Hall Pass: Your Ticket to Understanding School Board Politics, Edition #108

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

In today’s edition, you’ll find:

• On the issues: The debate over AI in school
• Share candidate endorsements with us!
• School board filing deadlines, election results, and recall certifications
• Three states have adopted education savings account (ESA) programs in 2024
• 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 artificial intelligence (AI) in school

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.

How should schools respond to advances in artificial intelligence (AI)?

Noor Akbari writes that AI applications should be mostly prohibited in schools and only allowed in specific circumstances where children are taught to use generative AI models with limited capabilities. Akbari says children still need to learn subjects like math, reading, and writing and that AI could undermine that instruction. He also says if AI tools are allowed in schools, it will create inequality between wealthier schools that can afford to develop curricula and strategies that prevent cheating and those that cannot.

Evan Nierman writes that students will use AI to complete school work regardless of whether it’s permitted. Nierman says schools should update their curricula to better accommodate AI and focus on assignments that require critical thinking and hinder cheating. He says schools should teach and encourage the ethical use of AI tools as aids in completing more complicated tasks efficiently.

The AI Cheating Crisis: Education Needs Its Anti-Doping Movement | Noor Akbari, EducationWeek

“If the point of education is merely to get a diploma, then who cares if a student or AI does the work? The true point of an education, however, is to train a person’s mind and character. Claiming that students no longer need to learn skills like writing—because AI does it—is like arguing that no one should strength train because carts and forklifts move heavy stuff for us. This conflates means and ends. People lift weights for the inherent benefits to their mind and body. Likewise, we learn to write for the inherent benefits to our cognition and communication skills. … K-12 schools will [experience inequities], particularly between expensive private schools and crowded public schools. Schools with lower student-teacher ratios are better positioned to design assignments that limit students’ reliance on AI than schools with more limited staff and resources. … Forget watermarking AI-generated text and AI detectors—they’re easily duped. And forget academic ‘honor codes.’ … Exams, whether in person or online, must be proctored such that no one can cheat using AI. That said, to prepare students for the working world, schools should teach generative AI in classrooms using versions with limited capabilities.”

Why educators should embrace artificial intelligence | Evan Nierman, The Hill

“The message is clear: Schools should not seek to ban AI. Instead, educators should teach students how to adapt to this new reality, instructing them on how to use AI responsibly and helping them discern ethical and unethical uses. … In the past, much education was based on rote memorization. Today we know that isn’t necessary because we can search facts online and get answers in a fraction of the time without having to commit the information to our own fallible memories. … Schools must get on board with AI and start figuring out how to utilize this new technology to increase productivity and efficiency. Educators must figure out what students should be taught, because ignoring this innovation is folly. Set up guardrails now. Teach students how to use AI responsibly because they are going to be using it anyway. Failure to do so puts the most powerful new technology in decades into the hands of children without proper preparation or guidance. And isn’t that exactly what education is designed to prevent? There is nothing artificial about the intelligence that American schools must demonstrate by properly preparing the next generation for the world and workplace to come.”

Share candidate endorsements with us!

As part of our goal to solve the ballot information problem, Ballotpedia is gathering information about school board candidate endorsements. The ballot information gap widens the further down the ballot you go, and is worst for the more than 500,000 local offices nationwide, such as school boards or special districts. Endorsements can help voters know more about their candidates and what they stand for.

Do you know of an individual or group that has endorsed a candidate in your district?

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

We continue to expand our school board election coverage with our eye on the more 13,000 districts with elected school boards.

Upcoming school board elections

In the next month, Ballotpedia will cover school board elections in Texas (May 4), Maryland (May 14), Nebraska (May 14), and Georgia (May 21). We’re also covering school board recall elections in Michigan (May 7).

Texas

Ballotpedia is covering elections in 50 districts on May 4 (yes, a Saturday), including elections in the Dallas Independent School District, the state’s second-largest by student enrollment.

The map below shows the locations of the districts where Ballotpedia is covering school board elections. Click here to see the full list of districts.

In next week’s edition, we’ll look at noteworthy results and provide you with a roundup of local media reactions and analysis.

Michigan

On May 7, Ballotpedia will cover recall elections against Rachel Gort and Richard Vance—two of the seven members of the Grant Public School District Board of Education. Mindy Conley and Lindsay Mahlich are running against Gort and Vance.

This will be the fifth school board recall to go to a vote this year.

Click here to learn more about this recall election.

Three states have adopted education savings account (ESA) programs in 2024

In 2023, school choice policies made headlines as governors signed legislation enacting or expanding programs that provide students with taxpayer funding for private education expenses. In some states, those programs—including education savings accounts (ESA), vouchers, and education tax credits—covered all or nearly all students. Meanwhile, efforts to adopt school choice programs foundered in Texas, Idaho, and elsewhere.

In 2024, school choice policies continue to be a source of heated debate among state lawmakers. With some state legislative sessions having already ended, let’s take a broad look at the school choice landscape now that we’ve entered the fifth month of the year.

Three states have adopted new ESA programs

The following states have adopted new ESA programs this year, though none will take effect until at least 2025:

• Alabama: Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) signed the CHOOSE Act on March 7, creating an ESA program. The program is open to students with special needs and those from families making less than 300% of the federal poverty level in the 2025-2026 school year. In 2027, the program will expand to include all K-12 students. We covered the CHOOSE Act in greater detail in the March 13 edition of this newsletter.
• Georgia: Gov. Brian Kemp (R) signed SB 233 on March 21, creating the Georgia Promise Scholarship. The Georgia Promise Scholarship will provide students zoned for the lowest-performing 25% of districts with $6,500 for private school tuition, tutoring services, and other expenses. The program prioritizes students from families earning less than 400% of the federal poverty limit and is scheduled to go into effect in 2025.
• Wyoming: Gov. Mark Gordon (R) signed HB 166. The bill established an ESA program to provide $6,000 to students from families making less than 150% of the federal poverty limit. The bill originally allowed families making more than 150% of the federal poverty limit to apply for the program, but Gordon vetoed that provision.

All three states have Republican trifectas.

ESAs allow families to receive a deposit of public funds into government-authorized accounts for use on approved educational expenses. States set different rules for what counts as an approved educational expense. In general, families can use ESA money for private school tuition, tutoring, curriculum, and school supplies.

At the end of 2023, 12 states had enacted ESA programs. Seven of those programs—in Arkansas, Iowa, Utah, North Carolina, West Virginia, Florida, and Arizona—covered all or most students.

Every state except North Carolina that enacted or expanded ESA programs in 2023 had a Republican trifecta. While Republicans control both chambers of the state legislature in North Carolina, the governor is Democrat Roy Cooper.

Nebraska repealed a 2023 school choice law and enacted a new one

On April 24, Gov. Jim Pillen (R) signed LB 1402, allocating $10 million in state funds to scholarships students can use on private educational expenses. LB 1402 also repealed LB 753, a 2023 law that created the Opportunity Scholarships program. The law allowed individuals to donate to a scholarship fund and write off up to 50% of their state income tax liability. Those scholarships would then be available to students for use at private schools. With the enactment of LB 1402, the state will fund the scholarships directly.

Support Our Schools Nebraska, an organization that opposes LB 753, led a campaign to collect signatures for the Nebraska Education Scholarships Tax Credit Referendum, which would repeal LB 753. The referendum remains on the Nov. 5 ballot for now, even though LB 753 has been repealed. According to Nebraska Examiner’s Zach Wendling, “Secretary of State Bob Evnen has not yet announced the fate of that referendum and whether it would remain on the ballot or be removed.”

School choice bills in Missouri and Louisiana are currently under consideration

On April 19, The Missouri House of Representatives passed SB 727 in an 82-69 vote. The Senate passed the bill 19-10 on March 14. As of this writing, it was awaiting Gov. Mike Parson’s (R) signature.

Missouri has a Republican trifecta. Republicans hold a 24-10 majority in the Senate and a 111-51 majority in the House.

SB 727 expands the state’s Empowerment Scholarship Accounts program. Private individuals and organizations fund the scholarships and receive tax credits from the state. SB 727 expands the maximum amount of tax credits from $50 million to $75 million and raises the income threshold for families to qualify.

Additionally, SB 727 raises the minimum starting salary for teachers and amends the state’s attendance-based funding formula to account for enrollment.

In Louisiana on April 9, the House of Representatives passed HB 745, a bill that would create the Louisiana Giving All True Opportunity to Rise (LA GATOR) program. The House passed the bill 71-32. Six Republicans joined Democrats in voting against the bill, while five Democrats voted in favor with most Republicans.

Republicans hold a 73-32 majority in the House.

The LA GATOR program would provide education savings accounts of between $5,200 to $15,000 to students depending on disability status and family income. The accounts would initially be restricted to students with disabilities and those from low-income families, but would expand to include all students by 2027.

Where school choice bills have failed

Republican lawmakers in most states have introduced bills this year to create or expand school choice programs, but in most cases, especially in states with Democratic trifectas or divided government, those efforts have died in committee. Democratic lawmakers have generally opposed using taxpayer funding for private educational expenses. However, school choice has even divided Republicans in states like Texas and Idaho where they hold majorities in the state legislature.

Here’s what we know about some noteworthy school choice bills that didn’t become law.

• : Earlier this year, Gov. Bill Lee (R) used his State of the State address to say “2024 is the year to make school choice a reality for every Tennessee family.” Tennessee has a limited ESA program for eligible students in select counties and districts. Lee proposed expanding the program to 20,000 students, and eventually, to all students in the state. However, Republicans in the House and Senate could not overcome their disagreements related to testing requirements, public school funding, and more, and on April 22, Lee said the bill was dead for the year. Tennessee has a Republican trifecta. Republicans hold a 27-6 majority in the Senate and a 75-24 majority in the House. Democrats opposed Lee’s proposal to expand the school choice program.
• Idaho: In 2023, the Idaho Senate voted 23-12 to reject legislation to create a universal ESA program. Sixteen Republicans and seven Democrats opposed the bill. This year, the House Revenue and Taxation Committee voted 9-8 to reject a bill to create a $50 million tax credit program for private educational expenses. Seven Republicans and two Democrats voted against the bill. Idaho does not have a school choice program.

Texas: Although the Texas Legislature is not considering a school choice bill this year, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has been laying the groundwork for lawmakers to take up school vouchers in 2025. Abbott has made school choice a legislative priority in recent years, but a group of rural House Republican legislators has opposed the issue. Those Republicans have said private schools are few and far between in rural areas, and that rural public school districts are already underfunded. In 2023, a bill to create school vouchers failed in committee during the regular session. Later in the year, Abbott called two special sessions focused on school choice. However, 21 Republicans representing rural districts joined with Democrats to support an amendment that removed vouchers from a broader education package. This year, Abbott campaigned against those 21 members, supporting their primary opponents who’ve backed school choice. In the March 5 primaries, nine of 21 incumbents lost. Several other incumbents are running in the May 28 runoffs against Abbott-backed challengers.

You can learn more about school choice policies here.

Extracurricular: education news and numbers 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!

• Millions of American Kids Are Caregivers Now: ‘The Hardest Part Is That I’m Only 17’ | The Wall Street Journal
• Title IX final rule draws vociferous challenges and support | K-12 Dive
• What SFUSD saves — and loses — by closing schools | San Francisco Examiner
• The Best Jobs Require Data Science Skills. Schools Need to Do Better at Providing Them. | Governing
• Texas school districts violated a law intended to add transparency to local elections | The Texas Tribune
• Florida Republicans eye control of more county school boards in November election | WUFT
• New Nutrition Guidelines Put Less Sugar and Salt on the Menu for School Meals | The New York Times
• School board sues parent for $600,000 after dispute over son’s special needs education plan | KITV
• A student club is suing its school, saying its pro-Palestinian views were censored | Wisconsin Public Radio
• What happens when education reporters write about politics (and vice versa): a debate between Alexander Russo and Jennifer C. Berkshire | The Grade

Take our Candidate Connection survey to reach voters in your district

Today, we’re looking at survey responses from Hiruy Hadgu and Julie Kaplan, two of three candidates running for Howard County Public Schools Board of Education District 4. A primary is scheduled for May 14.

Incumbent Jen Mallo is also running in the election. Malo was first elected in 2020. Malo has not completed Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey.

Howard County Public Schools is the sixth-largest district in Maryland, with an estimated population of 58,868 students. Five seats are up for election this year.

Here’s how Hadgu answered the question, “What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?”

“I am passionate about education policy, focusing on establishing equitable and inclusive school systems and preparing students for the future economy.”

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

Here’s how Kaplan answered the question, “What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?”

“I am passionate about ensuring that every decision made by the Board of Education is approached with rigor and thoughtfulness, qualities that are crucial yet currently lacking. My focus is on meticulous, evidence-based decision-making, especially in relation to budget management. It is essential that we optimize every dollar spent to maximize the educational benefits for our students, ensuring that resources are allocated effectively and efficiently to support high-quality education and necessary improvements. This approach not only enhances our children’s learning environment but also upholds our responsibility to the taxpayers of Howard County.”

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

In the 2022 election cycle, 6,087 candidates completed 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 display on your Ballotpedia profile. Your responses will also appear in our sample ballot.