SCHOOL VOUCHERS. STATE-FUNDED PRIVATE AND RELIGIOUS EDUCATION. PUBLIC SCHOOL FUNDING.

SCHOOL VOUCHERS. STATE-FUNDED PRIVATE AND RELIGIOUS EDUCATION. PUBLIC SCHOOL FUNDING. Initiative Constitutional Amendment. • Authorizes annual state payments of at least $4000 per pupil for private and religious schools phased in over four years. • Restricts state and local authority to require private schools to meet standards, including state academic requirements. • Limits future health, safety, zoning, building restrictions on private schools. • Requires release of composite test scores of voucher pupils. • Permits Legislature to replace current voter-enacted constitutional funding priority for public schools (Proposition 98) with minimum formula based on national per-pupil average, as defined by terms of this measure. Summary of Legislative Analyst’s Estimate of Net State and Local Government Fiscal Impact: • Short-term (first several years) state costs averaging between zero and $1.1 billion annually. • Longer-term (within five years to ten years) net fiscal effect on state funding of K–12 schools is largely unknown. Annual impact likely to range from costs of about $2 billion to savings of over $3 billion, depending on the number of pupils who shift from public schools to private schools. • Debt service savings to the state and school districts potentially in excess of $100 million annually after 10 years to 20 years, resulting from reduced need for construction of public schools. • Potential loss of federal funds in the hundreds of millions of dollars annually