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History of school choice ballot measures
| School choice policy ballot measures |
| School choice in the United States |
| Impact of school choice on rural school districts |
| Select a historical topic page from the menu below. |
Since 1970, voters in 12 states have decided on 22 statewide ballot measures related to school choice policies, including vouchers, tax credits, education savings accounts (ESAs), and charter schools. Most (19) of these measures were citizen-initiated, including initiated state statutes, constitutional amendments, and veto referendums.
The term school choice refers to policies and programs that allow families to select educational options beyond their assigned public school. Some policies involve public funding for private education or homeschooling through vouchers, education savings accounts (ESAs), or tax credits. Others focus on authorizing or expanding public alternatives, such as charter schools or open enrollment. School choice ballot measures have addressed vouchers and similar programs (10), charter schools (six), tax credits (three), ESAs (one), and other constitutional matters (two).
Of the 22 statewide ballot measures, two (9.1%) were approved—both in 2012 and both concerning charter schools—while the remaining 20 (90.9%) were defeated.
The highest concentration of measures occurred in the 1990s (six measures). School choice ballot measures have been most frequent in Washington (five measures) and Colorado (three measures).
In 2024, three statewide ballot measures related to school choice appeared on the ballot in Colorado, Kentucky, and Nebraska—the most in a single year since 2000. Voters rejected the ballot measures.
In the 1950s and 1960s, legislatures in several Southern states placed school choice-related measures on the ballot, including tuition grant proposals similar to vouchers and broader constitutional changes. These ballot measures are discussed in a separate section to highlight their historical and political context, such as racial desegregation. You can read more about them here.
On this page, you will find:
- a list of states that have voted on school choice-related ballot measures;
- a timeline of school choice ballot measures;
- a list of measures by year;
- a list of measures by topic; and
- information on ballot measure precedents related to school choice policies.
School choice policy has been on the ballot in 12 states, including 10 states with an initiative and referendum process, since 1970.
- The states with the highest numbers of school choice-related ballot measures are Washington (five) and Colorado (three).
- The average number of measures in states with an initiative and referendum process is 0.8, whereas the average number in states without initiatives or referendums is 0.1.
- States without an initiative and referendum process have never had more than one school choice-related ballot measure.
The following is a map of states where ballots have featured school choice-related measures since 1970:
The following overview summarizes school choice-related ballot measures by decade:
- In the 1920s, there were four ballot measures to require students to attend public schools. One, Oregon Measure Nos. 314-315, was approved. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Measure Nos. 314-315 violated the U.S. Constitution in Pierce v. Society of Sisters on June 1, 1925. The unanimous decision held that, "The child is not the mere creature of the State. ...The fundamental theory of liberty upon which all governments of this Union rest excludes any general power of the State to standardize its children by forcing them to accept instruction from public teachers only."[1]
- In the 1950s, some of the earliest school choice-related ballot measures were proposed in response to court rulings mandating public school desegregation. Concentrated in the South, these measures authorized tuition grants and other forms of public funding for private education. View relevant measures here.
- Throughout the 1900s, and into the 2000s, ballot measures were used to repeal or amend Blaine Amendments—state constitutional provisions adopted beginning in the 1870s that prohibited public funding for sectarian schools. View relevant measures here.
- The decade with the most school choice ballot measures was the 1990s, which featured six measures.
- The number of measures declined in subsequent decades: five in the 2000s, four in the 2010s, and three (all in 2024) so far in the 2020s.
- From the 1970s through the 1990s, most measures addressed vouchers (60%), with tax credit proposals (30%) emerging in the late 1980s and 1990s.
- In the 2000s, ballot measures regarding charter schools became more common. Of the five ballot measures, three (60%) addressed vouchers and two (40%) addressed charter schools.
- In the 2010s, three of four (75%) ballot measures addressed charter schools, while the fourth introduced a new topic for school choice measures: education savings accounts (ESAs). Since 1970, the only school choice ballot measures approved by voters were two measures in 2012, both of which authorized charter schools.
- In the 2020s, three school choice ballot measures have appeared on the ballot. These addressed a voucher-type program, a proposed constitutional right to school choice, and an amendment authorizing the legislature to fund nonpublic education.
The following graph shows the number of school choice-related ballot measures per decade since 1970:
List of school choice ballot measures
List of state ballot measures by year
The following table provides a list of ballot measures related to school choice policies from 1970 to 2024:
List of state ballot measures by topic
The following sections provide lists of school choice-related ballot measures based on proposed policies or topics since 1970. The ballot measures were divided into subtopics based on proposed policies: education savings accounts (ESAs), vouchers and tuition grants, education tax credits, charter schools, and other constitutional matters.
The following table shows the number and outcome of state ballot measures related to school choice policies from 1970 to 2024, organized into the five subtopics. Of the 22 total measures, 20 were defeated (90.9%) and 2 were approved (9.1%). Charter school measures had the highest approval rate (33.3%), while measures related to ESAs, vouchers, tax credits, and other constitutional matters were all defeated.
| Topic | Total | Approved | Approved (%) | Defeated | Defeated (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Education savings accounts (ESAs) | 1 | 0 | 0.0% | 1 | 100.0% |
| Vouchers | 10 | 0 | 0.0% | 10 | 100.0% |
| Education tax credits | 3 | 0 | 0.0% | 3 | 100.0% |
| Charter schools | 6 | 2 | 33.3% | 4 | 66.7% |
| Other constitutional matters | 2 | 0 | 0.0% | 2 | 100.0% |
| Total | 22 | 2 | 9.1% | 20 | 90.9% |
Education savings accounts (ESAs)
An education savings account (ESA) is a state-run program that provides eligible families with public funds through a government-managed account. The funds can be used for approved educational expenses outside the public school system, such as private school tuition, tutoring, or homeschooling materials.
There has been one state ballot measure regarding ESAs, a veto referendum on legislation expanding a program in Arizona. Voters repealed the legislation in 2018.
| State | Year | Measure | Yes | No | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | 2018 | Proposition 305, Expansion of Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Referendum | 35.17% | 64.83% | |
| Average | 35.17% | 64.83% |
Vouchers
Vouchers are government-funded programs in which the state pays private school tuition, or part of that tuition, for eligible students. This definition includes programs described as state-funded private education scholarships. Vouchers differ from ESAs, where families receive the funds and use them on approved educational expenses.
There have been 10 state ballot measures addressing school vouchers or similar programs in seven states. Voters rejected each measure. The one with the closest margin (-9.5%) was Maryland Question 18 (1972). The one with the widest (-48.6%) margin was Michigan Proposal H (1978).
Education tax credits
An education tax credit is a state tax credit that reduces a taxpayer's income tax based on qualified education expenses outside the public school system, such as private school tuition, homeschooling costs, or other approved educational spending. The ballot measures proposing these credits would have capped them at either a maximum dollar amount or a percentage of the actual cost of education or the state's average per-student spending in public schools.
Voters decided on, and rejected, three ballot measures proposing education tax credits. The three ballot measures received between 30.2% and 39.7% of the vote.
| State | Year | Measure | Yes | No | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado | 1998 | Amendment 17, Income Tax Credit for Private Education Expenses and Restrict Nonpublic Education Regulations Initiative | 39.72% | 60.28% | |
| Oregon | 1990 | Measure 11, Open Enrollment for Public Schools, Refundable Tax Credits for Non-Public Education, and Voter Approval for New Restrictions on Nonpublic Education Initiative | 32.18% | 67.82% | |
| Utah | 1988 | Initiative C, Refundable Income Tax Credit for Private and Homeschool Education Expenses Measure | 30.22% | 69.78% | |
| Average | 34.04% | 65.96% |
Charter schools
A charter school is a tuition-free, government-funded school that operates independently of the local school district. Some charter schools also rely on government grants or private donations. Policies vary by state on whether charter schools can be managed by nonprofit or for-profit organizations.
Voters have decided six state ballot measures related to charter schools in three states. Voters approved two and rejected four of them.
| State | Year | Measure | Yes | No | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts | 2016 | Question 2, Annual Charter School Expansion Initiative | 38.04% | 61.96% | |
| Georgia | 2012 | Amendment 1, Provide for State Charter Schools Measure | 58.58% | 41.42% | |
| Washington | 2012 | Initiative 1240, Authorize Charter Schools Measure | 50.69% | 49.31% | |
| Washington | 2004 | Referendum 55, Authorize Charter Schools Measure | 41.67% | 58.33% | |
| Washington | 2000 | Initiative 729, Authorize Charter Schools Measure | 48.17% | 51.83% | |
| Washington | 1996 | Initiative 177, Authorize Charter Schools Measure | 35.57% | 64.43% | |
| Average | 45.45% | 54.55% |
Other constitutional matters
These ballot measures propose constitutional amendments that either establish general rights related to school choice or authorize the legislature to pursue school choice programs without specifying particular policies. While the list of these ballot measures is limited to two constitutional amendments, the types can be further divided into:
- rights-based amendments establishing broad constitutional rights related to school choice, such as Colorado Amendment 80
- enabling amendments authorizing the state legislature to fund non-public education without creating a specific program, such as Kentucky Amendment 2
| State | Year | Measure | Yes | No | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado | 2024 | Amendment 80, Constitutional Right to School Choice Initiative | 49.32% | 50.68% | |
| Kentucky | 2024 | Amendment 2, Allow State Funding for Non-Public Education Amendment | 42.28% | 57.72% | |
| Average | 42.25% | 57.75% |
Measures to prohibit school choice policies
Since 1970, there has been one ballot measure designed to prohibit at least some school choice policies. In 1970, voters approved Michigan Proposal 3, which amended the state constitution to prohibit the use of public funds, property, or credit—either directly or indirectly—to support private or other nonpublic pre-elementary, elementary, or secondary schools. The measure specifically prohibited payments, tax benefits, exemptions, vouchers, subsidies, grants, or loans that would support student attendance or employment at nonpublic schools. Proposal 3 allowed the legislature to provide transportation for students to and from any school, including private schools.[2]
In the 1950s, around the time of Brown v. Board of Education (1954), state ballot measures were proposed in response to school desegregation in the South. Some of these constitutional amendments addressed public schools, while others involved public funding for private education. These ballot measures are discussed in this section to highlight their political and historical context, as well as distinct patterns of voter behavior and demographics; for example, these measures were approved, in contrast to later school choice measures, most of which were defeated. This section focuses on ballot measures and, in some cases, the legislation enacted to implement them, not on other laws passed during this period.
In Freedom of Choice: Vouchers in American Education, Jim Carl, Professor at Sacred Heart University, wrote, "... advocates first enacted school vouchers in the 1950s, not in the 1990s as is often supposed. Southern state legislatures established tuition grants programs to maintain racially separate and unequal schools in the face of a series of movements and lawsuits that challenged customary Jim Crow education policies."[3] In Public vs. Private: The Early History of School Choice in America, Robert Gross, an education historian and Upper School Principal at Sidwell Friends School, wrote, "One form of resistance entailed state support for 'private' schools that could maintain segregation. ... Ultimately, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia adopted tuition grant schemes. As a result, counties throughout the South that previously had no private schools rapidly saw their numbers climb."[4]
The relevance of these ballot measures to modern school choice policies is debated between supporters and opponents.
- Steve Suitts, an adjunct professor and former executive of the Southern Regional Council and Southern Education Foundation, wrote, "During the middle of the twentieth century, K–12 private schooling became intertwined with race and ethnicity as the Supreme Court issued opinions outlawing segregated graduate and professional public education... Legislatures passed laws authorizing vouchers and other means of transferring public assets and monies to private schools. ... From 1954 to 1965, southern legislatures enacted as many as 450 laws and resolutions attempting to discredit, block, postpone, limit, or evade school desegregation. A large number of these acts allowed the re-direction of public resources, including school resources, to benefit private schools."[5]
- Jason Bedrick, a research fellow at The Heritage Foundation, former Director of Policy for EdChoice, and former state legislator from New Hampshire, responded, "Suitts ignores the existence segregationists and integrationists on both sides of the school choice debate. Yes, some segregationists wanted to open private segregation academies funded via vouchers. But it’s also true that integrationists were already using private schools as a means to foster racial integration while the public system was segregated. ... Public schooling and school choice policies are both tools to provide education. Segregationists and integrationists alike attempted to use those tools to further their own goals."[6]
One of the first ballot measures that arose in this context was South Carolina Amendment 2 in 1952. Amendment 2 repealed the constitutional requirement that the legislature provide a liberal system of free public schools and divide counties into suitable school districts.[7] Gov. James Byrnes (D) said the amendment was a response to Briggs v. Elliott, one of the cases later consolidated into Brown v. Board of Education, and would allow the legislature to explore alternatives "in case of an adverse decision."[8][9]
In 1954, voters in Louisiana approved a constitutional amendment, Amendment 16, aimed at maintaining racial segregation in public schools. Voters in Georgia and Mississippi approved ballot measures to permit public funding for private education. In Georgia, Amendment 4 authorized grants from state or local funds to citizens for education purposes. Gov. Herman Talmadge (D) and Lt. Gov. Marvin Griffin (D) supported Amendment 4, writing, "This amendment has one purpose, and one purpose only. That is—preservation of free, segregated schools for all the children of Georgia... after the voters have ratified the school segregation amendment, your elected representatives in the General Assembly can immediately make grants in that county or school district directly to the parent or guardian of the child."[10] The Conference Board of Christian Education of Georgia Methodism opposed the constitutional amendment, stating, "[Amendment 4] would authorize the state legislature to turn over to private agencies our public school system of Georgia."[11] In Mississippi, a constitutional amendment allowed the legislature to abolish public schools and provide funding to "aid educable children of this state to secure an education," such as funding for students to attend private schools.[12]
In 1956, voters in Alabama, North Carolina, and Virginia decided on ballot measures related to public funding of private education. The ballot measures in North Carolina and Virginia involved education expense or tuition grants, similar to vouchers, in that these were funds for students to attend private schools.
- In Alabama, Amendment 2 provided that "nothing in this constitution..." creates or recognizes a right to state-funded education, allowed public funding for private schools, and authorized parents to choose schools for their children based on race. The Birmingham News summarized Amendment 2: "This 'freedom of choice' proposal is designed to preserve school segregation on voluntary basis, allowing parents to choose schools for children. Would permit Legislature to abolish public schools to prevent violence and empower education boards to operate segregated private schools"[13]
- In North Carolina, the constitutional amendment allowed for education expense grants using public funds for a child's private nonsectarian education when (a) no public school is available or (b) the child is assigned to a racially integrated public school against the parent's wishes. The constitutional amendment also provided that voters can decide on local ballot measures to suspend the operation of public schools.[14]
- In Virginia, voters approved a ballot measure authorizing a limited constitutional convention to revise Section 141 of the Virginia Constitution to allow the General Assembly and local governments to use public funds to provide tuition grants for students attending nonsectarian private schools.[15]
Voters in Arkansas also approved three ballot measures (Amendment 47, Initiative 2, and Resolution to Federal Government) designed to maintain racial segregation in public schools and called for a federal constitutional amendment to overturn Brown v. Board of Education.
In 1962, voters in Georgia approved Amendment 1, which provided that "freedom from compulsory association," such as racial desegregation, "at all levels of public education shall be preserved inviolate." Amendment 1 also provided that "the General Assembly must provide funding through taxation to ensure an adequate education for Georgia citizens."[16] Gov. Ernest Vandiver (D) proposed Amendment 1 as part of a four-bill legislative package. He discussed the package in a speech before the Georgia General Assembly titled The Fate of Public Education in Georgia. He described the legislation package as "a freedom of association child protection defense package." He referenced Amendment 4, the amendment approved in 1954: "Proposed by the then Gov. Herman Talmadge, it was the basis of our defense then. It forms the basis of our defense now. Implementation legislation for the 1954 grants amendment was adopted in 1956 and in 1959. Since that time decisions have rendered it ineffective, in that, conditions which these statutes envisaged cannot now legally come into operation. Therefore, for the state to make grants, new implementing legislation is necessary. ... In order to authorize the suspension of public schools and their reopening, consistent with the wishes of their patrons, a new law covering this subject must be passed."[17] The Columbus Ledger described Amendment 1 as the legal basis for the state's tuition grant program, which would "guarantee freedom of association to the children."[18]
Ballotpedia identified the following state ballot measures from the 1950s and 1960s as related to school choice or similar policies:
| State | Year | Measure | Yes | No | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia | 1962 | Amendment 1, "Freedom from Compulsory Association in Public Education" Measure | 60.44% | 39.56% | |
| Alabama | 1956 | Amendment 2, Repeal Requirement for Public School System, Allow Private Entities to Operate Schools, and Permit Parents to Choose Schools Based on Race Measure | 61.39% | 38.61% | |
| North Carolina | 1956 | Education Expense Grants and Local School Suspension Votes Amendment | 82.25% | 17.75% | |
| Virginia | 1956 | Limited Constitutional Convention for Nonsectarian Private School Tuition Grants Measure | 67.54% | 32.46% | |
| Georgia | 1954 | Amendment 4, Authorize Public Education Grants to Citizens Measure | 53.74% | 46.26% | |
| Mississippi | 1954 | Allow Legislature to Abolish Public Schools and Provide Funds for Non-Public Education Amendment | 69.86% | 30.14% | |
| South Carolina | 1952 | Amendment 2, Repeal Requirement for General Assembly to Provide Public School System Measure | 67.11% | 32.89% | |
| Average | 66.05% | 33.95% |
Measures to repeal no-aid clauses
Along with ballot measures addressing school choice policies, measures have proposed repealing or amending constitutional provisions, known as Blaine Amendments, prohibiting public funding for sectarian, and in some cases non-sectarian, private schools. While some of these amendments proposed repealing the bans, others sought to create exceptions for specific types of aid, such as textbooks, transportation, and other materials or services.
Blaine Amendments originated in the 1870s. Gross wrote, "Beginning in 1875 and 1876, the Republican Party rallied around a proposal from Ulysses S. Grant and Maine Senator James G. Blaine to add an amendment to the federal constitution that would bar public funds for religious schools. The amendment was widely perceived in the press to be aimed at Catholics, who ran the largest system of religious schools in the nation. ... When the amendment consistently failed to pass the Senate, Republican-controlled state legislatures took up the call instead."[4]
- Eric Rassbachm, Vice President and Senior Counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, discussing Blaine Amendments, said, "But context matters: Pretending that the Blaine Amendments were not deeply rooted in the widespread and fervent anti-Catholic prejudice of the day would be like pretending that Jim Crow laws randomly arose in the post-Reconstruction South. ... Because of their indelible anti-Catholic origins, Blaine Amendments are presumptively unconstitutional under the free exercise clause."[19]
- Ellen Johnson, President of American Atheists, said Blaine Amendments, at least their modern application, "have little or nothing to do with anti-Catholic animus. ... It is interesting that in 1982 and 1986, voters in Massachusetts – the state with the second largest Roman Catholic demographic in the country – overwhelmingly turned down a plan to change their state constitution and invite funding for religious schools."[20]
In 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, held that, "A State need not subsidize private education. But once a State decides to do so, it cannot disqualify some private schools solely because they are religious."[21]
Ballotpedia identified the following state ballot measures as repealing or amending no-aid clauses or Blaine Amendments:
See also
- 2025 ballot measures
- 2026 ballot measures
- School choice policy ballot measures
- School choice in the United States
- Impact of school choice on rural school districts
Footnotes
- ↑ U.S. Supreme Court, "Pierce v. Society of Sisters," June 1, 1925
- ↑ The Herald-Palladium, "Proposal C," accessed May 4, 2025
- ↑ Carl, J. (2011). Freedom of choice: Vouchers in American education. Praeger.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Gross, R. N. (2018). Public vs. private: The early history of school choice in America. Oxford University Press.
- ↑ Southern Spaces, "Segregationists, Libertarians, and the Modern 'School Choice' Movement," June 4, 2019
- ↑ EdChoice, "The Real Roots of School Choice Lie in Inclusion and Integration," February 14, 2020
- ↑ The Columbia Record, "SC School Action is Uncertain; State Facing Big Problems," May 17, 1954
- ↑ The Beaufort Gazette, "November 4 Voters To Decide Status Of Public School System," October 23, 1952
- ↑ The Daily Item, "Proposed Amendment on Schools Analyzed," November 1, 1952
- ↑ The Atlanta Journal, "Your Child's Education is in Peril!" October 25, 1954
- ↑ Ledger-Enquirer, "Amendment 4 is Opposed in Resolution, October 30, 1954
- ↑ Hattiesburg American, "Vote Tuesday on Public School Amendment," December 20, 1954
- ↑ The Birmingham News, "Constituional Amendments," August 26, 1956
- ↑ North Carolina State Archives, "Amendment of North Carolina Constitution Regarding Education Expense Grants and Local Option, 1956," accessed May 23, 2025
- ↑ The World-News, "If You Cast a Ballot Nov. 8, You Also Could in Referendum," December 2, 1955
- ↑ The Valdosta Daily Times, "Constitutional Amendments," October 20, 1962
- ↑ The Atlanta Constitution, "Text of Vandiver’s Speech to Assembly," January 19, 1961
- ↑ The Columbus Ledger, "Tuition Grants Law Changes in Order," February 10, 1961
- ↑ SCOTUSblog, "Symposium: Anti-Catholic Blaine Amendments like Montana’s are presumptively unconstitutional," September 19, 2019
- ↑ U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, "School Choice: The Blaine Amendments & Anti-Catholicism," June 1, 2007
- ↑ U.S. Supreme Court, "Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue," June 30, 2020
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