Armstrong Vetoes North Dakota Private School Voucher Bill, Signals Support for Competing Bill

(Mary Steurer/North Dakota Monitor)

(By: Jeff Beach. North Dakota Monitor) – North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong 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.