Missouri appeals court rejects Secretary of State's ballot language on private school funding ban
Missouri’s Western District Court of Appeals unanimously tossed out part of Secretary of State Denny Hoskins’s ballot language on Thursday for an initiative petition that would bar state funding of private education.
The decision, written by Judge Douglas Thomson, says that Hoskins’s summary statement was “misleading” because of a bullet point that says the petition would “eliminate existing programs that provide direct aid to students with special education needs.” The petition, filed by attorney Duane Martin with public education law firm EdCounsel, expressly allows public aid to private entities to educate students with disabilities.
“The failure to account for the disability exception in bullet point two — and instead state that special education programs would be eliminated — is insufficient and unfair,” Thomson wrote.
Hoskins, presumably, was referring to the state’s voucher program, MOScholars. The program pays for school tuition for students with and without disabilities, though those who need learning accommodations receive priority and an increased scholarship amount.
https://missouriindependent.com/2026/01/30/missouri-appeals-court-rejects-secretary-of-states-ballot-language-on-private-school-funding-ban/