10个州的选民将在中期选举中就与教育相关的议题进行投票，其中部分提案试图通过修改州宪法来实现长期变革。
Voters in 10 states are set to address culture-war issues surrounding schools, with some initiative aiming for long-term change by amending state constitutions.
此次中期选举中，10个州的选民将审议17项与教育相关的投票提案，其中最具影响力的一些提案旨在通过修改州宪法来解决当前的文化争议。
Voters in 10 states will consider 17 education-related ballot measures during the midterm elections, the most impactful of which seek to settle culture-war fights by amending state constitutions.
阿拉巴马州的一项提案要求选民批准修改该州宪法，规定公立中小学必须在每日上课伊始允许学生进行祈祷。若提案获得通过，学生们还需每天背诵效忠誓言。
A measure in Alabama asks voters to amend the state’s constitution to require public K-12 schools to allow student-led prayer at the start of each day. If approved, students would also have to recite the Pledge of Allegiance daily.
另一项提案则要求每周在学校播放《星条旗永不落》，同样需要修改阿拉巴马州宪法方可实施。
A separate ballot initiative would mandate weekly broadcasts of “The Star-Spangled Banner” in schools, also altering Alabama’s constitution to do so.
在内布拉斯加州，选民将审议一项提案，该提案旨在将现行法律写入州宪法——该法律禁止跨性别学生参加女子体育队。提案还要求所有校队必须明确标注为男子队、女子队或男女混合队。
In Nebraska, voters will weigh an initiative that could enshrine in its constitution an existing law that prohibits transgender students from playing on girls’ and women’s sports teams. It also would require school teams to be designated as male, female or co-ed.
提案支持者称，这一做法有助于使相关政策免受日后挑战。相较于普通法律，宪法修正案更难被废除。
The approach, backers say, will help insulate the policy changes from future challenges. Constitutional amendments are harder to undo than other laws.
据美国各州立法会议会数据库统计，今年共有19项与中小学及高等教育相关的投票提案，这一数量创下了2018年中期选举以来的新高。路易斯安那州的两项提案——一项涉及学校管理体制，另一项旨在提高教师薪资——均已在5月份的初选中遭否决。
This year has brought a total of 19 ballot initiatives related to K-12 and higher education, the most since the midterms in 2018, according to a database maintained by the National Conference of State Legislatures. Two initiatives in Louisiana — one regarding school governance and another that would have given raises to teachers — failed during the primaries in May.
新墨西哥州、明尼苏达州和加利福尼亚州的学校经费相关提案；华盛顿州、科罗拉多州和亚利桑那州旨在禁止跨性别学生参加与其性别身份相符的体育队的提案；以及北达科他州关于保障学生免费校餐的提案，也都将列入11月份的投票议程。
School funding measures in New Mexico, Minnesota and California; initiatives to block transgender student-athletes from competing on teams that align with their gender identity in Washington, Colorado and Arizona; and an effort in North Dakota to guarantee free school meals will also appear on ballots in November.
针对跨性别运动员的各项限制措施数量激增，正是导致相关规定增加的主要原因。特朗普政府持续对那些允许跨性别学生参加女性专属体育赛事的州或学校施压，甚至威胁要削减其教育经费。
An influx of measures addressing transgender athletes accounts for much of the increase. They come as the Trump administration continues to target states or schools that allow transgender students to compete on female-designated sports teams with threats to withhold funding.
此外，特朗普政府还大力支持在学校中开展宗教活动，各保守派州也纷纷设法将宗教元素融入日常教学之中。这位议员补充道，学校里的祈祷活动并不局限于任何特定宗教。
The administration has also thrown its support behind religious expression in schools, and conservative states have found ways to inject religion into the school day. The prayer would not be limited to any specific religion, the lawmaker added.
英格拉姆表示：“很多孩子上学后往往会受到某些事物吸引，比如香烟、大麻、毒品，或是结交不良朋友。我觉得或许我们可以重新引入祈祷活动，看看能否为这些孩子提供另一种选择。”据皮尤研究中心的民意调查显示，在阿拉巴马州，即便在学校中开展宗教祈祷可能触及政教分离的界限，仍有75%的成年人对此表示支持。
“A lot of times, these kids go into school and find something to gravitate towards, whether it’s cigarettes, marijuana, drugs, or just running with the wrong crowd,” Ingram said. “I just thought that maybe we could try to go back to [prayer] to see if we could give these kids an opportunity to find something different.”Ingram said there’s broad support for in-school prayer in Alabama — even if it tests the boundary between church and state. In the state, 75 percent of adults support Christian prayer in schools, according to polling by the Pew Research Center.
阿拉巴马州现行法律已规定学校必须组织宣誓仪式，不过英格拉姆指出部分校园并未严格执行。根据美国教育部的联邦指导方针，只要不在教学时间内进行，学生同样被允许在学校里祈祷。
Alabama state law already requires schools to conduct the Pledge of Allegiance, although Ingram said some campuses do not comply. And students are already allowed to pray in school, as long as it does not occur during instructional time, according to federal guidance from the Education Department.
英格拉姆承认这些现行法律执行起来存在难度，但他希望将这些规定写入州宪法能促使各方遵守。“这样一来规定就更具约束力了，”他说道，“如果修正案获得通过，我认为这也能向外界传递出‘这就是本州的意愿’这一信号。”布鲁尔指出，各州以这种方式修订宪法的情况并不罕见；此前选民们也曾通过类似公投形式来决定大麻合法化、同性婚姻、堕胎等社会议题。目前，爱达荷州的选民也正在审议一项将英语定为该州官方语言的宪法修正案。
Ingram, acknowledging these laws are difficult to enforce, said he hopes enshrining them in the state’s constitution will encourage compliance. “It puts more meat on it,” he said. “I think it sends a signal if it passes that this is what the state wants.”It’s not uncommon for states to update their constitutions in this way, Brewer said. Voters have previously addressed marijuana legalization, same-sex marriage, abortion and other social issues through similar ballot measures. Idaho voters are weighing a constitutional amendment that designates English as the state’s official language.
不过，批评者仍质疑为何要将学校祈祷的内容写入阿拉巴马州的宪法。
Still, critics have questioned why prayer in schools needs to be written into Alabama’s constitution.
作为一个无党派的投票权倡导组织，阿拉巴马州女性选民联盟敦促选民反对这项修正案，认为它会模糊政教界限，且并未明确规定祈祷内容必须保持非宗派性质。
The League of Women Voters of Alabama, a nonpartisan voting rights group, has urged voters to oppose the amendment because it blurs the line between church and state and does not specify that prayers would be nonsectarian.
在内布拉斯加州，包括“OutNebraska”在内的多家地方倡导团体也一直在呼吁选民反对这项针对跨性别运动员的修正案。
In Nebraska, local advocacy groups, including OutNebraska, have been urging voters to oppose the amendment that targets transgender athletes.
“这简直就是当下文化战争的焦点议题，”汤姆林森·迪克说道，“把这样的内容写进本应作为州与民众之间长期有效契约的宪法修正案里，实在显得非常怪异，也不妥当。”
“It’s like the culture war issue du jour,” Tomlinson Dick said. “To put this in a constitutional amendment that is supposed to be this durable kind of lasting contract between a state and its citizens, and it just seems very odd. It seems very inappropriate.”