FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 23, 2025
Proposed Initiative Enters Circulation: Requires State Provide Annual Payments to Students Attending Religious and Other Private Schools. Initiative Constitutional Amendment and Statute.
Sacramento, Calif. – Secretary of State Dr. Shirley N. Weber announced that the proponents of a new initiative were cleared to begin collecting petition signatures on October 22, 2025.
The Attorney General prepares the legal title and summary that is required to appear on initiative petitions. When the official language is complete, the Attorney General forwards it to the proponent(s) and to the Secretary of State, and the initiative may be circulated for signatures. The Secretary of State then provides a calendar of deadlines to the proponent(s) and to county elections officials. The Attorney General’s official title and summary for the measure is as follows:
REQUIRES STATE PROVIDE ANNUAL PAYMENTS TO STUDENTS ATTENDING RELIGIOUS AND OTHER PRIVATE SCHOOLS. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT AND STATUTE. Requires state to deposit yearly voucher payments ($17,000 initially, adjusted annually) into Education Savings Accounts for California residents in grades TK-12 attending religious and other private schools anywhere in the United States. Payments will come from General Fund and property tax revenues that currently fund public schools. Eliminates constitutional prohibition on state funding of religious and other private schools. Prohibits state regulation of private school curriculum. Prohibits building, safety, or health standards for home schools that are stricter than standards applied to homes or similar businesses. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: For the state: increased costs, likely ranging from several billion dollars to more than $10 billion per year, primarily driven by payments for students enrolled in private schools (or homeschooling). The state could pay for these costs using revenues it currently spends on public schools or other state programs. For public schools: reductions in state funding based on the number of students leaving public schools. This reduction could range from a few billion dollars to more than $16 billion per year and is separate from any reduction the state might make to pay for its own costs. Public schools would likely respond by spending less on staff, supplies, services, and other activities. (25-0014.)
The Secretary of State’s tracking number for this measure is 1991 and the Attorney General's tracking number is 25-0014.
The proponents of the measure, Kevin McNamee, Marion A. Marshall, Maria Flores, Cecilia Iglesias, and Benito Bernal, must collect signatures of 874,641 registered voters (eight percent of the total votes cast for governor in the November 2022 general election) in order for the measure to become eligible for the ballot. The proponents have 180 days to circulate petitions for the measure, meaning the signatures must be submitted to county elections officials no later than April 20, 2026. The address for the proponents is c/o Kevin McNamee, 166 N. Moorpark Road, Suite 206, Thousand Oaks, CA 91360. The proponents may also be contacted at CEOact2026@gmail.com and (818) 434-7234.
###
