California Proposition 38, School Voucher Program Initiative (2000)

California Proposition 38
Election date November 7, 2000
Topic Public education funding and School choice policy
Status Defeated
Type Initiated constitutional amendment	Origin Citizens

California Proposition 38 was on the ballot as an initiated constitutional amendment in California on November 7, 2000. It was defeated.

A “yes” vote supported this ballot initiative to create a state-funded school voucher program for all K-12 students in California, including: provide at least $4,000 per student annually, or a higher amount based on state or national per-pupil spending levels; allow parents to select private schools for their children, with the state disbursing scholarship funds directly to the chosen schools; restrict new regulations on private schools by requiring a three-fourths vote of the state legislature for new state laws, and a two-thirds vote of local governing bodies plus majority voter approval for new local laws; establish a new minimum funding guarantee for K-12 public schools tied to the national average per-pupil spending.

A "no" vote opposed this ballot initiative to create a school voucher program in California.

Election results

California Proposition 38
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		3,101,193	29.47%
No		7,422,037	70.53%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title for Proposition 38 was as follows:

“

School Vouchers. State-Funded Private and Religious Education. Public School Funding. Initiative Constitutional Amendment.

”

Ballot summary

The ballot summary for this measure was:

“

Authorizes annual state payments of at least $4000 per pupil for private and religious schools phased in over four years. Restricts state and local authority to require private schools to meet standards, including state academic requirements. Limits future health, safety, zoning, building restrictions on private schools. Requires release of composite test scores of voucher pupils. Permits Legislature to replace current voter-enacted constitutional funding priority for public schools (Proposition 98) with minimum formula based on national per-pupil average, as defined by terms of this measure.

”

Full Text

The full text of this measure is available here.

Fiscal impact statement

The fiscal impact statement was as follows:

“

Short-term (first several years) state costs averaging between zero and $1.1 billion annually. Longer-term (within five years to ten years) net fiscal effect on state funding of K-12 schools is largely unknown. Annual impact likely to range from costs of about $2 billion to savings of over $3 billion, depending on the number of pupils who shift from public schools to private schools. Debt service savings to the state and school districts potentially in excess of $100 million annually after 10 years to 20 years, resulting from reduced need for construction of public schools. Potential loss of federal funds in the hundreds of millions of dollars annually.

”

Support

Supporters

Officials

• U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona)

Organizations

• Foundation for California's Future

Individuals

• Timothy C. Draper

Opposition

Opponents

Parties

• Democratic Party of California

Organizations

• California Teachers Association
• SEIU

Path to the ballot

In California, the number of signatures required for an initiated constitutional amendment is equal to 8 percent of the votes cast at the preceding gubernatorial election. For initiated amendments filed in 2000, at least 670,816 valid signatures were required.

See also

2000 Measures

• 2000 Measures
• Public education funding on the ballot
• School choice policy on the ballot
• State legislative vote requirements on the ballot
• 2000 legislative sessions

California

• California ballot measures
• California ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

External links

• 2000 General Election Voter Guide