Several states are putting education measures before voters in the student loans 2026 midterm elections, including proposals on transgender athletes and school prayer. This year has brought 19 ballot initiatives related to K-12 and higher education, the most since the midterms in 2018, and the questions now are which rules voters will lock in and which they will leave to lawmakers.
Nebraska ballot drive
In Nebraska, voters are being asked to enshrine in the state constitution an existing law that prohibits transgender students from playing on girls' and women's sports teams. The proposal would also require school teams to be designated as male, female or co-ed, making the rule broader than a simple eligibility limit.
The campaign behind the Nebraska measure, Fairness for Girls, turned in 211,000 signatures in June. Fairness for Girls had $3.1 million in cash contributions as of July 31, and all of that money came from Restore the Good Life Inc.
Arizona, Washington, Colorado
Voters in Washington, Colorado, and Arizona will see similar measures tied to transgender athletes and what schools should allow. Those proposals would change state law rather than constitutions, which gives them a different legal path but the same basic goal of setting school rules through the ballot.
Arizona's measure came from the Republican Legislature. Colorado's measure came from citizen petitions, and Washington's measure came from citizen petitions. Arizona state law already bars transgender students who say they are girls from girls' school teams.
Arizona's Proposition 318 would go further by banning student athletes from using restrooms, locker rooms, and showers that do not match an athlete's sex at birth. It would also extend those rules to private schools and club sports, widening the reach beyond public classrooms and teams.
Alabama prayer amendment
In Alabama, voters will be asked whether the state constitution should be altered to require public schools to allow student-led prayer at the start of the day. The amendment would also put the daily Pledge of Allegiance into the constitution, while students in Alabama could not be forced to take part in the prayer and could opt out of the pledge.
Steven P. Brown, a professor of political science at Auburn University, asked, “What is the oversight power of the school in something like this?” He also said, “If you have a kid who stands up and wants to give a prayer to Satan, there is no question the school is going to step in.”
The Alabama proposal carries a legal complication. The Supreme Court struck down an Alabama statute authorizing a moment of silence for meditation or voluntary prayer in Wallace v. Jaffree in 1985, so voters are being asked to weigh a new constitutional amendment against that earlier ruling.
Education measures in 2026
Liz Wolfe, in Reason, framed the ballot fights as part of an effort by activist groups to amend state constitutions and side-step recurring culture war battles. For voters, the practical question is simple: whether to make school policy harder to change later by moving it into a constitution or voter-approved statute.
The ballot count shows how broad that push has become. With 19 initiatives related to K-12 and higher education, this year has already exceeded the level seen in the midterms in 2018, and the results will decide whether those education rules become harder for legislators to undo.
