You’ve heard of the grocery tax credit, right? When you file your taxes next year, you can claim $155 per person in your household to offset taxes paid on food throughout the year. Now imagine that, in addition to WinCo, Albertsons, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe’s, the State of Idaho itself operated a grocery store chain. Then imagine that state-owned grocery store suing over the tax credit—because families might choose to spend that money at private stores instead.
It sounds crazy, but that’s essentially what just happened, only with schools instead of groceries.
On Wednesday, Idaho Education News reported that a coalition consisting of the Moscow School District, the Idaho Education Association (IEA), Mormon Women for Ethical Government, and Rep. Stephanie Mickelsen filed a lawsuit against the State of Idaho, claiming the Parental Choice Tax Credit is unconstitutional.
This coalition is trying to keep families trapped in the public school system, especially those without the means to leave on their own. They are desperately afraid of allowing people to choose alternatives, so they’ve turned to the courts to stop it.
Chris Cargill of Mountain States Policy Center said it well:
Let’s not sugarcoat it: this lawsuit is about control. The district’s leaders said clearly that they were afraid the law could lead to a reduction in enrollment.
Put simply, they are afraid of what happens when families have options. They don’t want parents deciding what’s best for their kids. They want to lock every child into a one-size-fits-all system that has been failing too many for too long.
Instead of investing in making their public schools more attractive to families, the Moscow School District is potentially spending your tax dollars on a lawsuit to block parental choice. If I lived in that district, I’d feel even more motivated to look for a private alternative.
We already know the teachers’ union is no friend to Idaho families. Its leaders keep dishonestly labeling the tax credit a “voucher,” no doubt because they know the word scares people. If we can’t trust the IEA to be honest with a single word, how can we trust them with our children’s education?
The IEA has also pledged to spend big money against any legislator who supported school choice. In 2024, the union endorsed 13 Republicans:
- Rep. Rick Cheatum
- Rep. Lance Clow
- Rep. Marco Erickson
- Rep. Rod Furniss
- Rep. Dan Garner
- Rep. Lori McCann
- Rep. Stephanie Mickelsen
- Rep. Jack Nelsen
- Rep. James Petzke
- Rep. Mark Sauter
- Rep. Joshua Wheeler
- Sen. Kevin Cook
- Sen. Jim Woodward
And wouldn’t you know it, every single one voted against House Bill 93, which created the Parental Choice Tax Credit.
Rep. Mickelsen, who joined this lawsuit, and Sen. Cook both represent District 32, covering Bonneville County outside Idaho Falls. Their seatmate is Rep. Wendy Horman, the sponsor of H93. Is this an intra-district power play? Is Mickelsen hoping to cash in on the checks the IEA is preparing to write, both directly to candidates and through independent expenditures?
Now this lawsuit hangs over Idaho just months before families are set to claim up to $5,000 in education expenses. It’s up to Attorney General Raúl Labrador to defend both the law and Idaho families. I’m confident he and his team are ready for the fight.
Beyond the lawsuit, however, remains the question of how to deal with the teacher’s union and a public education establishment which is actively hostile to Idaho families and our values. Remember, the IEA endorsed nearly every Democrat it could in 2024, along with the most liberal Republicans. Its parent group, the National Education Association, sent more than 98% of its donations to Democrats in the last cycle.
Yet the IEA still benefits from taxpayer subsidies, such as union leaders receiving paid time off to conduct union business. Are taxpayers footing the bill for union reps to drive to Boise during school hours to testify against our interests at the Capitol?
Let me say that again: Idaho taxpayers are subsidizing the very people who just sued us over school choice.
House Bill 98, which would prohibit taxpayer subsidies of teacher’s unions, passed the House last year 40-29 but was held in the drawer by Senate State Affairs chairman Sen. Jim Guthrie. Guthrie received a $500 donation from the teacher’s union PAC in 2022, which as I said before is a paltry sum for killing a bill.
The theme of the second Trump Administration has been dismantling the left’s stranglehold on American culture. Idaho must do the same by breaking the teachers’ union’s grip on education. Our “general, uniform and thorough system of public free common schools” should not be held hostage by an organization that despises our values and is bent on preserving its monopoly at any cost.
President Trump has shown that when tax dollars stop flowing to radical organizations, they wither in the vine. Idaho should start that process now by cutting off taxpayer subsidies to the IEA.
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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.
