Voters soundly reject school voucher initiatives in multiple states

In this year’s November election, voters once again said “no” to school vouchers in ballot initiatives across three different states. The results send a clear message: Americans do not want taxpayer dollars to fund private schools, including religious schools, especially not at the expense of public school funding. It was not particularly close in either the red or blue states where it came to a vote.

In Kentucky, President-elect Trump, a supporter of school choice initiatives, won handily; however – and fortunately for fans of religious freedom for all — a proposed state constitutional amendment that would have allowed lawmakers to divert tax dollars to private schools was defeated by the same margin, 65% – 35%. The measure was an attempt to overcome a decision by the Kentucky Supreme Court, which unanimously struck down a voucher program in 2022 enacted over Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto. The court cited the state constitution’s prohibition on funding non-public schools, leaving voucher proponents with amending the constitution as their only option. Voters in every one of the state’s 120 counties rejected the proposal.

In Nebraska, voters repealed a program that was designed to send low-income families to private schools using public funds through tax credits. The “opportunity scholarship” program was enacted in 2023, sparking a voter petition to put the program on the state-wide ballot. In the November election, 57% of Nebraskans, including a majority in almost every county, voted to repeal the program.

Lastly, in Colorado, voters defeated an effort to amend the state’s constitution by adding a “right to school choice.” Opponents rightly warned that language may have created a right to attend private school using public funds, ushering in a statewide voucher program. In the election, 48% of voters supported the amendment, but it required 55% to pass under state law.

Despite going 0 for 3 at the ballot box, vouchers and other school choice schemes continue to be promoted across the country. In Tennessee on the day after the election, Gov. Bill Lee proposed a new voucher program that would provide scholarships for students to attend private schools. They would offer 20,000 scholarships for the 2025-26 school year, a number set to increase annually. A similar measure failed to move forward in the Tennessee Legislature last year. This year’s version promises — for one year — not to lower funding for public school districts that experience a decrease in enrollment.

School vouchers and other similar funding mechanisms run counter to religious freedom for all. That is why BJC has long fought against such initiatives. Opposing public funding for private and religious schools, as voters in three states did this election, is not about limiting choice. It is about protecting taxpayers and upholding our civic commitment to public education, where all students and parents deserve to know they belong, regardless of background or circumstance, or certainly regardless of religious belief.

For more on BJC’s support of public schools and opposition to various types of school voucher schemes, check out episode 8 and episode 9 of Season 5 of BJC’s Respecting Religion podcast. In that 2-episode series, BJC Executive Director Amanda Tyler and General Counsel Holly Hollman discussed the many problems with government-funded religious education.

Our Constitution protects religious freedom for all, recognizing that we are all equal citizens without regard to religion. There are different roles for the government institutions that are supported by taxpayers and for the religious institutions voluntarily supported by religious adherents.

“We certainly affirm the right people have to send their children to private religious schools if that’s the education that they want their children to receive,” Hollman said on episode 8. “We just oppose the government having to fund private religious education.”