Three states vote against school choice, projections indicate National Catholic Register

Kentucky, Nebraska and Colorado voted on school choice measures Tuesday. Although the measure has not yet been enacted in Colorado, voters are on track to reject school choice in every state.

Kentucky, Nebraska and Colorado voted on school choice measures Tuesday. While the measure in Colorado has not done that yet After this call, voters are on track to reject school choice in every state.

Kentucky

With more than 95% of votes counted, Kentucky voters rejected an amendment by a nearly 2-1 margin that would have allowed funding for charter schools.

Charter schools in Kentucky are currently legal but not funded by the state. Kentucky Amendment 2The Education Opportunities Constitution Amendment would have allowed the state to provide state funding to students outside of public schools. The amendment would have allowed consideration of a voucher program for students to attend private and parochial schools.

The Kentucky Constitution only allows public funding to go to “regular schools,” which are generally interpreted as public schools. If passed, the amendment would have explicitly allowed the government to “provide financial support for the education of students outside the regular school system” for primary and secondary school students, the law said. change text.

School choice advocates in Kentucky have tried to pass funding for charter schools in recent years, but the Kentucky Supreme Court has halted both efforts.

The Coalition Opposing the Kentucky Charter School Amendment spent almost four times as many as supporters.

Nebraska

Nebraska voters have repealed a recent school choice grant voucher program which established a $10 million fund for scholarships by a vote of about 57-42.

The school choice program, LB 1402, provided scholarships for students to attend qualifying private schools, including parochial schools, with a high priority for students in foster care, students who experienced bullying or harassment, and students who needed special education services as well as low -lower middle class families. It is designed to enable students to apply for and receive scholarships to private schools through scholarship granting organizations.

Support Our Schools, which supported the repeal, collected $7.42 million financingprimarily from the National Education Association and the Nebraska State Education Association. The group opposing the repeal, Keep Kids First, had only $1.45 million in funding.

Colorado

Colorado voters are on their way reject a school choice amendment in which approximately 72% of the votes were counted, but The New York Times And The Colorado sun still have to call it.

Colorado’s Amendment 80 would have enshrined the right to school choice in the state constitution. It needed 55% support to pass. At the time of publication this was only the case had approximately 47.9% are in favor and approximately 52% are against.

The school choice amendment would have established a “right to school choice” in the state constitution for K-12 students. Amendment 80 defined school choice includes “neighborhood schools, charter schools, private schools, home schools, open enrollment options, and future innovations in education.” The amendment would have given parents “the right to direct their children’s education” while ensuring that all children “have the right to an equal opportunity to access quality education.”

Colorado students can currently apply to public schools outside their district or to one of more than the state 260 charter schools.

The amendment would have opened up the possibility of school choice programs in parochial schools.

While the Catholic bishops came out for support of school choice, a homeschooler in Colorado groupChristian Home Educators of Colorado, argued that the measure could lead to “more government interference” because of its wording.

School choice in the US

These voices against school choice oppose the continued state of affairs trend in the US in favor of school choice, after a record year in 2023, then 20 states expanded school choice programs, with 11 states in effect “universal” school choice by allowing all students to use public assistance to attend non-public schools.

School choice advocates argue that school choice helps parents make the best decision for their parents.

“Ensuring quality education for our children is a fundamental obligation and a right that every parent shares,” Alleigh Marrethe executive director of American Parent Coalitiona parental rights group based in Washington, DC, told CNA.

“Whether it’s gendered policies for sports teams and restrooms or a curriculum focused on the activist political issue du jour, school choice is an extremely important issue that gives parents the flexibility to make the best possible decision for their children and family.”