Originally published at National Catholic Register
Kentucky, Nebraska and Colorado voted on school-choice ballot measures on Tuesday. While the measure in Colorado has not yet been called, voters are on pace to reject school choice in each state.
Kentucky, Nebraska and Colorado voted on school-choice ballot measures on Tuesday. While the measure in Colorado has not yet been called, voters are on pace to reject school choice in each state.
Kentucky
With more than 95% of votes counted, Kentucky voters rejected an amendment by an almost 2-1 margin that would have allowed funding for charter schools.
Charter schools in Kentucky are currently legal but not funded by the state. Kentucky Amendment 2, the “Education Opportunities Constitution Amendment,” would have allowed the state to provide state funding 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 funding to go toward “common schools,” generally interpreted as public schools. If passed, the amendment would have explicitly allowed the government to give “financial support for the education of students outside the system of common schools” for K-12 students, according to the amendment text.
Kentucky school-choice advocates have tried to
