California Right to Education Amendment (2024)
| California Right to Education Amendment | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 5, 2024 | |
| Topic Education and Constitutional rights | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin Citizens |
The California Right to Education Amendment (#22-0007) was not on the ballot in California as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 5, 2024.
The initiative would have amended the California Constitution to guarantee that students have a "right to a high-quality public education that provides them with the skills necessary to fully participate in the economy, our democracy, and our society."[1]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title would have been as follows:[2]
| “ | Authorizes additional lawsuits challenging public education policies and actions by creating new constitutional right. Initiative constitutional amendment.[3] | ” |
Petition summary
The summary provided for inclusion on signature petition sheets would have been as follows:[2]
| “ | Creates new constitutional right for all public school students in preschool through high school, including charter schools, to a 'high-quality' education, the requirements of which will be defined by the courts. Allows lawsuits to enjoin or invalidate any law, regulation, policy, or action that allegedly violates this new right. Policies that do not 'put the interests of students first,' which is not defined, are deemed to violate the new right.[3] | ” |
Fiscal impact
The fiscal impact statement would have been as follows:[2]
| “ | Unknown litigation and court-related costs for the state and schools that would depend significantly on the number of lawsuits filed to challenge existing laws, regulations, policies, or official actions.[3] | ” |
Full text
The full text of the ballot measure can be read here.
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 in the preceding gubernatorial election. Petitions are allowed to circulate for 180 days from the date the attorney general prepares the petition language. Signatures need to be certified at least 131 days before the general election. As the verification process can take multiple months, the secretary of state provides suggested deadlines for ballot initiatives.
The requirements to get initiated constitutional amendments certified for the 2024 ballot:
- Signatures: 874,641 valid signatures were required.
- Deadline: The deadline for signature verification was 131 days before the general election, which was around June 27, 2024. However, the process of verifying signatures can take multiple months and proponents are recommended to file signatures at least two months before the verification deadline.
Signatures are first filed with local election officials, who determine the total number of signatures submitted. If the total number is equal to at least 100 percent of the required signatures, then local election officials perform a random check of signatures submitted in their counties. If the random sample estimates that more than 110 percent of the required number of signatures are valid, the initiative is eligible for the ballot. If the random sample estimates that between 95 and 110 percent of the required number of signatures are valid, a full check of signatures is done to determine the total number of valid signatures. If less than 95 percent are estimated to be valid, the initiative does not make the ballot.
Initiative #22-0007
- Emelyn Rodriguez filed the initiative on October 27, 2022.[4]
- On January 3, 2023, the initiative was cleared for signature gathering.[4]
- The sponsors did not submit signatures by the July 3, 2023, circulation deadline.[2]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ California Attorney General, "Full text," accessed October 27, 2022
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 California Secretary of State, "Initiatives and Referenda Cleared for Circulation," accessed October 20, 2021
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 California Attorney General, "Initiatives - Active Measures," accessed October 28, 2022
 |
State of California Sacramento (capital) |
|---|---|
| Elections |
What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures |
| Government |
Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy |