Election 2026: The education issues we’re watching
Did you know search engines like Google are changing the way you see news? Keep Chalkbeat’s valuable education coverage at the top of your feeds by clicking here and checking the box next to our name. Education is often a secondary issue for voters , but elected leaders — from governors to school board members — shape the nation’s schools in significant ways. Voters next Tuesday will decide key…
Election 2026 is focusing on education issues. Democrats are running on reining in voucher programs, with red-state Democrats in Texas and Iowa highlighting "waste, fraud, and abuse" in their campaigns. In Arizona, the race for state superintendent centers around regulating education savings accounts. Meanwhile, school board races are dominated by opposition to school closures, with candidates in St. Louis, Minneapolis, and Detroit pledging to oppose closures and oust superintendents.
Trans rights have also become a key issue in Washington and Colorado, where ballot measures seek to limit transgender girls' participation in girls' sports teams. Despite a lack of consensus on education reform in Washington, D.C., ideas from that playbook are appearing in gubernatorial races, particularly in Oregon where the governor has emphasized the need for students to learn enough.
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