In addition to voting for candidates for local, state and federal offices in the elections this November, most voters will have the opportunity to vote on state ballot measures. State ballot measures are important components of the policymaking process in which citizens are provided opportunities to voice their input on various topics, including education. Gathered using the Statewide Ballot Measures Database by the National Conference of State Legislatures and Education Week, the following list includes some of the education-related state ballot measures that will be determined by voters in November. Be sure to review all the ballot measures in your state and prepare to vote on these important issues!   

• Alabama: Amendment 2 is a legislative referendum that would establish procedures for consolidating county boards of education, including State Board of Education review and potential voter approval.  

• Arizona: Proposition 320 is a legislative referendum that would require school districts operating a school in a county with a population of at least 7,500 people or with an overall student population of at least 7,500 students to spend at least 60% of the district budget on direct instructional expenses.  

• California: Proposition 3 is an initiative that would permanently extend higher state income tax rates for top earners that are currently set to expire in 2031. Eighty-nine percent of the revenue the tax generates goes to K-12 public schools and the remainder to community colleges. 

• Colorado: Proposition NN is a legislative referendum that would increase state investment in K-12 public education by up to two percent each year for the next 10 years by raising the annual limit on state fiscal year spending, with one of the proposed investments being to increase access to CTE courses.  

• Minnesota: A proposed constitutional amendment would change the purpose of the state’s Permanent School Fund, a long-running state trust consisting of funds generated from the proceeds of lands granted for schools’ use in each township, so that the Fund becomes a permanent source of funding distributed to school districts.  

• New Mexico: A bond measure would authorize a $20 million bond issue to fund capital expenditures and acquisitions by libraries, including those located at public schools; and a $230 million bond issue to fund capital improvements at higher education facilities as well as at special and tribal schools. 

• Rhode Island: A bond measure would authorize the state to issue $275 million in bonds for improvements to various higher education facilities, including the construction of a workforce innovation center at the Community College of Rhode Island.