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California Education Savings Accounts Initiative (2024)
| California Education Savings Accounts Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 5, 2024 | |
| Topic Education | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Amendment & Statute | Origin Citizens |
The California Education Savings Accounts Initiative (#23-0026) was not on the ballot in California as an combined initiated constitutional amendment and state statute on November 5, 2024.
The initiative would have established education savings accounts upon request of a parent or guardian for an eligible student with each account receiving $17,000 to be used to enroll the student in a private religious or non-religious school of their choice, including home-based education.[1][2]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title was as follows:[3]
| “ | Requires state funding of religious and nonreligious private schools. Initiative constitutional amendment and statute.[4] | ” |
Petition summary
The summary provided for inclusion on signature petition sheets was as follows:[3]
| “ | Requires state to provide yearly voucher payments ($17,000 initially, adjusted annually) into Education Savings Accounts for California residents in grades TK-12 attending religious and nonreligious private schools anywhere in the United States. Payments will come from General Fund and property tax revenues currently allocated to public schools (including charter schools). Eliminates constitutional prohibition on state funding of religious and nonreligious private schools. Prohibits state from requiring certain curriculum, disciplinary, or teacher credentialing policies as condition of funding. Creates privately appointed board to distribute payments of public funds.[4] | ” |
Fiscal impact
The fiscal impact statement was as follows:[3]
| “ | Increased state costs, likely ranging from $6.3 billion to $10 billion per year, to provide funding for students currently enrolled in private schools. The state could pay for these costs with revenues currently reserved for public schools (or other programs in the state budget). To the extent public school students shift to private schools, the state would have additional costs—likely at least several billion dollars annually—that would be offset by lower spending on public schools. Over time, state costs for public school facilities probably would decrease by a couple hundred million dollars per year. Public schools would experience reductions in state funding and some federal and local funding—as well as reductions in various costs—based on decreases in their enrollment. All of these effects assume the state can legally implement the program to its full extent.[4] | ” |
Full text
The full text of the initiative can be read here.
Path to the ballot
The state process
In California, the number of signatures required for an initiated constitutional amendment is equal to 8 percent of the votes cast in the preceding gubernatorial election. Petitions are allowed to circulate for 180 days from the date the attorney general prepares the petition language. Signatures need to be certified at least 131 days before the general election. As the verification process can take multiple months, the secretary of state provides suggested deadlines for ballot initiatives.
The requirements to get initiated constitutional amendments certified for the 2024 ballot:
- Signatures: 874,641 valid signatures were required.
- Deadline: The deadline for signature verification was 131 days before the general election, which was around June 27, 2024. However, the process of verifying signatures can take multiple months and proponents are recommended to file signatures at least two months before the verification deadline.
Signatures are first filed with local election officials, who determine the total number of signatures submitted. If the total number is equal to at least 100 percent of the required signatures, then local election officials perform a random check of signatures submitted in their counties. If the random sample estimates that more than 110 percent of the required number of signatures are valid, the initiative is eligible for the ballot. If the random sample estimates that between 95 and 110 percent of the required number of signatures are valid, a full check of signatures is done to determine the total number of valid signatures. If less than 95 percent are estimated to be valid, the initiative does not make the ballot.
Details about this initiative
- The initiative was filed on September 13, 2023, by Kevin McNamee.[2]
- The campaign submitted signatures to counties for verification.[2]
- The campaign did not submit a sufficient number of signatures by the signature deadline.[2]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ California Attorney General's Office, "Full text," accessed September 8, 2023
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 California Secretary of State's Office, "List of petitions," accessed May 12, 2023
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 California Secretary of State, "Initiatives and Referenda Cleared for Circulation," accessed October 20, 2021
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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