Education activists undeterred by dismal Election Day showing for school choice
Education activists are undeterred by voters nationwide striking down school choice efforts on Election Day.
School choice ballot proposals before voters in Colorado, Kentucky and Nebraska on Tuesday. Colorado's Amendment 80 sought to adjustthe Colorado Constitution to ensure all children have "the right to school choice," while Amendment 2 in Kentucky proposed adjusting its state constitutionto allow state funding to be provided to students "outside of public schools."
Both proposed amendments failed to garner enough votes to pass, according to the Associated Press.
In Nebraska, Referendum 435 asked voters whether they wanted to repeal a $10 million education scholarship program meant for families looking to attend non-public schools. Nebraskans overwhelming voted to undo the program, the Associated Press reported.
The results are a blow to school choice, which saw nearly 20 states pass related measures just last year. However, Matt Frendewey, the vice president of strategy for education advocacy group yes. every kid., says they aren't concerning.
"I don't see it as a rejection of school choice measures, I see it as a rejection of the ballot proposal pathway," he told Crisis in the Classroom (CITC). "It's really difficult to pass ballot proposals, period ... Voters typically will just apt to vote against proposals they just don't understand or they don't know or they're not familiar with."
Angela Morabito, a spokesperson for the Defense of Freedom Institute and former spokesperson for the Department of Education, also indicated she is unbothered by the failed proposals. She stressed to CITC families still need greater access to education options, claiming "forced unionism and forced school assignment" aren't working for students.
"Education freedom for families and teachers has momentum across the country, even if the teachers unions beat back three school choice ballot measures yesterday," Morabito said. "Every family deserves the opportunity to choose a great school for their children, and every teacher should be free to do what's best for students."
The Nebraska State Education Association (NSEA), the state's biggest teachers union, cheered the success of Referendum 435 Tuesday. NSEA President Tim Royers said lawmakers must now "respect the wishes of voters and stop trying to impose costly voucher schemes on taxpayers."
President-elect Donald Trump touted school choice efforts multiple times during his campaign. During an October event in Milwaukee, he discussed a "universal school choice policy" and labeled the topic "the civil rights issue of our time."
Trump last month also said he would sign the Educational Choice for Children Act, a school choice bill which recently passed the House Ways and Means Committee, if elected to the White House.
Frendewey predicts the incoming Trump administration will push for education power to be shifted to individual states. He sees that as a "big opportunity" for school choice.
"States are the laboratories of democracy. We're seeing really wonderful things take place all over the country, and I think what we're hoping for is an administration that's going to really lean into state authority or state control, and I think that we have that opportunity with an incoming Trump administration," Frendewey said.
