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Committee introduces bill to expand Advanced Opportunity access for homeschoolers, allow repeat college entrance testing
Summary
Rep. Wendy Horman introduced RS 32105 to remove barriers for homeschool students to use Advanced Opportunity funds through community colleges, allow repeat use of funds for college entrance exams and make technical alignment between public and private program rules; committee voted to introduce the request.
BOISE, Idaho — Representative Wendy Horman introduced a legislative request that would change how Idaho’s Advanced Opportunity funds may be used and who can access them.
RS 32105, presented Feb. 7 to the Idaho House Committee on Education, would create a direct pathway for homeschool students to access Advanced Opportunity accounts through community colleges. The measure also would let students use Advanced Opportunity money more than once to pay for college entrance exams and makes technical wording changes to align how the program is administered for public and private school students.
The Advanced Opportunity Program helps Idaho high school students pay for extra coursework, testing and dual enrollment. Horman, a Republican from District 32, said the bill responds to “interpretations by some school districts” that have recently created barriers for homeschool families and would let students work directly with community colleges when that happens. Horman said the State Department of Education reviewed the drafting and provided extensive input.
“This is about the Advanced Opportunity Program in Idaho,” Horman told the committee. She also described the change that would allow a student to take a college entrance exam more than once using their advanced opportunity funds and cited research showing some correlation between multiple test attempts and college enrollment. Horman said the per-student allotment is $4,625.
Representative Harris questioned a wording change on page 3 that replaces “tuition and fees” with “educational costs.” Horman replied the term “educational costs” aligns with the Opportunity Scholarship program and called the substitution a technical correction. Representative Church asked whether all students would be able to access the funds through community colleges; Horman answered yes.
The committee voted by voice to introduce RS 32105. Representative Harris moved the motion to introduce; the committee chair called for the ayes and declared the motion carried.
If advanced beyond introduction, the measure would proceed through the regular committee and bill-drafting process.
