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Armstrong vetoes North Dakota private school voucher bill, but signals support for competing bill

Armstrong vetoes North Dakota private school voucher bill, but signals support for competing bill

Yahoo24-04-2025
North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong presents to lawmakers at the Capitol on Jan. 15, 2025. (Mary Steurer/North Dakota Monitor)
North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong on Wednesday vetoed a bill to use public tax dollars for private school tuition but signaled support for a separate Education Savings Account bill still under consideration.
House Bill 1540 would have established Education Savings Accounts for private school students. Armstrong said in a statement that he supports school choice but said the bill 'falls far short of truly expanding choice as it only impacts one sector of our student population.'
The statement noted that of North Dakota's 168 school districts, only 19 have private schools, with most in larger communities.
'House Bill 1540 fails to deliver the school choice North Dakota needs, especially in rural areas where nonpublic school options are few and far between,' Armstrong said in the statement.
North Dakota lawmakers advance private school voucher bill
The bill passed the House 49-43 on Monday. It had previously passed the Senate 27-20.
Lawmakers would need 63 votes in the House and 32 votes in the Senate to override the veto.
The cost to the state would have depended on how many families used the vouchers but was estimated at about $20 million in the first year.
A competing bill, Senate Bill 2400, would allow public dollars to be used for private school tuition, but also would establish Education Savings Accounts for public school and homeschooled students.
Armstrong in his veto message urged lawmakers to use Senate Bill 2400 to combine the best parts of both bills.
'Passing a voucher bill that caters to only a small segment of North Dakota's student population all but guarantees a voter referendum and threatens to derail the prospect of good school choice policy for years to come,' he wrote.
Armstrong on Monday signed a bill that could lead to public charter schools in North Dakota.
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HB 1540 veto message signed
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Women legislators fight for ‘potty parity'
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Women legislators fight for ‘potty parity'

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Jones, the first woman to secure the top position, ordered the addition of more women's restrooms along with a gender-neutral bathroom and a nursing room for mothers in the Lowe House Office Building. 'No longer do we fret and squirm or cross our legs in panic' As more women were elected nationwide in the 20th century, some found creative workarounds. In Nebraska's unicameral Legislature, female senators didn't get a dedicated restroom until 1988, when a facility was added in the chamber's cloakroom. There had previously been a single restroom in the senate lounge, and Sen. Shirley Marsh, who served for some 16 years, would ask a State Patrol trooper to guard the door while she used it, said Brandon Metzler, the Legislature's clerk. In Colorado, female House representatives and staff were so happy to have a restroom added in the chamber's hallway in 1987 that they hung a plaque to honor then-state Rep. Arie Taylor, the state's first Black woman legislator, who pushed for the facility. 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Disgraced former Rep. George Santos reports to prison for seven-year sentence
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NBC News

timean hour ago

  • NBC News

Disgraced former Rep. George Santos reports to prison for seven-year sentence

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