ND Governor Vetoes Bills for Book Bans and School Vouchers

North Dakota Governor Kelly Armstrong, a Republican, vetoes bills to ban more books from libraries due to sexual content and to establish school vouchers for private schools.

Neither bill had enough support in the legislature to suggest his veto will be overridden.

In 2023 North Dakota prohibited “explicit sexual material” in public libraries. The vetoed bill would extend this to school districts by mandating any such material be moved “to an area in the library not easily accessible to minors.” It would also make libraries prevent K-12 students from getting to certain content online. Librarians who were deemed to violate the ban would have been subject to prosecution. Proponents especially cited LGBTQ content as a target of the blockages.

Armstrong said the bill “represents a misguided attempt to legislate morality through overreach and censorship. The bill imposes vague and punitive burdens on professionals and opens the door to a host of unintended and damaging consequences for our communities.”

The school voucher bill would have established an income-based “ education savings account program.” It was to be administered by Bank of North Dakota, which is owned by the state. The bill allocated $21.7 million for two years. Vouchers would have paid for private school tuition , textbooks, technology and other expenses, starting in the 2026-27 school year.

Armstrong said he “strongly supports expanding school choice” but the bill “falls far short of truly expanding choice as it only impacts one sector of our student population. Voucher debate aside, this legislation still needs work to address implementation issues. We get one chance to craft policy to benefit the most students and ensure implementation of the program is achievable and realistic.”

Another school voucher bill is making its way through the legislature.

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