Colorado votes against school choice

Colorado voters decided against adding school choice to the state Constitution.

With 85% of the statewide vote counted since Tuesday’s election, it is statistically improbable for Amendment 80 to pass, as the state requires 55% voter approval to amend constitutional language.

There were 1.37 million Colorado residents who voted in favor of the amendment, or 48.6%, and 1.46 million who voted against, or 51.4%, as of 4:20 p.m., Friday. In Pitkin County, 5,965 residents, or 58.3%, voted against the amendment, and 4,269, or 41.7%, voted in favor, with 95% of the votes counted Friday. 

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The state asked voters if there should be an amendment to the constitution, “establishing the right to school choice for children in kindergarten through 12th grade,” which should include, “neighborhood, charter, and private schools; home schooling; open enrollment options; and future innovations in education.”

Kevin Vick, President of the Colorado Education Association, Colorado’s teacher union, said the vote was a positive result. 

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“It reaffirms that people understand how valuable our public schools are and want to make sure that they are getting all the funding they can,” Vick said.

Proponents of the amendment think school choice should be constitutionally protected to safeguard families’ right to direct the education of their children. They argue the Colorado Open Enrollment Law of 1994, which already protects school choice, is not enough. 

Opponents say the amendment is a thinly disguised plan to implement a school voucher system in Colorado, which would direct public funding to private institutions. They say voucher programs benefit high-income families, and direct public funding toward schools that can be selective with who they admit. 

In a statement on Thursday morning, Aspen Education Association President Marnie White said she is grateful the amendment wasn’t passed and credits Colorado voters’ consistent commitment to keeping public dollars for public schools. 

“We are grateful that Amendment 80, a measure that aimed to pave the way for a voucher program in Colorado, has been rejected, despite the dark money and deceptive practices of its proponents,” she said, adding, “This decision demonstrates Colorado’s dedication to ensuring that every student has access to high-quality, equitable public education.”

Alternatively, Michael Fields, president of Advance Colorado Action, an advocacy group of the amendment, said he expects to see groups attack the school choice law that already exists in Colorado. 

“It is a certainty that we will see the same groups that spent millions against Amendment 80 back at the Capitol in a few weeks to renew their legislative assaults on charter schools and other forms of school choice,” Fields said. “When those rights are attacked, we will be prepared to bring Amendment 80 back before voters in the future.”

Vick said parents’ right to direct the schooling of their children has already been in effect for 30 years since the 1994 law, and that they do not plan to oppose the law.

He said Fields strives to threaten the opposition with the statement and will continue to do so until he can get an amendment like Amendment 80 passed. 

“You know, I think the public has spoken, and they’re not going to be fooled by his ultimate agenda,” Vick said. “Which is again to get an opportunity for a private school voucher program to come into Colorado.”

Terri Wilson, faculty director for the Master’s in Higher Education at the University of Colorado Boulder, thinks the amendment could have opened the door to a voucher program. Families could take legal action against the state as their children would have a constitutional right to choose any school, thus forcing the state to direct funding toward private institutions, which could create an equity problem for school applicants, Wilson said. 

“Private schools do not have to take all students,” she said. “And so the commitment to a free and accessible public education supported by public funding isn’t always something that private schools have an obligation to provide.”

She said voucher programs raise questions on the separation of church and state, and protections for anti-discrimination in public education.

The Education Amendment of 1972 (Title IX), which prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school that receives public funding, does not apply to religiously-controlled schools, “to the extent that application of Title IX would be inconsistent with the religious tenets of the organization,” according to the law. 

Religiously-controlled private schools can also turn students away on the basis of religion, as they must not adhere to the religious component of The Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prevents religious-based discrimination in public education. According to Carson v. Makin, a recent supreme court ruling, religious-controlled institutions can still receive public funding.

But Caleb Waller, a former candidate for the Colorado House of Representatives who lost on Tuesday, said he thinks Colorado should adopt a school voucher program. 

“Absolutely,” he said, referring to the potential for the amendment to open a door to vouchers. “I don’t see any problem with the voucher program or private school choice program.”

Though he voted against Amendment 80 because he didn’t agree with the language of the ballot question, he said a voucher program could allow low-income families to afford private, charter, or homeschool options they wouldn’t be able to otherwise. 

“What if there were avenues where families did not have to feel the burden of education and they were able to choose for their kids what’s best?” he asked. 

But Wilson said voucher programs recently have evolved to predominantly benefit high-income families, though they provided financial funding to low-income families when first created. 

“But as voucher programs have expanded and with the rise of education savings accounts,” she said, referring to government-authorized education savings for families, “those benefits are accruing predominantly to more resourced individuals.”

Should another school choice amendment return to the state ballot, Vick said the union will be ready. 

“Now that the public is more informed about what this ultimately means,” he said, “I think we’ll continue being successful in making sure there’s no opportunity for a private school voucher system to come into Colorado.”

Skyler Stark-Ragsdale can be reached at 970-429-9152 or email him at sstark-ragsdale@aspentimes.com.