Coalition that challenged tax credit settles attorney fees with state
Ryan Suppe
Originally posted on IdahoEdNews.org on March 27, 2026
By: Ryan Suppe
BOISE, Idaho — The coalition that unsuccessfully challenged Idaho’s private education tax credit has settled attorney fees with the state — but it’s unclear at what amount.
Last month, the Idaho Supreme Court rejected the coalition’s petition seeking to block the Parental Choice Tax Credit from taking effect. The court’s five justices unanimously agreed that the challengers failed to convince them that the state’s first private school choice program, enacted last year through House Bill 93, is unconstitutional.
The justices also awarded “reasonable” attorney fees to the Idaho State Tax Commission, compensating the state for successfully defending the program in a lawsuit that spanned more than four months.
Attorney General Raúl Labrador’s office requested $106,827.50 for defending the Tax Commission. The coalition agreed to an amount that was settled in negotiations between the two parties, according to court filings this week.
A spokesman for Labrador’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday. Mike Journee, spokesman for the coalition, said he was tracking down details.
In a Feb. 19 filing, Labrador’s office said that its attorneys spent about 435 hours on the lawsuit — excluding work by six other attorneys, many of them supervisory attorneys, who do not typically track their time.
“Opposing the petition was no small endeavor,” the filing said.
A breakdown of the attorney general’s request for legal fees.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court published an order that said “parties have come to an agreement” resolving the Tax Commission’s request for attorney fees, and “there is no need for the court to issue a ruling.”
The coalition that challenged the tax credit includes the Idaho Education Association (IEA), Moscow School District, two advocacy groups — Mormon Women for Ethical Government and the Idaho Committee to Preserve and Protect the Constitution — and several individuals.
Journee, spokesman for the IEA and the coalition, declined previous requests from Idaho Education News to explain which members are financially responsible for the lawsuit. “Members of the coalition” will pay the attorney fees, he said last month.
EdNews previously sought details on how the coalition was paying its own attorneys but was similarly stonewalled. The group hired Hawley Troxell, a Boise law firm, to argue its case.
The coalition divided “responsibilities of payment,” according to an attorney engagement agreement with the firm, obtained by EdNews through a public records request with the Moscow School District.
But the agreement only shows that Moscow’s payment responsibility is 0%. The district redacted all other details, citing an exemption in the Idaho Public Records Act that shields privileged information between attorneys and their clients.
Applications for the tax credit closed on March 15. The Tax Commission received 6,069 applications covering 13,568 students.