BOISE -- A state legislator from the Magic Valley, state Rep. Douglas Pickett, R-Oakley, will serve as chair of the house education committee in the 2025 Idaho legislative session, which may see several bills related to school choice.
Members of the Idaho House announced committee assignments on Thursday afternoon, the Idaho Capital Sun reported.
Pickett, who was first elected to the statehouse in 2022, told the Times-News in November that he expects school choice to be one of the biggest issues in the coming session. He said he believes there are situations where using public funds for private schools is justified, and added that the state is already doing just that.
Idaho sends public funds to private and religious schools through several scholarship and aid programs, such as Idaho LAUNCH, Empowering Parents and Advanced Opportunities, he said. Opponents of school choice say this is something new, but it's not.
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"If they want to make an argument against school choice, they need to come up with some other argument, a stronger argument, because those things are already happening and have been for decades," he said.
Pickett said he initially voted against LAUNCH, but then voted to approve the program's budget.
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LAUNCH is a state grant program that provides students with a one-time opportunity to cover 80% of tuition at a variety of public and nonpublic schools and training institutes, including Brigham Young University-Idaho, Paul Mitchell the School and Sage Truck Driving School.
"I think there are situations where it is justified, yes," he said. "Although I haven't always voted for it."
Empowering Parents is a state grant program that allows parents to use public funds for supplies and activities at nonpublic students. Advanced Opportunities, a program administered by the Idaho Department of Education, allows funds to be used at nonpublic schools.
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According to the conservative nonprofit Idaho Freedom Foundation's Freedom Index, Pickett has a lifetime "freedom score" of 60% and had an education score of 81% in 2024.
Another Magic Valley legislator, Rep. Lance Clow, R-Twin Falls, will be a member of the House education committee.
Sean Dolan writes about education and politics for the Times-News. Reach him at 208-735-3213 or email him at [email protected].
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