Missouri judge upholds ballot summary of amendment targeting private school vouchers

A ballot summary describing a proposed amendment to Missouri’s Constitution as “limiting parental choice in education” is sufficient, a Cole County judge ruled last week.

Secretary of State Denny Hoskins must only correct a drafting error for his description of the initiative petition to be “concise, neutral and sufficient,” Judge Cotton Walker wrote.

The lawsuit, filed by attorney Duane Martin of the public education law firm EdCounsel, says the amendment seeks to “prohibit the use of state and local public funds for nonpublic schools for nondisabled students.”

Martin argued that Hoskins’ ballot summary contained several statements “that are unfair, insufficient or misleading.” Specifically, he pointed to the summary’s statement that the initiative petition would “eliminate existing programs that provide direct aid to students with special education needs by prohibiting the use of public funds for educational services provided by nonpublic schools.”



https://missouriindependent.com/2025/10/27/missouri-judge-upholds-ballot-summary-of-amendment-targeting-private-school-vouchers/