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Policy

Idaho’s $330 million increase in K-12 education spending should fund students, not systems 

By Anna Miller
September 2, 2022
Yesterday, Gov. Brad Little signed House Bill 1, allocating an additional $330 million every year to K-12 public education. All kids deserve access to these funds so that they can attend the school where their unique needs are met.  Idaho’s education landscape is changing rapidly. More students are homeschooling than ever before. Learning pods and […]
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Idaho Freedom statement on passage of House Bill 1

By Idaho Freedom Foundation staff
September 1, 2022
Gov. Brad Little and Idaho lawmakers had an opportunity to deliver something bold for taxpayers struggling with record-high inflation.  They didn’t. And Idahoans are worse off for it.  The governor, along with House and Senate leadership, again locked down the legislative process to deliver meager ongoing income tax relief. Little did nothing to address the […]
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Idaho Freedom Index analysis: RS29902

By Parrish Miller
August 31, 2022
Rating: -2 Bill description: RS29902, Gov. Brad Little's proposed legislation for the September 2022 special legislative session, would replace Idaho's graduated income tax, which has a top rate of 6%, with a flat rate of 5.8%. It would also reduce the corporate income tax from 6% to 5.8%. It would dedicate $410 million to government-run […]
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Fear and anger drive media messaging

By Bryan Hyde
August 29, 2022
Does the media need us to be angry or afraid in order to do its job? Before answering that question, take a look at this headline from the Idaho Press:  “Far-right group endorses Boise School Board candidates, including one incumbent, who declines to disavow endorsement…” It’s a headline that reads like a manifesto. The story […]
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Boise State discriminates in scholarships, but quietly pretends not to

By Anna Miller
August 29, 2022
Though the United States Office of Civil Rights (OCR) continues to investigate Boise State University for its discriminatory scholarship programs, Boise State will allow men to apply for the “Women in STEM, Medicine and Law Scholarship.” As we explained in April, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits any discrimination on the basis […]
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Ybarra celebrates dismal SAT scores

By Kaitlyn Shepherd
August 28, 2022
Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction Sherri Ybarra touted students’ dismal 2022 SAT scores as a success, but the data show that the scores are nothing to celebrate. Nearly half of test takers failed to meet the reading benchmark, and 69% failed to meet the math benchmark. A July 26 press release by Ybarra and the […]
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How much does Idaho actually spend per public school student? More than private schools. 

By Anna Miller
August 26, 2022
Teachers unions regularly claim that Idaho is last in per-student spending. The National Education Association, the nation’s largest teachers union, says Idaho only spends $8,376 per pupil, which is 42% less than the national average.  Parroting these numbers, the media and fellow activists build the easy but misleading narrative that it’s reasonable for taxpayers to […]
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The high cost of affordable housing in McLean's Boise

By Brian Almon
August 25, 2022
With house prices at record highs in the Boise metro area, there are many voices demanding that city government do something. Usually, government solutions to housing involve spending taxpayer dollars to subsidize mortgages and rents for certain groups of people. But on the other end of the ideological spectrum is the free market solution, which […]
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How reporters and pundits shame conservatives into silence 

By Bryan Hyde
August 23, 2022
When the browbeating and hounding of the public isn’t enough to keep people fixated on the official narrative, there’s always the prospect of some good old fashioned moral extortion. The Idaho Press stated in a recent headline, “‘It’s not about the books’: Idaho library director resigns over intimidation and ‘political atmosphere of extremism,’” which is […]
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It’s official: Little surrenders to socialists in special session proposal

By Idaho Freedom Foundation staff
August 23, 2022
In a weak attempt to appease Idaho leftists on Tuesday, Gov. Brad Little called for a special legislative session to provide modest tax cuts and dump buckets of new money into Idaho’s broken government school system.  At the press conference, Little urged action to help Idaho’s families deal with the effects of inflation. That’s a […]
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Little proposes full surrender to Reclaim Idaho leftists

By Fred Birnbaum
August 18, 2022
Idaho has a $2 billion surplus. That means the state collected $2 billion more in taxes than it needs, so a special session to return the majority to taxpayers ought to be an easy, warmly-received decision.  Unfortunately, it now appears that aggressive tax relief is not Gov. Brad Little's primary reason for calling legislators back […]
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CLAIMS VERY MUCH FOUNDED: Yes, Proposition 1 would raise nearly everyone’s taxes

By Wayne Hoffman, IFF’s former President
August 16, 2022
From now through Election Day, the Idaho Freedom Foundation will be referring to the leftist group Reclaim Idaho’s Proposition 1 tax increase proposal as costing taxpayers at least $570 million.  I’m telling you this because Idaho’s news media outlets have taken a different and very dishonest tact. They’ve joined arms with Reclaim Idaho to report […]
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