Idaho House passes legislation to end taxpayer funding for teachers unions

Maxford Nelsen
February 13, 2025

(Boise) – The Idaho House of Representatives yesterday passed legislation to end taxpayer funding for teachers unions. Introduced by Rep. Judy Boyle (R-Midvale) and Sen. Ben Toews (R-Coeur d’ Alene), House Bill 98 passed by a vote of 40-29. Nineteen Republicans joined all 10 of the chamber’s Democrats in voting against the proposal.

If adopted, this Freedom Foundation-supported proposal would make teachers unions more accountable to both taxpayers and teachers by prohibiting school districts from:

using public payroll systems and personnel to deduct union dues from teachers’ paychecks;
contributing taxpayer funds to a teachers union;
providing teachers with paid leave to engage in union operations and activism, unless the union reimburses the district for the value of the teacher’s time out of the classroom;
paying teachers’ union dues for them with taxpayer funds;
providing more of a teacher’s personal information to a union than is disclosable under the Public Records Act, unless the teacher authorizes the disclosure;
requiring teachers to meet or interact with a teachers union if they do not wish to do so; and
distributing communications or membership solicitations on behalf of a teachers union.

Freedom Foundation research has exhaustively documented the ways in which public funds, resources, time and personnel are used to benefit the Idaho Education Association (IEA), the statewide teachers union. The value of paid time off provided by school districts for teachers to engage in union activism is alone estimated to cost taxpayers about a half-million dollars per year. This equates to about six classroom teachers working for the union full-time, year-round.

Additional investigative reporting by the Freedom Foundation has documented how such public support indirectly underwrites the IEA’s progressive advocacy.

A statewide poll of Idaho voters commissioned by the Freedom Foundation found broad support for the reforms included in HB 98. Idahoans support ending public schools’ deduction of union dues from teachers’ paychecks by a 44 point margin and are in favor of prohibiting taxpayer funds from supporting teacher union activities by 22 points.

The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.

Freedom Foundation testimony in support of HB 98 before the House State Affairs Committee:

- Idaho, Press Release, Teachers' Unions
, HB 98, Idaho Education Association, IEA

Maxford Nelsen

Director of Research and Government Affairs

mnelsen@freedomfoundation.com

As the Freedom Foundation’s Director of Research and Government Affairs, Maxford Nelsen leads the team working to advance the Freedom Foundation’s mission through strategic research, public policy advocacy, and labor relations. Max regularly testifies on labor issues before legislative bodies and his research has formed the basis of several briefs submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court. Max’s work has been published in local newspapers around the country and in national outlets like the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, The Hill, National Review, and the American Spectator. His work on labor policy issues has been featured in media outlets like the New York Times, Fox News, and PBS News Hour. He is a frequent guest on local radio stations like 770 KTTH and 570 KVI. From 2019-21, Max was a presidential appointee to the Federal Service Impasses Panel within the Federal Labor Relations Authority, which resolves contract negotiation disputes between federal agencies and labor unions. Prior to joining the Freedom Foundation in 2013, Max worked for WashingtonVotes.org and the Washington Policy Center and interned with the Heritage Foundation. Max holds a labor relations certificate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and graduated magna cum laude from Whitworth University with a bachelor’s degree in political science. A Washington native, he lives in Olympia with his wife and sons.