School choice measures for 2024: what you need to know

Voters in three states will vote via referenda in this election school choicea proposal that has gained political relevance in recent years thanks to a movement of parents dissatisfied with pandemic shutdowns and controversies over race and gender.

Colorado, KentuckyAnd Nebraska They all hold referendums on different aspects of school choice. Colorado Amendment 80 would establish in the state constitution that “every child in primary and secondary education has the right to school choice.” Kentucky Amendment 2 would allow the Legislature to provide state funding to students outside of public schools. A veto referendum in Nebraska would overturn legislation that allows a program to provide public subsidies for eligible students to attend private schools.

School choice means giving parents other options for their children’s education besides traditional public schools. It involves allowing charter schools, providing vouchers or other forms of funding for parents to send children to private schools, or helping parents homeschool their children.

The school choice movement has had a series of major victories in recent years.

In 2021, West Virginia became the first state to adopt a universal, publicly funded school choice policy. It was joined by Arizona the following year, and by Iowa and Utah the following year.

Here’s everything you need to know about November’s ballot initiatives:

Colorado

The Colorado Amendment is perhaps the most explicit school choice initiative, establishing the right to school choice for all children in the state.

On the ballot, voters will be asked: “Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado Constitution establishing the right of school choice for children in kindergarten through 12th grade and, in connection therewith, declaring that the school choice includes neighborhood, charter, and private schools; homeschooling; open registration options; and future innovations in education?”

A supermajority of 55 percent is required to ratify the amendment.

The financing is highly one-sided in favor of the opponents. The super PAC registered to support the School Choice for Every Child initiative has not reported any financial activity. according to Ballotpedia. In contrast, Public Schools Strong, the Super PAC registered to oppose the initiative, reported a total of $3,788,747.21 in contributions.

No substantial polling has been conducted on support for the amendment.

A large group of mostly Republican lawmakers support the initiative, while the main opponents are school groups and labor unions.

Rob Lowe, president and CEO of Ed Choice, explained his support for school choice to the Washington Examinerwithout addressing a specific ballot initiative.

“The biggest mistake we made in America was tying the concept of public education to state and district schools,” he said. “We want (children) to be educated in our great charter schools, our great private schools, our great public schools. … The challenge here is that we don’t want to support a system – a one-size-fits-all – status quo that doesn’t serve all children.”

Kevin Vick, president of the Colorado Education Association, warned that the amendment could “do enormous damage to already fragile school funding,” masked under the “innocuous word ‘choice’.”

Kentucky

In Kentucky, school choice advocates are seeking to add language to the state constitution allowing for the provision of state funds to non-public education. The new language would read: “The General Assembly may provide financial assistance for the education of students outside the regular school system.”

Kentucky Amendment 2 has already passed the Kentucky House and Senate with 66.3% and 71% of the vote respectively – it took 60% to pass. The amendment must now be approved by a simple majority via the ballot initiative. No substantial polling has been conducted to gauge support, but the legislature’s overwhelming approval suggests the public is likely to vote in favor.

As with the other initiatives, funding is highly skewed compared to the initiative. Kentucky Students First, the campaign for, reported a total of $2,525,525 in contributions. Protect Our Schools KY, the campaign against, reported a total of $7,061,517.48 in contributions.

Tom Shelton, executive secretary of the Council for Better Education and chairman of the Protect Our Schools KY Executive Committee, told the Washington Examiner that he believes vouchers are a way to harm public education by taking away funding.

“Whatever you call it – some states call them education savings accounts, some call them scholarship accounts, tax credits. “Whatever you call them, a voucher is by definition a form of payment that can be used in some other way, and so that takes money away from our public schools, which are once again woefully underfunded,” he said. “So it’s purely a matter of funding for us, and that’s why we’re against it.”

Shelton took issue with framing the issue as one of “school choice,” arguing that Kentucky already has school choice, given the presence of a variety of schools. His organization objects to the diversion of public school funds to these other schools.

“We support school choice; we just don’t want to use public funds to pay for this,” he said.

A supporter of the amendment, Republican Senator Damon Thayer, portrayed opposition to the bill as an unpopular and losing position, certain to be swept away by the string of recent victories, the Kentucky lantern reported.

“The minority party and the educational establishment here in Kentucky continue to protect the status quo, despite the shift happening nationwide in blue cities and blue states in favor of more and more ‘school choice,’” he said.

Nebraska

The Nebraska ballot measure is the only initiative that takes on those who oppose school choice — it would repeal a bill enacted by the Nebraska Legislature in 2024 that provides $10 million annually to “fund education scholarships to pay in whole or in part the costs of eligible education.” students attending non-governmental, private elementary and secondary schools in Nebraska.”

Once again, the anti-school choice side has a major funding advantage. The campaign in support of the veto referendum, Support Our Schools, reported $3,257,272.17 in contributions. The group opposing the repeal, Keep Kids First, reported $1,508,037.44 in contributions.

A Midwest Newsroom-Emerson College poll found that 60% of Nebraskans oppose school voucher programs. Only a simple majority is needed for the ballot initiative to pass.

Jenni Benson, president of the Nebraska State Education Association, said the bill, LB 1402, was passed unethically with the intention of banning citizens from voting on the issue. She described the school choice initiative as a “costly new voucher scheme for taxpayers” and cited the sheer volume of signatures on the ballot as evidence of the popularity of repealing the bill. reported.

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Republican Sen. Dave Murman defended LB1402, saying it was “one of the most modest and meager” school choice programs in the country.

“Others have argued that LB 1402 discourages public schools. Those making this claim have not done the calculations or simply know they are lying,” Murman said said in a May 13 argument, contrasting the $1.6 billion in public school funding during his time as chairman of the Education Committee with the $10 million cost of LB 1402.