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Voters are making decisions Tuesday that will set the course of education policy for the next four years and perhaps for far longer.
Former President Donald Trump, the Republican candidate for president, has pledged to get rid of the U.S. Department of Education, cut funding for “woke” schools, roll back new protections for LGBTQ students, and expand school choice. Trump also has pledged to carry out a massive deportation operation that could have significant impacts on schools serving large immigrant communities.
Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate, has cast herself as the defender of public education. One of her first stops after she announced her candidacy was at the convention of the American Federation of Teachers. She selected a former teacher, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, as her running mate.
But it’s less clear what education policy would look like under her administration. She has not reprised the signature education policy of her 2019 campaign, which was a major pay raise for teachers. Instead, she has focused on policies such as affordable child care and an expanded child tax credit that could help alleviate child poverty and take some of the burden off K-12 schools. She also promised to expand apprenticeships and make college more affordable.
Polls have been exceedingly close in this election, and it could be days before we know the results. Political observers said either president’s education agenda — including who ends up serving as education secretary — would be shaped by who controls Congress. Late polls give Republicans a decent shot at controlling both the U.S. House and Senate. That could open more room for Trump to pursue his agenda or constrain a future Harris administration.
State and local elections likely will have a more immediate impact on K-12 education. Voters are choosing school board members in hundreds of districts, including in Chicago as part of a transition away from mayoral control. They’re also choosing state superintendents of education and weighing in on ballot measures that will shape school choice policies and the meaning of a high school diploma.
Here are some of the education races we’re watching around the country.
Eyes on Republicans running for state superintendent
North Carolina’s race for superintendent of public instruction has attracted national attention following the many controversial statements made by Michele Morrow, the Republican candidate.
Morrow narrowly beat the incumbent schools superintendent in the Republican primary earlier this year. She participated in the march on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and has accused some teachers of being “groomers.” She homeschooled her children for part of their education, and has referred to public schools as “indoctrination centers” on the campaign trail. Morrow also called for the execution of former President Barack Obama — she later called it a joke — and other prominent Democrats.
Her opponent, Democrat Mo Green, is the former superintendent of Guilford County Schools, one of the largest districts in North Carolina, who also held leadership roles in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. He’s called the race a fight for the “soul of public education,” and has said Morrow’s extremist rhetoric shouldn’t be normalized.
The two have been neck and neck in recent polls.
In North Dakota, incumbent state superintendent Kirsten Baesler is running against Jason Heitkamp, a former state senator. The race is nonpartisan, but both are Republicans.
Baesler, who’s been in office since 2013, did not win the support of the state’s Republican party in the primary. The party instead backed a home schooling proponent who wanted to put the Ten Commandments in public schools, but that candidate ultimately didn’t get enough votes to advance.
Baesler has said the state’s Republican delegation is out of touch on education and overly focused on ideological issues that don’t have much effect on classroom instruction. Heitkamp has said he wants the state to pick up more of the tab for public education and that local communities shouldn’t have to contribute through property taxes.
In Montana, Republican Susie Hedalen and Democrat Shannon O’Brien are running to succeed Superintendent Elsie Arntzen, who’s hit her eight-year term limit. Hedalen is the vice chair of the state’s board of education and heads Montana’s Townsend School District. She formerly served as a deputy under Arntzen, who faced criticism for how her office oversaw spending and implemented education laws. O’Brien is a state senator who advised former Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock on education policy.
Florida considers partisan school board elections
In Florida, voters will decide whether to require school board elections to become partisan. This means that candidates would have to run in primaries within their respective parties. Only voters registered for each party could vote in the primaries. All candidates would also have their political party listed by their name on the general election ballot.
According to Ballotpedia, more than 90% of school boards are elected without any party labels attached to candidates. These are known as nonpartisan elections. In 2021, Tennessee passed a law that allowed school districts to choose whether to hold partisan elections, with party labels appearing next to candidate names. Rhode Island, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia have similar systems in place, with partisan elections happening in some of their districts. Alabama, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, and Connecticut have mandated partisan elections.
If Florida voters opt for partisan school board elections, they’ll be returning to the system the state had before a major electoral reform in 2000. To pass, this amendment to the state’s constitution must get at least 60% of the vote.
More states and school districts have recently discussed moving to a partisan election system. Supporters argue that the new system will provide more transparency regarding candidates’ political positions, while opponents claim this could bring more polarization and political conflict.
Election presents an important test for school choice
School choice is on the ballot in Colorado, Nebraska, and Kentucky. The topic, which has gained momentum in legislatures across the country, will now be subject to the public vote. The results could either strengthen or weaken the school choice movement nationally.
Voters in Colorado will decide whether to enshrine the right to school choice in the state constitution. The ballot measure doesn’t create or fund a voucher program. Still, opponents fear it could open the door to vouchers in this Democratic-dominated state. Colorado has a robust charter sector, but Democratic legislators have blocked efforts to introduce private school choice or give public money to home schooling families.
In Kentucky, voters will decide if the state’s constitution should be amended to allow public funding for students in private institutions. The amendment proposal was included on the ballot by Republican lawmakers in the state. The measure’s lead opponent is Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear.
In Nebraska, voters will choose whether to uphold or repeal an existing law that directs $10 million of public money toward private school vouchers. The law establishes a partnership between the state and the nonprofit Opportunity Scholarships of Nebraska, directing public money to fund scholarships provided by the organization to low-income students.
The state legislature approved the law in April, with strong support from conservative politicians. Teachers unions oppose the scholarship program and pushed for a repeal to appear on the ballot. Their main argument is that the program can take away funding from public institutions.
Graduation requirements on the ballot in Massachusetts
Should students have to pass a state test to graduate from high school? That’s a question Massachusetts is putting to voters on Tuesday, in yet another sign of the shifting attitudes around high school exit exams.
Right now, Massachusetts students have to pass a 10th grade math, science, and English test to get their diploma. If voters decide to remove that requirement, students would instead have to show they’ve mastered state standards in those subjects by completing certain coursework. School districts would make that call, likely with the state board of education weighing in on what it takes to demonstrate mastery.
The state’s largest teachers union is leading a campaign to repeal the exit exam requirement, arguing it disadvantages students with disabilities, students learning English, and students from low-income families. Graduation exams generally don’t increase academic achievement, research has found, and they can increase high school dropout rates.
Massachusetts’ governor and secretary of education both oppose getting rid of the test as a graduation requirement, saying the exams help set a uniform and high standard.
Keri Rodrigues, president of the National Parents Union, who lives in Massachusetts, said getting rid of the test would be a “disaster” and lead to some districts setting a low bar with the excuse that children who grow up in poverty just can’t do well in school.
“We don’t like the story that the data tells us,” she said, “that we’re not doing an adequate job preparing our children for adulthood.”
Voters appear closely divided on the issue, recent polls show.
As of last school year, Massachusetts was one of only eight states that still required high schoolers to pass an exit exam to graduate. Several states have ditched the requirement in recent years, and others are moving in that direction. New York officials, for example, have proposed getting rid of the requirement that students pass the state’s Regents exams to graduate as part of a broader diploma overhaul.
Chicago elects first school board members
Voters in Chicago will choose the first elected members of their school board, beginning a transition away from mayoral control in the nation’s fourth-largest school district. The election comes at a time of political turmoil, as Mayor Brandon Johnson, a former teachers union organizer, has tried to assert his authority and stave off cuts to schools with a controversial plan to use loans to cover pension obligations.
The appointed members of the board recently resigned en masse, and some of their replacements may be replaced again once the election results are clear. That means that an entirely new board with no experienced members will be charged with tackling major challenges, including a looming budget deficit, negotiations for a new teachers contract, the future of school choice, and the district’s relationship with the city.
Both the Chicago Teachers Union and pro-school choice groups have spent heavily in the race in an effort to influence the outcome.
Charter supporters hope to make gains in Los Angeles
Supporters of charter schools are hoping to pick up at least one seat on the Los Angeles Unified School District board as that body faces a major leadership transition. Long-serving members of the board, President Jackie Goldberg and George McKenna, are retiring. Members backed by the teachers union took control in 2022. Since then, charter schools have faced less favorable policies while grappling with problems like declining enrollment.
Los Angeles is the nation’s second-largest school district and the largest governed by an elected school board. Technically there are four open seats on the seven-member board, but one of the races was decided in March when incumbent Tanya Ortiz Franklin, a supporter of charter schools, won her primary with more than 50% of the vote.
The most watched race is in District 3, where Dan Chang, a teacher and charter supporter, is seeking to unseat incumbent Scott Schmerelson, who has the backing of the teachers union. Schmerelson is favored to win the race. Chang has said that if he’s successful, he would repeal a controversial policy that limits charter schools’ ability to use district buildings. Sharing space has been critical to charter school growth not only in Los Angeles but in other cities as well.
Elsewhere in California, candidates backed by conservative parents’ rights groups and teachers unions are battling for control of school boards in elections that focus more on control over curriculum and the erosion of policies to protect racial equity and LGBTQ rights.
Erica Meltzer is Chalkbeat’s national editor based in Colorado. Contact Erica at emeltzer@chalkbeat.org.
Kalyn Belsha is a senior national education reporter based in Chicago. Contact her at kbelsha@chalkbeat.org.
Wellington Soares is Chalkbeat’s national education reporting intern based in New York City. Contact Wellington at wsoares@chalkbeat.org.
