Education

School Choice Initiatives Crushed While Measure To Lower Testing Standards Gets Green Light

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Three ballot initiatives supporting school choice programs failed to pass Tuesday, while one state successfully slashed a testing requirement for high school graduation.

Colorado’s Amendment 80 failed to enshrine a right to school choice into the state’s constitution while Amendment 2 in Kentucky and Referendum 435 in Nebraska failed to provide funding to students attending non-public schools, according to the New York Times. Massachusetts succeeded in shooting down the state’s requirement for standardized testing in order for high schoolers to receive a diploma.

Nebraska’s referendum repealed a tax scholarship program that allowed tax dollars to support students attending non-public schools, according to the bill’s text. Adjusting for the election results, 28 states offer some form of school choice support, according to Mountain States Policy Center.

School choice has gained popularity among Americans as a way to get children out of failing public schools. Over 80% of both Democrats and Republicans support these measures, according to an October 2023 poll by the Yes. Every Kid. Foundation.

Allowing parents a say in the education their children receive has been shown to narrow the performance gap between low-income students and their peers, with one study finding that every major city that serves a majority low-income students saw rises in achievement when a third or more students were enrolled in charter schools, according to the Progressive Policy Institute. Nonwhite students were among the biggest beneficiaries of these programs.

The approval of Massachusetts’ ballot measure replaces a requirements for standardized state testing and instead allows students to graduate “by satisfactorily completing coursework that has been certified by the student’s district as showing mastery of the skills, competencies, and knowledge contained in the state academic standards and curriculum frameworks,” according to the law’s text.