Effect of Nebraska’s Racial-Preference Ban Weighed

A week after Nebraska voters outlawed racial and gender preferences in hiring, contracting, and public schooling, education leaders there said they don’t expect it to force significant changes in most aspects of school operations.

An education coalition in Colorado, meanwhile, was laying the groundwork to challenge a newly approved constitutional amendment that prohibits those who hold no-bid contracts with state and local governments—including teachers’ unions—from making contributions to candidates or political parties.

Voters’ Nov. 4 decisions on the Nebraska Civil Rights Initiative , which won 58 percent of the vote, and Colorado’s Amendment 54 on contracts, which passed with a still-unofficial 51 percent, were just two of many state and local education-related measures nationwide this fall. ( "Education-Related Ballot Items Reflect Fiscal, Policy Concerns," ...