The Idaho State Tax Commission has declined to release detailed data about the state’s new private school tax-credit program after receiving at least seven public records requests on the subject between February and July — frustrating researchers, journalists, and a former school administrator who sought basic information about where the money is going.

What’s Being Withheld

The Parental Choice Tax Credit, created through House Bill 93 signed by Gov. Brad Little, is a $50-million-per-year program that completed its first application round earlier this year, issuing more than $42 million in awards. A second round of applications closed last month.

Despite the program’s scale and public funding, the Tax Commission has released only two pieces of data: the total dollar amount awarded and a breakdown of recipients by income relative to the federal poverty level. Requests for more granular information have been turned down.

Among the denied requests: Stuart Anderson, an education faculty member at BYU-Idaho, sought figures on how many recipients had previously been enrolled in private school. Don Coberly, a former Boise School District superintendent, asked for the same data. A third requester, Tucker Anderson, sought aggregate ZIP code data showing where recipients live geographically.

Democratic lawmakers also sought data from the Tax Commission in March, though they were not included in the agency’s internal tracking sheet of records requests.

The Commission’s Explanation

The Tax Commission’s public information director, Julie Eavenson, described the agency’s data systems as a limiting factor. “It’s not like an Excel spreadsheet where you can just go and gather the data and hit print,” Eavenson told the Idaho Capital Sun. “We don’t have a lot of resources to devote to this.”

The agency said it plans to deliver a report that includes geographic information to Gov. Little and the Legislature — but not until 2027, nearly a year and a half after House Bill 93 was enacted and well over a year after the first application round closed.

Why the Data Matters

The central question driving several of the requests is whether the Parental Choice Tax Credit primarily benefits families switching from public schools or whether it largely subsidizes students already enrolled in private or home schools. That distinction carries significant policy weight.

Experience from other states adds urgency to the question. In Texas, when comparable data was eventually disclosed, roughly 70 percent of recipients of a $1 billion private education subsidy were already in homeschool or private school settings before the program launched. Arizona saw similar results — about 70 percent of education savings account recipients in that state’s first year were already outside the public school system.

Idaho’s program is substantially smaller than Texas’s — roughly 9.5 times fewer students and nearly $950 million less in total cost — and was enacted about two months before Texas enacted its version. But transparency advocates and program critics argue that the pattern seen elsewhere makes it all the more important for Idaho to disclose comparable data early rather than wait.

Who Is Asking

The seven requesters represent a cross-section of interests: a college faculty member, a data analyst, a homeschool advocate, a former public school superintendent, and two journalists. Four of the requests specifically focused on the share of recipients who had previously attended public school — the data point the Tax Commission has declined to provide.

The breadth of requesters suggests the transparency gap is drawing attention from multiple directions, not just program opponents. The homeschool advocate’s inclusion among requesters signals that even some school-choice supporters want to understand how the program is functioning.

What Comes Next

Unless the Tax Commission reverses course, detailed program data will not be formally reported to state officials until 2027. That timeline means the Legislature could act on potential program changes or expansions during the 2027 session with limited public information about how the first rounds of funding were distributed.

The Parental Choice Tax Credit has been one of the most debated education policy moves in Idaho in recent years. With the program now past its first full application cycle and a second round completed, pressure for greater accountability is likely to grow heading into next year’s legislative session.