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Three ballot initiatives on school choice failed on Election Day, raising questions about what the future will hold for supporters of public funding for private education.
The pro-school choice camp had previously been reveling in a number of recent wins, including a 2022 Supreme Court ruling saying that Maine could not exclude religious schools from a state-funded tuition assistance program. Now, it’s regrouping after this month’s defeats.
School choice ballot measures were in front of voters in three states on Election Day:
- In Kentucky, voters rejected a proposed constitutional amendment that would have added language supporting school choice to the state constitution, per USA Today .
- Similarly, in Colorado, fewer than half of voters voted in favor of a plan to add a right to school choice to the state constitution, according to BJC .
- In Nebraska, an effort to repeal a program that would use public funds to help low-income families access private education succeeded with support from 57% of voters, BJC reported.