(COLORADO SPRINGS) — With less than a week until election day, FOX21 News continues to take a deeper look at the questions on the ballot this year, including a measure surrounding school choice in Colorado.
Colorado Amendment 80 proposes amending the Colorado Constitution to create the right to school choice for children in kindergarten through twelfth grade (K-12). The amendment allows parents to direct the education of their children; and defines school choice to include public neighborhood and charter schools, private schools, home schools, open enrollment options, and future innovations in education.
Those against the initiative fear if passed, it could open the door to private school and charter school families getting access to taxpayer dollars meant for public schools.
“It potentially opens the door to a statewide voucher program for private schools, and we’ve seen that happen in other states, “Kevin Vick, President of the Colorado Education Association explained. “In those states, it’s taking hundreds of millions of dollars out of the public school system and giving it to people who are basically or already attending private schools, but now get a nice hefty tax break to do so.”
To be clear, there is no language in this year’s ballot measure that mentions school funding, but opponents worry Colorado could end up with issues seen in states like Arizona and Ohio where vouchers became available for families regardless of income levels.
“We also know that 95% of students in Colorado are attending public schools and so this measure would take an already struggling system that educates 95% of our kids and strain it even further if a voucher program goes in,” Vick said.
Colorado Springs is currently home to 189 public schools and 48 private schools. In Pueblo County, there are 65 public schools and 10 private schools.
“There’s a couple of errors in what he’s saying,” Kristi Burton Brown, Executive Vice President of Advance Colorado explained. “First of all, 95% of kids, he’s including the 15% that go to charter schools, which his organization just worked this last session to take those schools away from kinds. It’s interesting that now in this campaign, they want to claim those schools and claim those kids.”
Although families already have the right to school choice in Colorado, supporters of the initiative insist this measure is about protecting that right from any future legislative efforts that could threaten it.
“I think where voters can get accurate information about this is in their blue book,” Brown said. “The blue book is put together by non-partisan fiscal analysts who work for the state. They’re not on either campaign and the blue book has specifically said that there’s a $0 fiscal impact for Amendment 80. You can’t get less funding than $0. So it is very clear from that fiscal analysis done by the state that Amendment 80 does not pose a risk to public school funding.”
“If you truly value public schools as part of your community, you do not want to vote for this,” Vick said.
What your vote means:
A “yes” vote on Amendment 80 creates a constitutionally protected right to school choice for K-12 children and their parents and specifies that school choice includes public, private, homeschooling, and any future innovations in education.
A “no” vote on Amendment 80 maintains the current system of school choice in state law.
Does Colorado law allow school choice?
Under Colorado law, students may attend any public school for free, even if they do not live in the school district. Public schools include neighborhood schools, charter schools, and some online schools. Each school district has policies allowing parents to enroll students in the public school of their choice. State law also permits parents to choose non-public education options, such as private schools or home schools. Public schools receive public funding from local and state governments. Private schools and home schools do not receive any public funding.
What does this measure do?
Amendment 80 creates a constitutional right to school choice and equal opportunity for K-12 children. The measure also creates the right for parents to direct the education of their children. Neighborhood and charter schools, private schools, home schools, open enrollment options, and future innovations in education are included in the new constitutional definition of school choice.
Will the measure change school choice laws in Colorado?
The measure results in no immediate change to state law, or the enrollment policies of local school districts. Parents may continue to choose a variety of K-12 school options for their children. The state legislature currently makes laws to govern public education and how schools are funded. By creating a new constitutional right to school choice for children and parents, Amendment 80 may affect how the legislature makes policies about school choice and lead to changes to state law and local school district policy via court interpretation or direction.
The argument for Amendment 80:
Amendment 80 guarantees that school choice is a right of parents and children. By placing this right in the state constitution, Coloradans affirm their commitment to a parent’s right to choose an appropriate school for their children, including all forms of schools, both public and private. A constitutional measure ensures this right cannot be taken away by future legislatures.
The argument against Amendment 80:
The Colorado Constitution already guarantees a free public education, and Colorado already has robust school choice laws that allow parents to choose from many public school options, or choose to educate their children in private or home schools. The measure may conflict with current law prohibiting public funding for private education and will require interpretation by the courts. Ultimately this could result in redirecting funding from public schools to private and home schools.
Fiscal Impact of Amendment 80:
State and school districts spending. Amendment 80 has no immediate impact on education-related spending by the state or school districts but may increase their spending on legal expenses and planning costs. Depending on how the measure is interpreted by the courts and the state legislature, the measure may change the allocation of state or local funding for education.
