Last week, voters in Colorado, Kentucky and Nebraska put the brakes on the school choice movement by rejecting ballot measures that would have established or expanded state support for parents to send their children to private schools or protected other school choice options.
According to the group EdChoice, which supports such programs, there are at least 75 private school choice programs available in 33 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. And the movement was gaining momentum.
Public school systems and teachers unions largely oppose voucher programs that utilize taxes to support private school education, arguing that the programs take needed money from public schools. Many opponents also note that private schools may not have the same accreditation requirements and curriculum as public schools.
EdChoice, in a Nov. 6 statement, blamed the influence of teachers unions on the vote, calling the union opposition “a juggernaut with money to burn.”
Nebraska
In Nebraska, voters partially canceled a state-funded scholarship program for private schools.
The 2024 bill, an update to a similar bill passed in 2023, allocated $10 million annually to the program. Supporters of this allocation argued that parents dissatisfied with public schools needed state dollars to pay for private education. But opposition came from both rural and urban public school advocates, the Nebraska Examiner said. reported. The repeal passed with a 57% vote.
Nebraska state Sen. Dave Murman, a school choice supporter who identifies as a Republican in the nonpartisan Legislature, said he was disappointed but not surprised by the outcome. He acknowledged that public schools are popular in Nebraska.
“We had advocates for public schools across the state for that reason,” he said. But he argued that students would benefit from a private school option and said he planned to continue the fight.
Kentucky
In Kentucky, the vote would amend the constitution to allow public support for private education funding. About 65% of voters rejected an attempt to change the state constitution to allow this; it fell in every district.
The measure was supported by Republican lawmakers but strongly opposed by public school advocates and Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear. He said the result is a message from voters to (*3*)enhance financing for state public schools.
Previous GOP efforts to legalize school choice have failed, with courts striking down a 2021 law providing tax credits for donations to private school scholarship funds and a 2022 law that would have created public funding for charter schools.
According to state Sen. Damon Thayer, a Republican and a mighty supporter of the referendum, the initiative’s ballot language would give the Legislature the power to pass bills similar to those rejected, Stateline said.
He said that arguments that the amendment would harm society, and especially rural schools, are “completely wrong.” These misfortunes which are being fomented by doubters have had no effect [in other states]- he said.
Colorado
Colorado’s voting bill would enshrine school choice in the state constitution.
The proposed amendment, which was rejected 52%-48%, would have added language saying that every “K-12 child has the right to choose a school” and that “parents have the right to direct their children’s education.” School choice would explicitly include neighborhood schools, charter schools, private schools, home schools, open enrollment and future innovations in education, the measure states.
The conservative group Advance Colorado advocated for the amendment.
Colorado already allows students to attend any public school – even outside their district – for free and has long offered charter schools. Critics of the ballot measure said it would open the door to private school vouchers, although supporters say that was not their intention and that the measure was simply intended to protect charter schools.
However, charter schools largely waited out the election. Colorado Christian Home Educators opposed the measure in part because it would guarantee “quality education” without defining what that means.
Texas
In Texas, GOP Gov. Greg Abbott, a longtime supporter of school vouchers, he cheered the election of like-minded state Republicans whom he supported in the primaries.
During a recent visit to a Christian school, Abbott said these fresh members would give him enough votes to pass the school voucher program when the Legislature reconvenes in January.
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