Voters Poised to Reject Private School Vouchers in Three States

On a bright Election Day for Republicans, one of their signature education policies — private school choice — was poised to be rejected by voters in three states: Colorado, Nebraska and Kentucky.

In Kentucky, nearly two-thirds of voters defeated a proposal to allow state tax dollars to fund private and charter schools.

In Nebraska, 57 percent of voters approved a ballot initiative that repealed a small program intended to give low-income families tax dollars to pay for private-school tuition.

In Colorado, votes are still being counted. But it looks likely that voters have narrowly rejected a broadly worded ballot measure that would have established a “right to school choice,” including in private schools and home-school settings.

The results slow a private-school choice movement that had greatly accelerated since the Covid-19 pandemic.

About 1 million American children use some form of a private school voucher, a number that has more than doubled since 2019. The issue is one that Republicans hoped would be popular with parents across lines of race and class this year — especially those who were dissatisfied with how public schools served their children during the pandemic.