Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins must rewrite the summary ballot language for an initiative petition that seeks to enshrine education as a fundamental right in the state’s constitution, a Cole County judge ruled last week.
The Missouri Right to Education Initiative challenged the ballot language as “deceptive and prejudicial” in August, pointing to two bullet points it says draws conclusions that are not in the text of the amendment.
The proposed amendment seeks to add 23 words to the state’s constitution, making education a “fundamental right” and putting a duty on the state to provide “adequate, thorough, and uniform high quality free public schools.”
Hoskins’ summary says the amendment would “potentially eliminate existing state scholarship programs that provide direct aid to students with disabilities and low-income families” and “prevent the state from supporting educational choices other than free public schools.”
Cole County Circuit Court Judge Christopher Limbaugh ruled the descriptors are insufficient and unfair, saying that they go beyond the “legal and probable effects” of the amendment. The word “potentially,” Limbaugh wrote, reveals that the likelihood of scholarship programs being eliminated is less than probable.
“The elimination of certain scholarships would only occur as the result of future litigation,” Limbaugh wrote in his ruling. “This court can’t possibly predetermine the result of that future litigation.”
Limbaugh also took issue with the characterization that the amendment would prevent the state from supporting other educational options.
The ruling sends the summary back for Hoskins to rewrite by Dec. 8.
The Missouri Right to Education Initiative focuses on public education funding on its website, not commenting on education formats other than traditional public schools.
“Only public schools guarantee that all students are provided education, regardless of financial status or ability,” said Spencer Toder, the campaign’s treasurer, in a news release Wednesday. “When passed, we will finally be able to hold the state accountable and ensure that every child in Missouri has access to a public school with the necessary resources for them to thrive.”
A separate campaign, filed in August by an attorney with the public education law firm EdCounsel, also challenged the secretary of state’s summary of its proposed amendment. In that case, Hoskins’ ballot language was affirmed apart from a “drafting error” that was sent back for correction.
A spokesperson for the secretary of state’s office would not comment on “pending litigation.”
“Related to the process, the office has three opportunities to submit ballot language,” she said in an email. “The process is working.”
This story was originally published by The Missouri Independent.
