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Colorado voters are set to decide Tuesday whether to adopt Amendment 80, which would enshrine school choice in the state constitution.
School choice is already guaranteed under Colorado law. Supporters say passing Amendment 80 on Election Day would protect that right from future attacks by state lawmakers. Opponents say it could lead to the funding of private schools with public money.
Under Colorado rules for amending the constitution, Amendment 80 needs 55% of the vote to pass.
Amendment 80 says each child in K-12 “has the right to school choice.”
It defines school choice to include neighborhood schools, charter schools, private schools, home schools, open enrollment options, and “future innovations in education.”
Amendment 80 also says “parents have the right to direct the education of their children” and that “all children have the right to equal opportunity to access a quality education.”
Amendment 80 was proposed by conservative advocacy organization Advance Colorado. It was supported by organizations including the Colorado Association of Private Schools, the Colorado Catholic Conference, the Independence Institute, Ready Colorado, and the Centennial Institute at Colorado Christian University.
“This says, ‘Hey, as a family, we trust you to make the best education choice for your child,’” Kristi Burton Brown, the executive vice president at Advance Colorado, told Chalkbeat.
Amendment 80 was opposed by the Colorado Education Association, the ACLU of Colorado, the Colorado Democratic Party, the Colorado PTA, the Colorado Association of School Executives, a slew of individual school districts, including Denver Public Schools, the Christian Home Educators of Colorado, and several other organizations.
The Colorado Education Association claimed Amendment 80 was a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” that would lead to vouchers that use public money to pay tuition at private schools. Voucher programs in other states, such as Arizona, have proven to be expensive.
“They’re using the innocuous word of ‘choice’ as a vehicle for what opens the door clearly for a voucher scheme,” Kevin Vick, president of the Colorado Education Association, told Chalkbeat.
Burton Brown denied that Amendment 80 was about private school vouchers. Advance Colorado initially proposed another amendment that was about vouchers but decided not to pursue collecting signatures to get it on the ballot, she said.
If Amendment 80 passes, experts have said the measure will likely end up in court, with a judge deciding how it should be interpreted.
We’ll update this story with election results starting at 7 p.m.
Melanie Asmar is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Colorado. Contact Melanie at masmar@chalkbeat.org.
Ann Schimke is a senior reporter at Chalkbeat, covering early childhood issues and early literacy. Contact Ann at aschimke@chalkbeat.org.
