‘A stunning public rebuke’: When voters had the choice, they rejected private school vouchers

On Election Day, voters in Colorado, Kentucky, and Nebraska squarely rejected private school choice ballot measures, demonstrating how much voters of all stripes oppose the use of taxpayer dollars to fund private school tuition.

The private school voucher movement was dealt a blow last week, when voters in Colorado, Kentucky, and Nebraska rejected ballot measures that would have either instituted or expanded their respective state’s private school choice/voucher programs.

The defeats — particularly those in the ruby-red states of Kentucky and Nebraska — underscore how much voters of all stripes oppose the use of taxpayer dollars to fund private school tuition, even as it’s become a mainstream position in the Republican Party.

In Kentucky, voters rejected a ballot measure that would have amended the state’s constitution to allow public funding to go to private education — every county in the state voted against it. In Nebraska, voters partially repealed a state-funded private school scholarship program. And in Colorado, voters rejected a ballot measure that would have enshrined a school choice option in the state’s constitution. 

Public school advocates pointed to the results as evidence that those who support vouchers are badly out of touch with voters.

During a Wednesday call with reporters, National Education Association President Becky Pringle said the “decisive defeats” demonstrated by Colorado, Kentucky, and Nebraska “speak loud and clear.”

“The public knows that vouchers harm students and cripple our schools and they don’t want them in any form by any pretty name,” she said. “This is a stunning public rebuke.” 

“We know the role that public education plays in our democracy,” she added. “That’s why when people are able to express their support of our public schools, they do so through their voice and through their vote.” 

Voucher programs use tax dollars that would otherwise go to public schools to cover the cost of students’ tuition at private schools, taking those funds away from public schools.

Opponents of school choice argue that while private voucher schools use public tax dollars, they aren’t held to the same standardized testing or public meetings standards. Research has also found that charter schools often lack the regulation necessary to ensure they’re properly educating their students.

Charter and voucher programs are also not obligated to accept children with disabilities or who need special education, whereas public schools are required to educate all children.

Despite this, 28 states and Washington D.C. have at least one private school choice program, according to Education Week, with several having more than one program.  

There’s no definitive evidence that voucher schools outperform public schools, and in fact, some recent research suggests the opposite. Moreover, the recent Republican-led expansions of school choice programs in some states have had significant consequences.

In Arizona, the spiraling costs of the state’s voucher program skyrocketed to nearly $1 billion last school year, causing state lawmakers to cut millions of dollars from the budgets of public schools in the state, as well as state universities and community colleges. The excess costs incurred by the voucher program also led to reduced funding for road and water infrastructure projects in the state.

Additionally, two-thirds of students who received a private school voucher in Iowa this year were already enrolled in private school, according to new data from the Iowa Department of Education. This means that these voucher recipients got a subsidy for a service they could already afford. 

Furthermore, following the state’s recent voucher expansion, Iowa private schools increased their kindergarten tuition by 21% to 25% and tuition for other grades by 10% to 16%, according to a study published by Princeton University researchers.

Despite these warning signs, several states are poised to join Arizona and Iowa in expanding their programs.

In Texas, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is a longtime supporter of school vouchers, and last week celebrated the elections of new, pro-voucher Republicans to the Texas House. Abbott now believes he has enough votes to pass a voucher program in the state, his top legislature priority since last year — one that was blocked by a coalition of Democrats and rural Republicans who expressed concern about how vouchers would affect public school funding.

And in North Carolina, the Republican-controlled state legislature will convene next week, and it is expected that they will override Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of a voucher expansion bill.

“In North Carolina, we are anticipating a radical expansion of vouchers under the guise of Hurricane Helene relief,” Pringle said during Wednesday’s call. “Those who keep pushing voucher agendas despite the public’s awareness that there is zero statistical significance that voucher programs improve overall student success.” 

While Republicans appear to have the votes to pass voucher expansions in Texas and North Carolina, Pringle said that heading into the 2025 legislative sessions, it’s not only her association’s job to “remind politicians that vouchers are a losing issue,” but everyone’s job. 

“Vouchers are not what our constituents want and most importantly, they harm students,” she said. 

“Most parents, educators, and community members can agree that every student deserves access to well-funded neighborhood public schools that enable them to thrive and to live into their brilliance,” Pringle added.