Defending a Lifeline: One Family’s Case for Idaho’s Parental Choice Tax Credit

On February 5, the Idaho Supreme Court upheld the Idaho Parental Choice Tax Credit, securing a major victory for families and for educational freedom.

EdChoice Legal Advocates represented the LoBue family in the successful fight to defend this vital program.

With seven children — each with distinct gifts, challenges, and learning needs — Joshua and Eleanor LoBue have spent nearly two decades navigating almost every educational model available: homeschooling, co-ops, online programs, alternative public schools, and specialized private academies.

Two of the LoBues’ children are on the autism spectrum and have also worked to overcome dyslexia. Their oldest son, now seventeen, faced early speech delays and social challenges, but with the right educational support he has grown into a confident high school senior pursuing technical education and aspiring to become a tech entrepreneur. Their eldest daughter’s needs were even more complex. Diagnosed with autism at age six, she also struggles with auditory and sensory processing disorders, ADHD, an expressive language disorder, and dyslexia.

“We were already mentally and emotionally exhausted from our son’s medical diagnostic process and educational assessments,” Joshua and Eleanor recall. “We had to go through that same grueling process for our daughter.”

Like many families of children with special needs, the LoBues initially relied on the public school system and Individualized Education Plans (IEPs). But over time, those supports became less effective. Their eleven-year-old daughter, who also struggles with dyslexia, had an IEP, but her tutoring shifted from one-on-one to two-on-one, diminishing its impact. Online schooling brought constant technological issues, scheduling conflicts, and bureaucratic demands for work samples that drained the family’s time and energy without delivering results for their daughter.

Everything changed when both girls enrolled at Wired2Learn Academy, a nonprofit treatment and learning center in Post Falls, Idaho. Wired2Learn uses intensive cognitive training programs — such as the Arrowsmith Program — to directly and aggressively retrain the brain to make new neurological connections, mitigating dyslexia and other learning disabilities.

The LoBues’ sixteen-year-old daughter has made significant gains in expressive language and self-confidence. One especially moving moment for the family came when she began expressing frustration by saying, “I feel…” This seemingly small expression was momentous for her. Their eleven-year-old daughter also quickly made academic progress and excitedly noticed improvement in her reading abilities.

But access to the right education comes at a steep cost. Tuition at Wired2Learn is approximately $25,000 per child per year — an enormous burden for a household of nine supported by one income.

“We are resolved to raise children who can achieve the limits of their God-given talents,” the LoBues say. “The sacrifices, financial and otherwise that we have made are all worth it when we see our children thriving.”

Thanks to February’s momentous legal win, the LoBues and countless Idaho families like them will not have to face the real and immediate financial hardship that eliminating the program would have imposed.

“We see the Idaho Parental Choice Tax Credit as a lifeline,” the LoBues say. “For children like ours, it’s a bridge to a successful and fulfilling life.”