Partnership for Educational Choice Moves to Defend Idaho’s New School Choice Program

Press Release: For Immediate Release
September 30, 2025 

For more information or to schedule an interview, contact:
Mairead Elordi
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Partnership for Educational Choice Moves to Defend Idaho’s New School Choice Program

Advocates pledge to safeguard educational freedom and parental rights in Idaho

INDIANAPOLIS—Today, the Partnership for Educational Choice —a joint project of the Institute for Justice (IJ) and EdChoice—stepped in to legally defend Idaho’s new educational choice tax credit program from a lawsuit brought by the Idaho Education Association (IEA) challenging the program.

In February, Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed a refundable tax credit bill into law, establishing the state’s first school choice program, the Idaho Parental Choice Tax Credit. The program launched at the start of the current school year and allows parents to receive up to $5,000 per eligible student (and up to $7,500 per eligible student who has a disability) for qualifying expenses.

The Partnership for Educational Choice, which seeks to defend the program, represents three families who intend to use the program to cover costs associated with providing tutoring and sending their children to schools that can meet the individual needs of each student.

The Partnership represents Rubi Dagostino (of Nampa), Katie Demczyk (of Post Falls), and Eleanor and Josh LoBue (of Hayden). Each represented family intends to apply for the tax credit (once applications open in January 2026) to cover costs incurred beginning with the current school year.

“The parents we represent aren’t asking for favors. They’re asking for fairness,” said Thomas Fisher, executive vice president and director of litigation at EdChoice Legal Advocates. “The Idaho Parental Choice Tax Credit ensures that a child’s access to the right school isn’t determined by family income. We will fight to protect these families’ constitutional right to direct their children’s education from being taken away by a lawsuit that puts politics ahead of students’ needs.”

The LoBue family has seven children, including a 15-year-old girl who is on the autism spectrum and attends Wired2Learn Academy, a nonprofit treatment and learning center. After seeing how Wired2Learn has helped their older children, the family planned to use the tax-credit program to move their 11-year-old child there as well. This student has dyslexia and an Individualized Education Program and needs more one-on-one attention.

“A judgment taking away the program would impose a real financial burden on our family,” the parents said in their declaration. “It would be more difficult for us to be able to afford tuition for [our children] as well as the additional services and learning materials that we know greatly enrich our children’s learning experiences.” 

“These families are dedicated to defending their right to direct the upbringing of their children and the legislature’s generous choice to provide a means to do so,” said Renee Flaherty, a senior attorney at the Institute for Justice. “For over 30 years, parents across the country have successfully done the same.”

• Learn more about Eleanor and Josh LoBue.
• Learn more about Katie Demczyk, a mom to five, including a 13-year-old eighth grader who attends Wired2Learn Academy, where she has access to a small learning environment and teachers who can watch for warning signs related to her seizure disorder.
• Learn about Rubi Dagostino, a mom to four, including two school-aged children. Her family plans to use the tax-credit to pay for private tutors in math, science and language arts for their youngest to better meet her learning needs.
• Learn more about the case, via the motion to intervene 

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