Senate kills Strong Families grant bill…maybe

Senate kills Strong Students grant bill

Originally posted on IdahoEdNews.org on April 6, 2021

The Senate Tuesday narrowly defeated a bill to create a “Strong Students” grant program for low-income families.

The 16-18 vote ­— and the hour of sharply divided floor debate — reflected the controversy surrounding the grant bill, House Bill 294.

Supporters said the bill would give parents a greater say in education, by allowing them to spend up to $500 a year on equipment or tutoring that would best serve their children. Opponents focused largely on one line in the bill: language that would have allowed parents to put state- and federally funded grant dollars toward private school tuition and fees.

“Our Constitution does say that we have a duty to public schools,” said Sen. Jim Woodward, R-Sagle. “It does not say we have a duty to fund private schools.”

And while bill sponsors modeled HB 294 after Gov. Brad Little’s Strong Families, Strong Students program — which provided federally funded education grants to more than 18,000 households last winter — the private school tuition program was a deal-breaker for Sen. Janie Ward-Engelking, D-Boise.

“That changes everything for me,” she said.

The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Lori Den Hartog, R-Meridian, said the private school support is consistent with other state education policy — such as the publicly funded Opportunity Scholarship, which students can use to offset costs at Idaho’s public, private and religious colleges.

“This is not a threat to public schools and it was never intended to be,” Den Hartog said.

Other supporters talked about the need to engage parents in their children’s educational process.

“This bill buys parental involvement,” said Senate Education Committee Chairman Steven Thayn, R-Emmett. ”Funding gives parents a voice.”

Tuesday’s Senate floor vote culminated a roundabout process for HB 294 — a hotly debated bill that received the backing of school choice advocates, but ran into staunch opposition from education lobby groups.

The House passed HB 294 on March 9, on a 47-22 vote. And the House-passed version contained another controversial component: It would have created a state-funded scholarship program for private schools.

Sponsors agreed to pull that scholarship language — deciding instead to try to get a standalone grant program through the Senate.

But even with that amendment, HB 294 ran into bipartisan opposition. Ultimately, five of Senate Education’s nine members voted against the bill Tuesday.

One, Sen. Dan Johnson, R-Lewiston, took issue with the amendments. The rewritten bill siphoned away the $5 million of state dollars earmarked for scholarships, doubling state funding on the grant program to $10 million. “It’s a bridge too far for me,” he said.

Roll call

Yes (16 Republicans, 0 Democrats): Kelly Anthon, R-Burley; Regina Bayer, R-Meridian; Kevin Cook, R-Idaho Falls; Den Hartog; C. Scott Grow, R-Eagle; Todd Lakey, R-Nampa; Dave Lent, R-Idaho Falls; Patti Anne Lodge, R-Caldwell; Fred Martin, R-Boise; Jim Patrick, R-Twin Falls; Jim Rice, R-Caldwell; Doug Ricks, R-Rexburg; Mary Souza, R-Coeur d’Alene; Thayn; Steve Vick, R-Dalton Gardens; Chuck Winder, R-Boise.

No (11 Republicans, 7 Democrats): Jeff Agenbroad, R-Nampa; Steve Bair, R-Blackfoot; Grant Burgoyne, D-Boise; Van Burtenshaw, R-Terreton; Carl Crabtree, R-Grangeville; Jim Guthrie, R-McCammon; Mark Harris, R-Soda Springs; Lee Heider, R-Twin Falls; Johnson; Abby Lee, R-Fruitland; David Nelson, D-Moscow; Mark Nye, D-Pocatello; Ali Rabe, D-Boise; Michelle Stennett, D-Ketchum; Ward-Engelking; Melissa Wintrow, D-Boise; Woodward; Christy Zito, R-Hammett.

Absent (1 Republican) Peter Riggs, R-Post Falls.

Idaho Education News covered Tuesday’s Senate session remotely.