What’s the Story
The North Dakota House sustained Gov. Kelly Armstrong‘s (R) veto of the universal school choice bill House Bill 1540 on April 25. The veto was sustained in the House by a 45-48 vote, with the 45 votes supporting the veto override coming from Republican members. The 48 votes opposing consisted of 37 Republicans and 11 Democrats.
The bill previously passed the House 49-43 and the Senate 27-20. In the House, all votes in support of HB 1540 were from Republicans, and the 43 votes opposing the bill were from 32 Republicans and 11 Democrats. In the Senate, all 27 votes in support were from Republicans, and the 20 votes opposing consisted of 15 Republicans and 5 Democrats. Gov. Armstrong vetoed HB 1540 on April 23, emphasizing the needs in rural areas. Support for HB 1540 was lower among legislators representing rural school districts than among legislators representing urban/suburban areas without any rural school districts.
Why does it matter
North Dakota is a Republican trifecta, meaning that the majority party in both chambers of the state legislature and the governor are all Republican. Republicans in North Dakota also have a veto-proof majority. This is when one party has a majority in a state legislature that is large enough (two-thirds majority or more in both chambers for North Dakota) to override a gubernatorial veto without any votes from members of the minority party.
In 2025 so far, five Republican-controlled states have passed universal private school choice legislation.
HB1540 contained provisions for the creation and administration of education savings accounts (ESAs) for K-12 students who aren’t enrolled in public school or part of a homeschool program. ESA programs provide public funding for eligible students’ families to use on approved educational alternatives to assigned public schools. HB 1540 would have allowed families to use the funds to pay for private school tuition.
Governor Kelly stated in his veto message: “Our administration strongly supports expanding school choice to better meet students’ individual education needs and foster competition within the K-12 system to drive innovation and improve student outcomes. […] In its final form, HB1540 fails to deliver the school choice that North Dakota needs, especially in rural areas where nonpublic school options are few and far between. Of North Dakota’s 168 school districts, only 19 have nonpublic schools, with the vast majority of those schools located in larger communities. A meaningful and effective school choice policy should empower all North Dakota families.” Gov. Kelly said another school choice bill, Senate Bill 2400, was a better alternative.
SB 2400 would have allowed for ESA money to be used on homeschool costs and education costs for public school students, as well as to pay for private school tuition. On April 24, this bill failed to pass the House with 14 votes in favor and 78 votes against. The North Dakota legislature adjourned on May 3.
What’s the background
Seventeen (17) states had universal private school choice programs as of May 2025. Universal school choice programs provide public funds for alternatives to public schools, such as private schools and homeschooling, and are designed for all students to qualify.
- 14 of the 17 states were Republican trifectas, and 10 Republican trifectas did not have universal school choice.
- All 15 Democratic trifectas did not have universal school choice.
- Three states with universal school choice policies are divided governments, and nine divided government states do not have universal school choice.
Analysis of rural vs. urban votes in the legislature
As part of its portal on the impact of private school choice on rural school districts and communities, Ballotpedia broke down the legislative votes on HB 1540 according to party and whether each legislator represented any rural school districts.
The rate of support for HB 1540 among state House Republicans representing rural school districts was 16 percentage points lower than the support among state House Republicans representing urban/suburban areas without any rural school districts.
- For rural state House Republicans, 55% voted in support and 45% voted in opposition, based on Ballotepdia’s analysis.
- For urban/suburban state House Republicans, 71% voted in support and 29% voted in opposition.
- All state House Democrats voted in opposition.
The rate of support for HB 1540 among state Senate Republicans representing rural school districts was 20 percentage points lower than the support among state Senate Republicans representing urban/suburban areas without any rural school districts.
- For rural state Senate Republicans, 55% voted in support and 45% voted in opposition, based on Ballotepdia’s analysis.
- For urban/suburban state Senate Republicans, 75% voted in support and 25% voted in opposition.
- All state Senate Democrats voted in opposition.
Legislators representing districts that contained at least one rural school district, based on the Census’ definition and designation of rural, were counted as rural representatives. Legislators representing districts that did not contain any rural school districts were counted as urban/suburban.
Visit our page detailing the analysis of votes on HB 1540 in North Dakota to see how all legislators voted and whether they represent a rural area or an urban/suburban one. Visit our portal on the impact of private school choice on rural school districts and communities for analysis of votes in other states, key arguments and policy proposals, the history and current school choice status of each state, case studies, and polling information.
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