By Kate Quinones

CNA Staff, November 6, 2024 / 11:45 am

Kentucky, Nebraska and Colorado voted Tuesday on school choice ballot measures. Although the measure in Colorado has not still After convening, voters are on track to reject school choice in every state.

Kentucky

With more than 95% of the votes counted, Kentucky voters refused an amendment by a nearly 2-to-1 margin that would have allowed charter schools to be funded.

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

Kentucky’s constitution only allows state funds to go to “common schools,” 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 K-12 students, according to the amendment text.

School choice advocates in Kentucky have tried to approve funding for charter schools in recent years, but the Kentucky Supreme Court has shut down both attempts.

Coalition Opposing Kentucky Charter School Amendment spent almost four times more than followers.

Nebraska

Nebraska Voters Repealed Recent School Choice Scholarship Voucher program which established a $10 million fund for scholarships in a vote of about 57 to 42.

The school choice program, LB 1402, provided scholarships for students to attend qualified private schools, including parochial schools, with high priority for students in foster care, students who were bullied or harassed, and students who needed special education, as well as those with low income. middle and low income families. It was designed to allow students to apply for and receive scholarships to private schools through scholarship-granting organizations.

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

Colorado

Colorado voters are on their way to decline a school choice amendment with about 72% of the votes counted, but the New York Times and the Colorado Sun I still have to call him.

Colorado Amendment 80 would have established the right to school choice in the state constitution. It needed 55% support to be approved. At the time of publication, only had around 47.9% in favor and around 52% against.

The school choice amendment would have enshrined the “right to choose school” in the state constitution for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. Amendment 80 definite 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 the education of their children” while ensuring that all children “have the right to equal opportunity to access a quality education.”

Currently, Colorado students can apply to public schools outside their district or to one of more than 260 charter schools.

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

While the Catholic bishops left in support School Choice, a homeschool school in Colorado clusterChristian Home Educators of Colorado argued that the measure could lead to “further government interference” because of its wording.

Colorado Catholic Conference Executive Director Brittany Vessely told ACI Prensa that “the Colorado Conference of Catholic Bishops is disappointed by the loss of Amendment 80.”

“Amendment 80 is aligned with Catholic social teaching: ensuring that parents are allowed to select the best educational options for their children and that every person of all ages has the right to education,” he explained. “This includes using a portion of state funds for parents to choose the learning option that best meets their children’s needs.”

“Because of this loss, anti-school choice majorities in the state Legislature are likely to continue attacking Colorado’s current school choice options, including charter schools, and erode the conscience and speech rights of parochial education providers and of parents choosing options other than traditional public schools,” Vessely said.

School Choice in the USA

These votes against school choice counteracted the current trend in the US in favor of school choice after a record year in 2023, when 20 states expanded school choice programs, with 11 states enacting “universal” school choice by allowing all students to use state tuition 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 duty and a right that all parents share.” Alleigh Marréthe executive director of American Parents Coalitiona Washington, D.C.-based parents’ rights group told CNA.

“Whether it’s a gender-related policy for sports teams and bathrooms or a curriculum focused on the activist political issue of the day, school choice is an extremely important issue that gives parents the flexibility to make the best decision possible. for his children and his family.” Marré said.

This story was updated on November 6, 2024 at 2:20 pm ET with the statement from the Colorado Catholic Conference.

Kate Quiñones is a staff writer for the Catholic News Agency and a member of College Fix. She has been published by the Wall Street Journal, the Denver Catholic Register and CatholicVote, and graduated from Hillsdale College. She lives in Colorado with her husband.