreach are valid, but in this case, they are misplaced.
In 2023, then-Sen. Scott Herndon explained why S1038 posed no threat to homeschoolers:
House Bill 93 is even less concerning. Instead of government-administered savings accounts, families would simply claim up to $5,000 in refundable tax credits per student for non-public education expenses.
H93 places only two requirements on families who claim the credit:
- They must complete a satisfaction survey drafted by the Legislative Services Office (LSO), shared anonymously with lawmakers.
- They must maintain a portfolio of student work in case of a Tax Commission audit.
H93 does not grant oversight to the State Board of Education or the Department of Education. Those agencies aren’t even mentioned in the bill. The only Idaho Code section it creates pertains to taxes, not education. The portfolio requirement is left undefined — many homeschooling families already keep records of their children’s education. In case of an audit, the Tax Commission will simply verify that a portfolio exists rather than making any judgments regarding its educational value.
For example, my wife and I are homeschooling our five-year-old this year before he joins his siblings in a private Christian school. Our “portfolio” could be as simple as a few notes on which textbooks and activities we used.
I know some will argue that this is just the “camel’s nose under the tent.” But the reality is that the Legislature could impose regulations on homeschooling at any time, with or without H93 — no noses required, camel’s or otherwise. The reason it doesn’t is due to strong pressure from Idaho’s homeschooling community. That dynamic wouldn’t change if this bill passes.
If you don’t want to claim the tax credit, you don’t have to. But should you prevent other families — who may be in different circumstances — from making that choice for themselves?
The bill explicitly states that it does not open the door to regulation:
The provisions of this section shall not be construed to permit any government agency to exercise control or supervision over any nonpublic school or to give the state authority to regulate the education of nonpublic school students. A nonpublic school that enrolls a student whose parent directs a refundable tax credit to the school pursuant to this section is not an agent of the state or federal government. A nonpublic school shall not be required to alter its creed, practices, admissions policy, or curriculum in order to accept students whose payment of tuition or fees stems from a refundable tax credit under this section.
Every year, more than 20,000 students graduate from public schools, and another 5,000 fail to graduate for whatever reason. How many of those might have been better served if their parents could take advantage of money that would follow their child? Every year we wait is another another year that many families remain trapped in a system that is not properly serving their children. The goal of our state’s founders was to educate the next generation so they could uphold our Republic. That burden should not rest solely on the homeschool community, nor should education freedom be reserved only for those with the means to afford alternatives.
If you’re happy with your current homeschool arrangement, and you have no need of assistance, then H93 is not for you. But for thousands of Idaho families, it could make all the difference.
Republican officer and private school father Ryan Spoon explained it well at Capitol Clarity last month:
Many of the best and brightest in the next generation will be homeschool graduates. We must protect this important and absolute right, but we must also provide an offramp for families who wish to exit the public school system. I believe H93 contains sufficient protections for non-public schools, and those protections would be strengthened even more if voters were to approve HJR1.
School choice is the civil rights issue of our time. H93 is a step toward a system that serves all families. I hope homeschoolers will take a step back and realize that this bill does not threaten them. Fear of government regulation is reasonable, but fear should never override reason.
We can always worry about what might happen in the future, but today, we have a good bill before us — one that could help thousands of Idaho families. I support H93 for several reasons, one being that I don’t want a return to compulsory public education. I ask you to consider supporting it as well.
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About Brian Almon
Brian Almon is the Editor of the Gem State Chronicle. He also serves as Chairman of the District 14 Republican Party and is a trustee of the Eagle Public Library Board. He lives with his wife and five children in Eagle.
