Hall Pass: Your Ticket to Understanding School Board Politics, Edition #156

By

Ballotpedia staff

Welcome to Hall Pass, a newsletter written to keep you plugged into the conversations driving  school board governance, the politics surrounding it, and education policy. 

In today’s edition, you’ll find:

  • On the issues: The debate over Utah’s school choice program  
  • School board filing deadlines, election results, and recall certifications
  • U.S. Senate votes to repeal Biden-era rule allowing schools to use E-Rate funds for Wi-Fi hotspots 
  • North Dakota Legislature sustained governor’s veto of universal school choice bill: analysis of rural vs urban/suburban votes
  • Extracurricular: education news and numbers from around the web
  • Candidate Connection survey

Reply to this email to share reactions or story ideas!

On the issues: The debate over Utah’s school choice program

In this section, we curate reporting, analysis, and commentary on the issues school board members deliberate when they set out to offer the best education possible in their district. Missed an issue? Click here to see the previous education debates we’ve covered.

Utah Third District Judge Laura Scott ruled April 18 that the state’s Utah Fits All Scholarship Program was unconstitutional because its funding source—income and property tax dollars—is designated for nonsectarian public education. Scott said on April 23 the program could continue operating while the state appeals her ruling. 

The program offers up to $8,000 per student annually through Education Savings Accounts (ESAs), which families can use for educational expenses like private school tuition, homeschooling, and tutoring. All Utah K-12 students are eligible, but low-income families receive priority. The program started in 2023.

What are the arguments?

Frances Floresca writes the judge’s decision overlooks important information. Floresca says the program increases per-student funding in public schools and benefits both students in public schools and those seeking alternatives. She says the program gives money to families, not to private schools, so the program complies with constitutional requirements. 

Renée Pinkney writes the program violates the state’s constitution by redirecting public money to private schools that aren’t free, open to all students, or under Utah State Board of Education oversight. Pinkney says the program unfairly takes funding away from public schools and hurts poorer students.

Read on

Utah judge’s ruling on school choice program overlooks key facts | Frances Floresca, Deseret News

“[T]he program is open to all Utah families, and any family can apply. It also doesn’t defund public education, nor does it promote sectarian control … the Utah Fits All Scholarship Program operates as an education savings account (ESA), giving a portion of existing per-pupil funding to families instead of directly to private or religious schools. … That means more money for fewer students who choose to remain in public schools. It’s a win-win for every child, no matter which path their family chooses. …While opponents often label all school choice programs as vouchers, that’s not the case here — the Utah Fits All Scholarship Program doesn’t send funds directly to private schools, but it gives families the flexibility to choose and customize their child’s education, making it constitutionally sound.”

UEA Sues State of Utah for Unconstitutional Voucher Program | Renée Pinkney, Utah Education Association

“The lawsuit is based on the grounds that the Utah Fits All voucher program does not fit all and, in fact, hurts public school students and educators. It violates Utah’s constitution, which clearly states that education should be free and open to all, and specifically delegates general control and supervision by the Utah State Board of Education, which protects the use of public funds for public education. Instead, the voucher program diverts $82.5 million of taxpayer money to private schools, which are not free, not open to all, and not overseen by the Utah State Board of Education. … It siphons critical resources from already underfunded public schools to pay for private school vouchers at a rate double what public school students receive.”

School board update: filing deadlines, election results, and recall certifications

In 2025, Ballotpedia will cover elections for more than 30,000 school board seats. We’re expanding our coverage each year with our eye on covering the country’s more than 80,000 school board seats.    

Election results from the past week

Arkansas held school board elections on May 13. Ballotpedia covered all school board elections in Arkansas. Click here to learn more about Ballotpedia’s 2025 school board election coverage.

Here’s a deep dive into one of the 205 races that Arkansas voters decided yesterday (local election authorities cancel uncontested races).

Seven candidates ran in the nonpartisan general elections for Conway School Board. Three of the board’s seven seats were up for election. According to unofficial results, Leo Cummings III defeated Tami Marsh and Tyler Moses for the at-large seat with 60% of the vote.

In Zone 1 Barrett Petty defeated Jason Sandefer with 56% of the vote.

In Zone 5, Leona Walton defeated incumbent Tom Kennedy with 63% of the vote.

The Conway School District board consists of seven members serving five-year terms. The district is the eighth largest in Arkansas, with 10,251 students. It is located northwest of Little Rock.

Background

While school board elections are nonpartisan in Arkansas, according to the Arkansas Advocate the Conway School Board has received media attention in recent years “after the district became a battleground for ‘culture war’ issues, like transgender bathroom policies, book bans and parental rights.”

In October 2022, the school board unanimously approved a policy requiring every “multiple occupancy restroom or changing area” to be designated as for “the exclusive use of the male sex” or “the exclusive use of the female sex” as “identified on the individual’s original birth certificate.” The board also removed two LGBTQ-related books from school libraries.

In the May 2023 elections, candidates Sheila Franklin and Trey Geier defeated incumbents Jennifer Cunningham and William Millburn, who had received endorsements from Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) in the year’s at-large and Zone 5 elections. In March 2024, Millburn defeated Geier in a rematch election in Zone 5.

This is the second Conway school board election since Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) signed the Arkansas LEARNS Act into law in 2023. The law made various changes to education, including creating the Arkansas Children’s Educational Freedom Account Program, raising the minimum salary for teachers from $36,000 to $50,000, and prohibiting certain content for certain grade levels, among other things.

Upcoming school board elections

  • May 20—New York, Pennsylvania, Oregon
  • June 10—California (special election)
  • June 15—Texas (runoff elections)
  • Aug. 5—Kansas

Click here to learn more about this year’s school board elections. 

U.S. Senate votes to repeal Biden-era rule allowing schools to use E-Rate funds for Wi-Fi hotspots 

On May 8, the U.S. Senate voted 50-38 along party lines—with 12 absences—to repeal a 2024 Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rule allowing schools to purchase and loan out Wi-Fi hotspots through the E-Rate program. The E-Rate program, established in 1996, provides funding for districts and libraries to purchase free or discounted broadband internet and Wi-Fi equipment. 

Idaho Rep. Russ Fulcher (R) introduced a companion resolution in the U.S. House. If the House approves the resolution, it would go to President Donald Trump (R) for his signature. 

What’s the story

The FCC approved the Wi-Fi hotspot rule on July 18, 2024, in a 3-2 vote. Then-FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said, “We can go back to those days when people sat in parking lots to get a signal to get online, and students struggling with the homework gap hung around fast food places just to get the internet access they needed to do their schoolwork. Or we can go forward and build a digital future that works for everyone.” 

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R) introduced the resolution to repeal the FCC’s hotspot rule on Jan. 27, saying, “The government shouldn’t be complicit in harming students or impeding parents’ ability to decide what their kids see by subsidizing unsupervised access to inappropriate content.” A Senate Commerce Committee press release alleged the FCC’s wifi rule went beyond the statutory scope of the E-Rate program and failed to set any limit on the amount of dollars that could be spent on Wi-Fi hotspots.

Both the Senate and House resolutions rely on the 1996 Congressional Review Act (CRA) to repeal the W-Fi rule. The CRA allows Congress to review and reject new federal regulations created by government agencies. Under the CRA, Congress has 60 working days after an agency submits a rule to Congress to introduce a joint resolution of disapproval. 

As of May 13, Trump had signed nine resolutions repealing federal rules under the CRA. Click here to watch Ballotpedia’s recent YouTube video explaining the CRA. 

Current FCC Chair Brendan Carr, who Trump appointed in January, was one of the two members of the board to vote against expanding the E-Rate program to cover Wi-Fi hotspots. Carr wrote that Congress did not authorize the FCC to subsidize technologies outside of the classroom. 

Why does it matter

Since the start of 2025, K-12 districts and schools have applied for roughly $27 million for Wi-Fi hotspots. In a letter to Sen. Majority Leader John Thune (R), six organizations that oppose the resolution repealing the rule, including the School Superintendents Association (ASSA), wrote that nearly 20,000 schools and libraries had applied for hotspots. 

The E-Rate program was set to begin subsidizing hotspots in July. 

Republicans have said repealing the Wi-Fi rule is necessary because, among other reasons, they believe Congress never granted the FCC the authority to enact it in the first place. Thune said the rule “violates the Communications Act, which clearly limits the use of the funds in question to classrooms and libraries.” Democrats have said that repealing the rule would disproportionately affect low-income and rural students, who lack reliable internet access at home. Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey (D) said, “It is unfair. And it is cruel. This repeal doesn’t make our schools stronger. It doesn’t make our libraries better. It doesn’t improve student outcomes. It doesn’t save the government money. All it does is strip away a lifeline.” 

In a letter to the U.S. Senate urging lawmakers to oppose Cruz’s resolution, a group of education organizations wrote that “E-Rate has supported internet access in administrative offices, parking lots, and library bookmobiles for several years, even though they are not ‘classrooms.’” 

What’s the background

North Dakota Legislature sustained governor’s veto of universal school choice bill: analysis of rural vs urban/suburban votes

A version of this story ran in the May 14 edition of Ballotpedia’s daily politics newsletter, the Daily Brew. Click here to subscribe.

What’s the story

The North Dakota House failed to override Gov. Kelly Armstrong‘s (R) veto of HB 1540, a universal private school choice bill, on April 25. The House voted 45-48, with the 45 votes supporting the veto override coming from Republican members. The 48 votes opposing consisted of 37 Republicans and 11 Democrats.

Armstrong vetoed HB 1540 on April 23, saying the education savings account (ESA) program it would have established would not have benefitted enough students. The bill, which would have provided private school students with taxpayer funded accounts for tuition, excluded homeschooling and public school students from the program.  

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

So far in 2025, five Republican-controlled states have passed universal private school choice legislation. North Dakota, with its Republican trifecta, would have been the latest to do so had HB 1540 been enacted into law. 

North Dakota and Nebraska are the only states with Republican trifectas that do not have any private school choice programs. There are no private school choice programs in 12 states with Democratic trifectas.  

Analysis of rural vs. urban votes in the legislature

Republican House members representing rural school districts were less likely to support HB 1540. 

  • Fifty-five percent of Republicans representing rural districts voted in support and 45% voted in opposition.
  • Seventy-one percent of Republicans representing urban/suburban districts voted in support and 29% voted in opposition.
  • All state House Democrats voted in opposition.

Republican Senators representing rural school districts were also less likely to support HB 1540.

  • Fifty-five percent of Republicans representing rural districts voted in support and 45% voted in opposition.
  • Seventy-five percent of Republicans representing urban/suburban districts 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.

Click here to read more analysis of legislative support for and opposition to HB 1540. Click here to visit Ballotpedia’s project on the effect school choice has on rural districts.

Extracurricular: education news from around the web

This section contains links to recent education-related articles from around the internet. If you know of a story we should be reading, reply to this email to share it with us! 

Take our Candidate Connection survey to reach voters in your district

Today, we’re looking at survey responses from incumbent Pam Shields and Rudie Watzig, the two candidates running in the May 20 general election for an at-large seat on the Centennial School District school board in Oregon. Four seats on the seven-member board are up for election this year. 

Centennial School District is the 24th-largest in the state, with roughly 6,000 students. The district is located east of Portland. 

Here’s how Shields answered the question, “What is the primary job of a school board member in your view?” 

“For me, it is showing up. Over the years we have had board members running for a board position to further a political aspiration or to champion a cause. The reality is there are seven elected who must attend to the business of the district, together. Working together in the best interest of our students is our primary job. Not to promote themselves, their singular view point, or to grandstand. Our job is to stand firm in doing the best by our students, by our community.

Click here to read the rest of Shields’ responses. 

Here’s how Watzig answered the question, “What is the primary job of a school board member in your view?” 

“The primary job of a school board member is to be a champion for students. Our role is to help ensure every student has access to the best academic outcomes possible by supporting strong teaching, innovative programs, and opportunities that prepare them for the future. School board members must also help build a strong, connected community by listening to parents, staff, and residents, and making decisions that reflect those voices. This is about more than governance — it’s about creating positive outcomes through student-centered leadership that puts kids first in every decision we make.”

Click here to read the rest of Watzig’s responses. 

If you’re a school board candidate or incumbent, click here to take the survey.

The survey contains more than 30 questions, and you can choose the ones you feel will best represent your views to voters. If you complete the survey, a box with your answers will appear in your Ballotpedia profile. Your responses will also appear in our sample ballot.

And if you’re not running for school board, but there is an election in your community this year, share the link with the candidates and urge them to take the survey