House Bill 590 - Guided Education Management Act

• Establishes the Guided Education Management (GEM) scholarship program allowing families of eligible students to receive scholarships funded by nonprofit organizations to pay for qualified education expenses.

• Defines eligible students as those under age 19 who have been continuously enrolled in Idaho public schools for the prior year (or entering kindergarten/first grade) and meet at least one criterion: family income at or below 185% of federal poverty line, disability status, at-risk youth designation, or military family status.

• Authorizes the state board of education to designate up to three nonprofit scholarship granting organizations with minimum $1 million annual operating budgets (or $1.5 million if operating less than three years) to administer the program and award scholarships on a first-come basis.

• Permits scholarship use for accredited private school tuition, online learning programs, tutoring, textbooks, computers, standardized tests, therapies, summer programs, transportation, public school services, career/technical school, and higher education expenses, but caps individual scholarships at average state per-pupil funding unless students qualify for additional weighted amounts.

• Requires scholarship granting organizations to submit annual audits and reports to the state board of education and prohibits them from being liable for actions or debts of education service providers or scholarship recipients.