Idaho Home Learning Academy outlines statewide virtual, parent-supported model to House Education Committee

Terry Sorensen, executive director of Idaho Home Learning Academy, briefed the Idaho House Education Committee at a morning meeting on the academy’s model, funding and accountability systems and asked legislators to consider changing a statutory cap she said constrains the program’s growth.

Sorensen said Idaho Home Learning Academy (ILA) is a statewide virtual public charter authorized through Oneida School District that serves kindergarten through 12th grade students. She described a program that combines teacher-led synchronous instruction, self‑paced asynchronous work, in-person learning opportunities and an education savings account (ESA) of $1,800 per student per year to allow parents to buy curriculum and supplemental resources.

ILA’s model relies on contracts with three educational service providers (ESPs) — identified in testimony as Harmony Education, Braintree Learning and HomeEd360 — that Sorensen said supply curriculum, manage parent ESAs and provide program-level services such as field trips and testing coordination. Sorensen told the committee that ILA and Oneida split state funding by “unit” and that ILA’s contracts with ESPs are paid from those funds. She said the school moved this year from operating inside Oneida School District to a charter model to access a funding model without “use it or lose it” restrictions.

Why it matters: The committee heard that ILA serves thousands of students statewide (Sorensen cited figures ranging from about 7,200 to 7,925 students at different points in testimony), and that program growth affects district budgets,…