Education Week's Guide to the 2024 Election

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The 2024 election could have massive implications for K-12 schools.

The candidates for president—Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, and former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee—have far different visions for education policy to the extent they’ve touched on the topic. But the presidential race isn’t the only one on the ballot that could affect schools. There are also races for governor, state superintendent, and state board of education seats.

In many cases, Republicans are advocating for expanded school choice, maintaining a focus on culture war issues in schools such as gender identity and sexual orientation, and calling for stricter approaches to school discipline. Democrats have called for increased teacher pay, measures to prevent gun violence and school shootings, and universal free school meals.

In nine states, voters will decide on education-related ballot measures. They propose to expand or repeal school choice programs, change testing requirements for graduating seniors, shore up new funding for K-12 schools, or eliminate property taxes—a major funding source for schools.

Education Week has put together this election guide to highlight the key races and ballot questions that could affect K-12 schools.

Click on a topic area to navigate to that section.

White house in Washington, DC. — Danny Kronstrom/iStock/Getty

Presidential Election

Trump and Harris present very different views on the future of K-12 schools. Here’s how they compare.

State Races to Watch

Voters across the country will cast ballots in races for governor, state superintendent, and state boards of education that could result in K-12 policy changes. Here’s a breakdown of where education shows up on state ballots.

Click on a topic below to explore races by category.

State Superintendent Governor State Boards of Education

State Superintendent

Voters in Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, and Washington state will choose state superintendents in November.

As the top education executive in state government, state superintendents are tasked with leading state education departments, which develop policies and programs for local schools, manage and distribute federal and state funding, collect data from school districts, help local schools navigate emergencies like natural disasters or the COVID-19 pandemic, and often deal with state legislatures in education policymaking.

Twelve states elect superintendents. State boards of education, governors, or a combination of the two appoint the other 38 superintendents.

North Carolina

Incumbent Catherine Truitt, a former teacher, lost her state’s Republican primary to Michele Morrow, a nurse and home-school advocate who has expressed support for the public execution of prominent Democrats. Morrow faces Mo Green, a Democrat and former school superintendent.

Michele Morrow (R)	Mo Green (D)
Morrow made headlines earlier this year after a series of tweets she posted from 2019-2021 resurfaced. In those tweets, she called for the execution of former President Barack Obama and President Joe Biden. Morrow has also regularly promoted baseless conspiracy theories, including a theory promoted by Trump accusing Obama of sabotaging his presidency and a slate of QAnon slogans, according to CNN. On her campaign website, Morrow claims that North Carolina schools teach “one-sided lessons portraying America as a racist and oppressive nation,” that the North Carolina Association of Educators—a state affiliate of the National Education Association—“forced school closures during COVID-19,” and that “in some schools, parents are kept in the dark about medical treatments.” She has also said that she would support efforts to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education and a state constitutional amendment to eliminate North Carolina’s board of education. A major home-school advocate who home-schools her own children, Morrow says she will invest in intensive math tutoring programs as a way to bring home-school experiences to public school students.	From 2008 to 2015, Green served as the superintendent of the Guilford County school district in North Carolina. He went on to serve as the executive director of a North Carolina philanthropy. On his website, Green has outlined six pillars for his “Achieving Educational Excellence” plan: “prepare each student for their next phase of life,” “invest fully in public education,” “revere public school educators,” “enhance parent and community support,” “ensure safe, secure learning environments,” and “celebrate the good in public education.” In an interview with Education Week, Green said he worries that Morrow does not have public schools’ best interests at heart because of her advocacy for home schooling and school choice.

Michele Morrow (R)

Mo Green (D)

Morrow made headlines earlier this year after a series of tweets she posted from 2019-2021 resurfaced. In those tweets, she called for the execution of former President Barack Obama and President Joe Biden. Morrow has also regularly promoted baseless conspiracy theories, including a theory promoted by Trump accusing Obama of sabotaging his presidency and a slate of QAnon slogans, according to CNN.

On her campaign website, Morrow claims that North Carolina schools teach “one-sided lessons portraying America as a racist and oppressive nation,” that the North Carolina Association of Educators—a state affiliate of the National Education Association—“forced school closures during COVID-19,” and that “in some schools, parents are kept in the dark about medical treatments.” She has also said that she would support efforts to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education and a state constitutional amendment to eliminate North Carolina’s board of education. A major home-school advocate who home-schools her own children, Morrow says she will invest in intensive math tutoring programs as a way to bring home-school experiences to public school students.

From 2008 to 2015, Green served as the superintendent of the Guilford County school district in North Carolina. He went on to serve as the executive director of a North Carolina philanthropy.

On his website, Green has outlined six pillars for his “Achieving Educational Excellence” plan: “prepare each student for their next phase of life,” “invest fully in public education,” “revere public school educators,” “enhance parent and community support,” “ensure safe, secure learning environments,” and “celebrate the good in public education.”

In an interview with Education Week, Green said he worries that Morrow does not have public schools’ best interests at heart because of her advocacy for home schooling and school choice.

North Dakota

The nation’s longest-serving state superintendent, Kirsten Baesler, faces Jason Heitkamp, a truck driver and former Republican state senator. The North Dakota election is nonpartisan, but both Baesler and Heitkamp lean conservative.

In March, Baesler lost the North Dakota Republican Party’s endorsement to Jim Bartlett, a home-schooling advocate who wants schools to teach the Christian moral code based on the Ten Commandments. Bartlett ultimately failed to advance to the general election.

Kirsten Baesler (Nonpartisan)	Jason Heitkamp (Nonpartisan)
Baesler has been the North Dakota superintendent for 12 years. If re-elected, she plans to focus on improving academic performance, combatting teacher shortages, and ensuring students are ready to enroll in college or start a career after high school. In an interview with Education Week, Baesler said she’s specifically focused on improving chronically low-performing schools after the North Dakota legislature passed a law that lays out a new framework for the state education department to work directly with schools designated for Comprehensive Support and Improvement.	A former Republican state senator, Heitkamp now views himself as an independent in the nonpartisan race. If elected, he would support legislation to fully fund K-12 schools at the state level, eliminating the need for property taxes as a funding source for schools. He has also called for the elimination of critical race theory and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives from K-12 schools and better physical education to improve children’s overall health. Heitkamp doesn’t have any experience in education, but he told Education Week that he doesn’t see that as an issue for voters.

Kirsten Baesler (Nonpartisan)

Jason Heitkamp (Nonpartisan)

Baesler has been the North Dakota superintendent for 12 years. If re-elected, she plans to focus on improving academic performance, combatting teacher shortages, and ensuring students are ready to enroll in college or start a career after high school.

In an interview with Education Week, Baesler said she’s specifically focused on improving chronically low-performing schools after the North Dakota legislature passed a law that lays out a new framework for the state education department to work directly with schools designated for Comprehensive Support and Improvement.

A former Republican state senator, Heitkamp now views himself as an independent in the nonpartisan race. If elected, he would support legislation to fully fund K-12 schools at the state level, eliminating the need for property taxes as a funding source for schools.

He has also called for the elimination of critical race theory and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives from K-12 schools and better physical education to improve children’s overall health. Heitkamp doesn’t have any experience in education, but he told Education Week that he doesn’t see that as an issue for voters.

Back to other races ⬆

Governor

Voters in Delaware, Indiana, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, and West Virginia have gubernatorial elections.

Whoever wins will have the ability to enact or veto laws that could alter school funding formulas, raise teacher pay, restrict classroom discussions on divisive topics, or implement school choice. Governors in Delaware, Indiana, New Hampshire, and Vermont will have the power to appoint a state superintendent of education.

Among the gubernatorial candidates are former teachers, school board members, and a former state superintendent.

While education hasn’t been the primary focus for most candidates, Republicans in key races generally have called for expansions of school choice while Democrats focus more often on teacher pay and school funding. Debates on how schools approach issues like race, gender identity, and sexuality have abated somewhat in recent years, but some candidates continue to call for the elimination of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and discussions of gender identity and sexual orientation from classrooms.

Indiana

A former state superintendent and Democrat, Jennifer McCormick, is up against U.S. Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., in the race for governor. Both candidates have made public schools a top issue in their campaigns, but their policies couldn’t be more different. The winner of the election will appoint a state superintendent of public instruction.

Mike Braun (R)	Jennifer McCormick (D)
On his campaign website, Braun emphasizes parents’ role in K-12 education and calls for school choice measures that give parents expanded access to private, charter, and homeschooling options. In an interview with the Indiana Capital Chronicle , Braun said he supports education savings accounts, which provide families with public, per-pupil funds to offset the cost of private school tuition or other education expenses outside the public school system. Indiana has a voucher program for which most students are eligible, as well as education savings accounts with more targeted eligibility. Braun, who is a former school board member, opposes discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity in schools according to his website. He says he will “protect parental rights” by giving parents access to and “meaningful input” into school curriculum and materials. “Indiana state laws should reinforce the simple truth that there are only two genders, biological males should not be allowed to compete in girls’ sports, and ‘gender affirming care’ should be banned for minors,” his website says.	McCormick was a special education and language arts teacher before becoming a school superintendent and later the Indiana superintendent of public instruction from 2017-2021. On her website, she details her “commonsense education plan,” which would establish a “streamlined and transparent accountability platform” to hold all schools to academic and fiscal standards, raise teachers’ base salaries to $60,000, protect teachers’ unions, and prevent politicians banning books from school libraries. McCormick also proposes requiring private schools that take public funds through school choice programs to meet the same academic and fiscal-transparency standards as traditional public schools. Private schools that accept education savings accounts and school choice vouchers from families rarely have to meet the same testing and accountability requirements that traditional public and charter schools do.

Mike Braun (R)

Jennifer McCormick (D)

On his campaign website, Braun emphasizes parents’ role in K-12 education and calls for school choice measures that give parents expanded access to private, charter, and homeschooling options. In an interview with the Indiana Capital Chronicle , Braun said he supports education savings accounts, which provide families with public, per-pupil funds to offset the cost of private school tuition or other education expenses outside the public school system.

Indiana has a voucher program for which most students are eligible, as well as education savings accounts with more targeted eligibility.

Braun, who is a former school board member, opposes discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity in schools according to his website. He says he will “protect parental rights” by giving parents access to and “meaningful input” into school curriculum and materials.

“Indiana state laws should reinforce the simple truth that there are only two genders, biological males should not be allowed to compete in girls’ sports, and ‘gender affirming care’ should be banned for minors,” his website says.

McCormick was a special education and language arts teacher before becoming a school superintendent and later the Indiana superintendent of public instruction from 2017-2021. On her website, she details her “commonsense education plan,” which would establish a “streamlined and transparent accountability platform” to hold all schools to academic and fiscal standards, raise teachers’ base salaries to $60,000, protect teachers’ unions, and prevent politicians banning books from school libraries.

McCormick also proposes requiring private schools that take public funds through school choice programs to meet the same academic and fiscal-transparency standards as traditional public schools. Private schools that accept education savings accounts and school choice vouchers from families rarely have to meet the same testing and accountability requirements that traditional public and charter schools do.

North Carolina

The governor’s race in North Carolina, where statewide elections are typically close, is one of the most contentious this year. Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson faces Attorney General Josh Stein, a Democrat.

Mark Robinson (R)	Josh Stein (D)
Robinson has made conservative parental rights in K-12 schools a priority in his time as lieutenant governor. In 2021, he convened a task force, called the Fairness and Accountability in the Classroom for Teachers and Students, or FACTS, Task Force to investigate “indoctrination” of students in K-12 schools. The group called on parents to submit examples of discrimination, harassment, unequal treatment, and “indoctrination according to a political agenda or ideology” in North Carolina schools. The task force published one report in April 2021 that detailed over 500 complaints of “indoctrination.” If elected, Robinson says he will “get our schools refocused on academics,” according to his campaign website. He also hopes to increase teacher pay, expand school choice, and advocate for career and technical education programs.	As attorney general in 2021, Stein called on U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to reinstate Obama-era guidance that interpreted federal law to prohibit school disciplinary practices that intentionally discriminate against or unintentionally result in a disparate impact for students of color and other minorities. On his campaign website, Stein calls for increased public education funding, expanded access to early childhood education, and teacher-pay raises. He also calls for hiring more counselors, nurses, social workers, and bus drivers. He also supports universal free school meals and increased career and technical education opportunities for students.

Mark Robinson (R)

Josh Stein (D)

Robinson has made conservative parental rights in K-12 schools a priority in his time as lieutenant governor. In 2021, he convened a task force, called the Fairness and Accountability in the Classroom for Teachers and Students, or FACTS, Task Force to investigate “indoctrination” of students in K-12 schools. The group called on parents to submit examples of discrimination, harassment, unequal treatment, and “indoctrination according to a political agenda or ideology” in North Carolina schools. The task force published one report in April 2021 that detailed over 500 complaints of “indoctrination.”

If elected, Robinson says he will “get our schools refocused on academics,” according to his campaign website. He also hopes to increase teacher pay, expand school choice, and advocate for career and technical education programs.

As attorney general in 2021, Stein called on U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to reinstate Obama-era guidance that interpreted federal law to prohibit school disciplinary practices that intentionally discriminate against or unintentionally result in a disparate impact for students of color and other minorities.

On his campaign website, Stein calls for increased public education funding, expanded access to early childhood education, and teacher-pay raises.

He also calls for hiring more counselors, nurses, social workers, and bus drivers. He also supports universal free school meals and increased career and technical education opportunities for students.

Back to other races ⬆

State Boards of Education

Candidates will compete for 27 elected state board of education seats across six states in November.

Governors in 24 states appoint all members of the board of education, according to the Education Commission of the States. The remaining state boards are either partially appointed by the governor, appointed by the state legislature, or elected.

This year, Alabama, Colorado, Kansas, Michigan, Nebraska, and Utah all hold elections for state boards of education. In Utah, eight of15 board seats are up for election. Kansas has five of 10 seats up for election. Alabama and Colorado both have four of nine seats up for election, while four of Nebraska’s eight seats are on the ballot. Michigan has two of its eight seats up for election.

Board of education powers vary from state to state. Some states, like Alabama, give board members “general supervision of the public schools,” while other states, like Colorado, have more specific duties, such as ensuring graduation requirements align with workforce and postsecondary education readiness. In all of the states with seats up for election this year, the board ultimately appoints the state’s superintendent of schools.

Back to other races ⬆

Election ballot with yes or no question. concept. Voting, government referendum and amendment — JJ Gouin/iStock/Getty

Ballot Issues

There are 12 ballot measures related to K-12 education across nine states in November, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Here’s a summary of each.

California, Proposition 2: Californians will decide if they approve the use of state funds for the construction and modernization of schools and other public education facilities. If passed, the measure would approve $10 billion to support the construction or renovation of schools and community colleges, according to the ballot measure’s language.
Colorado, Proposition KK: The legislative referendum would impose a 6.5 percent tax on gun and ammunition dealers to support education programs and mental and behavioral health programs for children and veterans.
Colorado, Initiative 138: The measure would amend the state’s constitution to establish “the right to school choice for children in kindergarten through 12th grade,” and declare that “school choice” includes neighborhood, charter, and private schools as well as open-enrollment options and other future “innovations in education,” according to the Colorado Secretary of State website.
Kentucky, Amendment 2: Voters will decide if they want to amend the state’s constitution so that “the General Assembly may provide financial support for the education of students outside the system of common schools,” including private schools, according to the Kentucky Secretary of State website.
Massachusetts, Question 2: The measure asks voters in Massachusetts to repeal a requirement that high school students achieve a certain score on the state’s standardized test, the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System, to receive their diploma. Currently, students must earn a passing score on the 10th grade MCAS tests in English/language arts and math to graduate from high school.
Missouri, Amendment 5: The measure would approve a gambling boat license to operate on the portion of the Osage River in Missouri, directing the state revenue from the license to fund early-childhood literacy programs in elementary schools, according to the Missouri Secretary of State website.
Nebraska, Referendum 435: Nebraska voters will decide whether to repeal a 2024 law that would establish an “opportunity scholarship” program, providing around $10 million in public funds to help parents offset the cost of private schools.
New Mexico, Bond Question 2: Voters will decide whether to authorize up to $230.3 million in borrowing to fund public colleges and universities, special schools, and tribal schools.
New Mexico, Bond Question 3: Voters will decide whether to authorize up to $19.3 million to fund public, tribal, public school, and academic libraries.
North Dakota, Initiated Measure 4: The ballot measure would eliminate the state’s existing property tax system if it passes. That would either force school districts and local governments to cut spending or require the state to come up with an alternative source for over $1 billion in revenue.
Utah, Amendment A: Voters will decide whether to change the state’s constitution to allow income tax revenue to be used for “all state needs” rather than reserved for supporting children and individuals with disabilities and public K-12 and higher education, as the constitution currently authorizes.
Utah, Amendment B: Voters will decide whether to raise the annual limit on the amount of money distributed from the state to schools through its “State School Fund” from 4 percent to 5 percent.