Red states across the country are rushing to free their youngest residents from the confines of broken public school systems. 

But not Idaho. At least, not yet. 

Nationally, 11 states offer universal education choice accounts for students, allowing state education dollars to follow students to private schools and other options best meeting student needs.

Louisiana was the most recent state to adopt an education choice policy, passing the legislation earlier this year. The program, known as the Giving All True Opportunity to Rise Scholarship Program, allows families to use dollars to hire instructors or tutors, enroll students in private school programs, purchase books and other necessary materials, build a hybrid instructional program, or homeschool students. 

According to the state’s leading conservative think tank, the Pelican Institute for Public Policy, the program gives tremendous flexibility. That said, it still comes with some strings. “Participating schools, providers, and vendors will have to meet certain requirements, and funds must be used on approved educational expenses,” Pelican wrote in June. 

Still, the program serves as a huge step forward for educational achievement in the state, a success celebrated at the bill signing. “Today, we fulfilled our promise to bring drastic reform to our education system and bring common sense back to our classrooms,” Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, a Republican, said after signing the scholarship bill and a handful of other education reform measures. “A strong education system leads to a strong economy and a strong state.”

It’s worth noting six Democrats in the Louisiana Legislature joined the Republican majority to approve the education choice program. 

Arkansas became a member of the education choice revolution, as some are calling this trend, in March of 2023. It was then Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed the LEARNS Act, an education overhaul package that included pay raises for starting teachers, pay bumps for all educators, and education choice dollars for those families who prefer not to use public schools. 

Sanders marked the historic achievement with enthusiasm for the future. "We've seen how the status quo condemns Arkansans to a lifetime of poverty, and we're tired of sitting at the bottom of national education rankings," Sanders said at her state’s bill signing. "We know that if we don't plant this seed today, then there will be nothing for our kids to reap down the line."

The Arkansas program allows education dollars to flow to private school options or homeschools. The program’s value will equal 90% of the money invested per student in public schools. This year, it means families using ed choice funding will receive $7,000 per student. 

The education choice program remains popular with Arkansas parents. A survey of 500 residents 11 months after passage found that 47% of parents support the program, opposite the 34% who oppose it. Another 20% were unsure of the program’s merits. 

Florida’s education choice program, which Gov. Ron DeSantis massively expanded in 2023, is also wildly popular. The program, which originally limited choice scholarships to low-income students, now comes with no income or demographic restrictions. The only restriction is the program participation cap, which sits at 60,000 for this school year. Last year, Florida’s law covered education expenses for 19,514 students. 

DeSantis, often revered by conservatives as the nation’s best governor, celebrated his state’s achievement after signing the measure. 

“Florida is number one when it comes to education freedom and education choice, and today’s bill signing represents the largest expansion of education choice in the history of these United States,” DeSantis said after signing the bill.

Closer to the Gem State, Utah adopted an education choice program in 2023 and allotted roughly $80 million for the project. The Utah measure gives out $8,000 in education dollars to each student. It’s a popular program. Right now, participation is capped at 10,000 students, though more than 27,000 students applied for the education dollars. 

Utah’s program faces a new challenge, though. The teachers union sued the state over the program earlier this year, using the usual argument. “This lawsuit is necessary to ensure that public funds remain in public schools, where they can do the most good for all our students," the Utah Education Association said after filing the suit in May. Attorneys for the state have asked the court to dismiss the legal challenge. 

So you see, while other states press forward on education freedom, expanding eligibility, raising dollar amounts, and battling lawsuits, Idaho remains at a standstill. 

For years, conservative lawmakers, supported by the Idaho Freedom Foundation, have called for education choice programs in the Gem State. But year after year, those requests went unheard, stymied by legislative leaders who protect broken systems instead of promoting children.  

There are signs that resistance to education freedom is crumbling in Idaho. 

Earlier this month, Idaho Education News reported that Gov. Brad Little and the Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield — or at least their staffers — are in preliminary talks about what an education choice bill might look like. 

That’s a stark change for two public officials who have regularly resisted education choice. Little, supported in his first run for governor by the teachers union, is in the middle of his second term and has had every opportunity to propose and advance education choice. He hasn’t and has spent his time largely spending more and more taxpayer money on a broken school system. 

Critchfield, for her part, posed as an education choice advocate during a bruising 2022 Republican primary election but admitted days before voters went to polls that she didn’t support education choice programs. Instead, she said during a KTVB debate that choice already exists within the public school system, and she would work to improve those offerings. 

Still, the duo’s willingness to consider an education choice bill is a good sign. Now lawmakers must capitalize and ensure Idaho writes a gold standard education choice bill, not a milquetoast measure designed to fool low-information primary voters ahead of the 2026 primary election. 

It’s time for Idaho to catch up on conservative policymaking instead of being left behind year after year. We are optimistic that 2025 is the year for education choice.