Senate panel hears lengthy testimony on SB1025 school‑choice proposal; committee votes 5‑4 to send bill to Senate floor with no recommendation

Lede: The Senate Education Committee on Wednesday debated Senate Bill 1025, a school‑choice package that would expand Idaho's Empowering Parents grant to allow certain public funds to follow students to private and pre‑K providers, set a $50 million cap on the program and impose accreditation, nondiscrimination and background‑check requirements for participating schools and staff.

Nut graf: Sponsor Sen. Dave Lent (R‑Idaho Falls) framed SB1025 as an attempt to create a "fair, responsible, accountable and transparent" approach should the state move to expand school choice. The bill would raise grant amounts, prioritize lower‑income families, require participating private schools to meet accreditation and nondiscrimination standards, and includes a five‑year sunset. Dozens of witnesses — including superintendents, finance directors, teachers, homeschool and advocacy groups — testified for and against the measure. After debate and multiple procedural motions, the committee voted 5–4 to send the bill to the full Senate with no recommendation.

Body: Sponsor and scope: Senator Dave Lent opened the presentation by describing SB1025 as a package designed to do several things: expand the Empowering Parents grant to Idaho residents ages 3–18, increase grant amounts (the bill proposes grant values up to $5,000 per student with a family cap that phases up to $15,000…