Idaho Elementary and Secondary School Scholarship Act (HB 507)

• Establishes a tax credit equal to 50% of contributions made to approved scholarship granting organizations for individual taxpayers and business entities, with a statewide annual cap of $10,000,000 adjusted annually for inflation starting in 2016.

• Provides educational scholarships to eligible low-income students (household income at or below 150% of federal free/reduced lunch threshold) to attend qualified nonpublic schools, with scholarships capped at the lesser of 80% of tuition and fees or per-student district tuition support.

• Requires scholarship granting organizations to be 501(c)(3) tax-exempt entities that spend at least 90% of annual donations on scholarships, distribute funds as portable checks to parents, and prohibit donor-directed scholarships to specific students.

• Assigns the State Department of Education responsibility for approving and monitoring scholarship granting organizations, and assigns the Idaho State Tax Commission responsibility for managing the tax credit cap on a first-come, first-served basis.

• Specifies that participating nonpublic schools must comply with accreditation, nondiscrimination, assessment, background check, and health and safety requirements, while limiting state regulatory authority beyond program enforcement.