States that could advance school choice policy in 2025

By

Lara Bonatesta

Welcome to the Wednesday, December 18, Brew. 

By: Lara Bonatesta

Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

  1. States that could advance school choice policy in 2025
  2. This week’s special episode of On The Ballot will be a deep dive on citizen initiatives
  3. Kicking off “12 Days of Ballotpedia” and the finals of the most important election of the year, Ballotpedia’s Holiday Cookie Election

States that could advance school choice policy in 2025

A version of this story appeared last week in Ballotpedia’s education newsletter, Hall Pass. Sign up to stay informed on the latest education policy and school board politics news.

Thirty-eight states will kick off their 2025 legislative sessions in the first three weeks of January. The number of students in private school choice programs has grown in recent years as mostly Republican-led states have created or expanded programs that accept all or nearly all students. 

However, school choice proponents have failed in recent years to get legislation enacted in GOP-controlled states like Idaho, Tennessee, and Texas. In those states, rural Republican lawmakers have argued private school choice policies won’t benefit their districts, which tend to lack private schools. 

Lawmakers in those three states—all of which have Republican trifectas—have signaled that they intend to implement or expand private school choice programs. Those programs provide students with taxpayer funding for private educational expenses, including education savings accounts (ESA), vouchers, and tax credits.  As of Dec. 6, 18 states have passed ESA programs, 20 have implemented voucher programs, and 25 have passed tax-credit programs. 

School choice shaped this year’s Republican primaries in Texas and Tennessee

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R), who were both unsuccessful in carrying out campaign promises to enact school choice, endorsed pro-school choice state House candidates in this year’s primaries. In late 2023, 21 Republican members of the Texas House and all 63 Democrats voted against including a universal ESA program in a larger education funding bill. In Tennessee, the Republican-controlled House and Senate couldn’t agree on the details of a school choice bill before the 2024 session ended in April. 

  • Abbott endorsed 14 candidates in the March 5 House primaries. Ten of them won their primaries and were elected in November. Four lost in primaries or primary runoffs. Abbott said, “The Texas Legislature now has enough votes to pass school choice. This is a victory for every Texas family across our great state. While we did not win every race we fought in, the overall message from this year’s primaries is clear: Texans want school choice. Opponents of school choice can no longer ignore the will of the people.”
  • Texas state Rep. James Talarico (D) said, “The people of Texas need to push back, because if they allow for a universal voucher, we’re going to have millionaires and billionaires raiding our public education budget.”
  • In Tennessee, Lee endorsed three pro-school choice incumbents in the Aug. 1 primaries and three candidates running for open seats. Four of Lee’s candidates won, and all four won their general elections.

Lawmakers in Tennessee have filed school choice bills for the upcoming session, which begins Jan. 14. House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R) and Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R) filed bills on Nov. 6. Their bills are similar to the one that failed earlier this year, and would provide roughly 20,000 students with $7,000 to spend on private school tuition.

  • Lamberth said, “Public schools are the foundation of our educational system, and they’ll continue to be the option of choice for most families. This bill empowers parents — not the government — to make decisions about the unique needs and diverse interests of their children. Our students deserve no less.”
  • Rep. John Ray Clemmons (D) said, “We are strongly opposed to the defunding of our public schools, the redirection of tax dollars that are intended to support and fund our public education system.”
  • Republicans have a 27-6 majority in the Senate and a 75-24 majority in the House.

In Idaho, House Speaker Mike Moyle (R) said, “I still think that the school choice issue is not going away. I assure you that something will happen next year.”

  • In March, the House Revenue and Taxation Committee voted 9-8 to reject HB 447, which would have created a $50 million refundable tax credit for private school tuition. Seven Republicans joined with two Democrats to defeat the bill. 
  • Idaho Federation for Children, a pro-school choice group with ties to the national group American Federation for Children (AFC), spent $301,826 in the May 21 primaries. The group opposed Reps. Melissa Durrant (R) and Kenny Wroten (R) who voted against advancing HB 447 out of committee. Both Durrant and Wroten lost their primaries to candidates who supported school choice.   
  • In November, Idaho School Boards Association members voted 7,281-674 on a resolution opposing the diversion of public funds to private schools. 

Idaho, North Dakota, and Texas are the only states with Republican trifectas that have not enacted private school choice programs. Tennessee passed a school choice pilot program in 2019 that applies only to eligible students in three counties. 

Thirty-three states have passed one or more types of private school choice programs, though most are limited to students with disabilities or from low-income families. 

  • Since 2021, 11 states have passed legislation making all or nearly all students eligible to participate in private school choice programs.  
  • According to EdChoice, an organization that advocates for private school choice policies, more than one million students participated in programs that provided taxpayer funding for private educational expenses in 2024—about 2% of public school enrollment. 

Critics of private school choice programs say they primarily benefit children from wealthier families while diverting resources from cash-strapped public school districts.

  • In November, voters in Colorado, Nebraska, and Kentucky rejected private school choice measures. Nebraska voters repealed legislation that created the state’s Opportunity Scholarships program 57-43%. Coloradans voted 52-48% against adding the phrase “each K-12 child has the right to school choice” to the state constitution. Kentuckians voted 65-35% on a proposed constitutional amendment that would have allowed the Kentucky General Assembly to provide state funding to students outside of public schools.
  • Ballotpedia has counted 18 statewide ballot initiatives related to charter schools or vouchers since 1956. Of these, voters rejected 15 and approved three. Voters in 12 states decided on education-related ballot measures in 2024, the most in 18 years. 
  • Click here to read our coverage of 2024 education-related ballot measures.

Do you want to learn more about the issues and trends facing K-12 education? Ballotpedia’s Hall Pass keeps you plugged into the conversations driving school board politics and education policy. 

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This week’s special episode of On The Ballot will be a deep dive on citizen initiatives

If you live in one of the 26 states where citizens can put laws directly on the ballot, you’ve probably seen many citizen initiatives pop up during elections. These measures let voters directly decide on everything from property taxes and abortion rights to marijuana legalization and ranked-choice voting. But have you ever wondered where this process came from? Or how it became such a powerful — and sometimes controversial — tool in American politics?

Ballotpedia has provided dedicated coverage of ballot measures since our start in 2007. This week’s special episode of On the Ballot is titled “Citizen Initiatives: The history of giving power to the people.” In it, host Geoff Pallay and four experts will talk about the origins, evolutions, and controversies of citizen initiatives and take us on a journey from that very first measure to those we see today across the country. It’s our longest episode to date, jam-packed with fascinating stories, surprising statistics, and unique perspectives.

  • First, Pallay and the University of Southern California’s John Matsusaka will discuss the early history of ballot measures and highlight how the initiative process has evolved since the beginning of the 20th century.
  • Then, Ballotpedia’s Ryan Byrne will join to take a look at ballot measure usage over time and examine why some initiatives succeed and others fail. Byrne will also share some of Ballotpedia’s analysis from the last few years and explain the strategies campaigns use to qualify initiatives for the ballot today.
  • In the second half, Dane Waters, an advocate for direct democracy and a founder of The Initiative & Referendum Institute, will join the show. Waters has spent decades advocating for and analyzing citizen lawmaking and will provide an inside look at the initiative process. 
  • Finally, the University of Florida’s Dan Smith joins us to help connect the history of ballot measures to what’s happening in the ballot measure world right now. 

Subscribe to On the Ballot on YouTube or your preferred podcast app, or click the link below to listen.  

Listen here 

Kicking off “12 Days of Ballotpedia” and the finals of the most important election of the year, Ballotpedia’s Holiday Cookie Election

Happy holidays! Join us as we kick off our “12 Days of Ballotpedia” campaign, where each day highlights a vital part of our mission to provide voters with unbiased information.

Over the next two weeks, we’ll highlight Ballotpedia’s core tools and resources—reliable insights on politics and policy accessible to all. Whether you’re interested in understanding your local ballot measures, tracking legislative changes, or learning about your candidates, we’re here for you.

Donate today and help us take Ballotpedia’s mission even further in 2025. Your gift helps make sure everyone can confidently participate in our democracy. Your support means so much to us—thank you for making informed voting possible!

Now, continuing with the holiday spirit, let’s jump into our annual holiday cookie primary election results.

The 2024 Primary Holiday Cookie Election polls closed last week, and due to a tie for third place, four candidates will advance to the general election. 

Here are the finalists and the percentage of votes they won in the primary.

  • Chocolate chip cookie (incumbent) (35%)
  • Snickerdoodle (35%)
  • Gingerbread cookie (38%)
  • Sugar cookie (45.5%)

Last year, incumbent Chocolate Chip defeated Sugar Cookie and then-incumbent Gingerbread Cookie in the general election, 39.6% to 31.5% to 28.8%. In 2022 Gingerbread Cookie received 32% of the vote, beating Sugar Cookie (30%), Snickerdoodle (26%), and several write-in candidates.

Click here to see our candidate profiles for each cookie. General election polls are open now through Thursday, Dec. 19, at 5 pm ET.  Cast your vote today!

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