Article VIII
Sec. 2: The legislature shall maintain and support a system of free public elementary and secondary schools as defined by law. Every school district shall provide for the education of its pupils without discrimination as to religion, creed, race, color or national origin.
No public monies or property shall be appropriated or paid or any public credit utilized, by the legislature or any other political subdivision or agency of the state directly
or indirectlyto aid or maintain any private, denominational or other nonpublic, pre-elementary, elementary, or secondary school.No payment, credit, tax benefit, exemption or deductions, tuition voucher, subsidy, grant or loan of public monies or property shall be provided, directly or indirectly, to support the attendance of any student or the employment of any person at any such nonpublic school or at any location or institution where instruction is offered in whole or in part to such nonpublic school students. The legislature may provide for the transportation of students to and from any school.The legislature may provide for the transportation of students to and from any school.Subject to the provisions of section 4 of article 1, the legislature shall provide for regular testing of the knowledge in academic subjects of teachers in public schools and in nonpublic schools which redeem tuition vouchers under this section.
Subject to the provisions of section 10, under procedures established by law, qualified school districts and any other approving school district shall participate in an educational choice program to permit any pupil resident in the district to receive a voucher for actual elementary and secondary school tuition to attend a nonpublic elementary or secondary school.
Beginning in the 2001-2002 state fiscal year, the state shall guarantee that the total state and local per pupil revenue for school operating purposes for each local school district, as adjusted for consolidations, annexations, and boundary changes, shall not be less than in the 2000-2001 state fiscal year; provided the school district does not levy a millage rate for school district operating purposes less than it levied in 2000.
Sec. 10: The provisions of this section shall apply to section 2 of this article.
The tuition voucher established in section 2 shall be limited to the lesser of one-half the average per-pupil state and local revenue for operating purposes in public schools in the preceding fiscal year or the actual tuition paid per pupil at a nonpublic elementary or secondary school. The tuition voucher may be supplemented for pupils who require special education services.
The state treasurer shall, before the end of each calendar year, certify the average per-pupil state and local revenue for operating purposes in public schools for the fiscal year concluding in that calendar year.
A qualified school district is a district that had a four-year graduation rate of less than two thirds as reported by the department of education for the 1998-1999 school year, as certified by the superintendent of public instruction.
A school district may approve the educational choice program by vote of the elected school board or of the electors in the school district, who shall have the right to initiative. To invoke the initiative, petitions signed by a number of registered electors, not less than ten percent of the total number of electors casting ballots for school board at the last preceding election at which members of the school board were elected, shall be required.
The legislature shall provide by law for the implementation of this section.
