{"id":25268,"date":"2024-10-16T19:41:42","date_gmt":"2024-10-17T01:41:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/amendment-80-placing-a-right-to-school-choice-in-colorados-constitution\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T05:13:05","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T05:13:05","slug":"amendment-80-placing-a-right-to-school-choice-in-colorados-constitution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/amendment-80-placing-a-right-to-school-choice-in-colorados-constitution\/","title":{"rendered":"Amendment 80: Placing a right to school choice in Colorado\u2019s constitution"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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A classroom at Durango High School. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald file)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Colorado voters will decide in November whether to add another layer of protection to school choice by enshrining a right to school choice in the state constitution \u2013 a step opponents worry could open a gateway to a statewide voucher program.<\/p>\n

Voucher programs, which have drawn controversy across the country, use taxpayer dollars to fund private school education and can include schools with a religious affiliation.<\/p>\n

Amendment 80, backed by a conservative political nonprofit, would place a right to school choice in the state constitution, with advocates saying the measure is a necessary step to insulate school choice from future legislative attacks.<\/p>\n

The measure would need the support of 55% of voters to pass on Nov. 5.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what Amendment 80 would do and who is supporting and opposing the measure.<\/p>\n

What is school choice?<\/div>\n

A Colorado law passed by the Legislature in 1994 grants students the ability to attend any public school for free, including neighborhood schools, charter schools and online schools. It also lets parents opt to enroll their children in a private school or a home schooling program.<\/p>\n

Families can also navigate a process called open enrollment to send their child to a school district besides their home district.<\/p>\n

Charter schools are public schools managed by a nonprofit that establishes a performance contract often with a school district, which serves as the authorizer. The contract grants charter schools more flexibility than traditional public schools over how they educate kids, but they are still subject to the same standards and assessments as district-run public schools.<\/p>\n

Critics of charter schools often argue that they siphon critical funding away from traditional public schools at a time when those schools are underfunded.<\/p>\n

What would protecting school choice in the state constitution mean?<\/div>\n

While the right to school choice is protected by state law, that law can be changed by a simple majority vote of the Legislature. The state constitution, however, can only be altered by the passage of a ballot measure. Getting an initiative altering the state constitution on the ballot isn\u2019t easy \u2013 it requires either the support of two-thirds of each the House and Senate or the collection of roughly 125,000 voter signatures, including a portion of the voters in each of the Colorado\u2019s 35 state Senate districts.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s one reason that Michael Fields, president of the conservative political nonprofit Advance Colorado Action and the lead driver behind Amendment 80, wants to enshrine school choice in the constitution.<\/p>\n

Fields said voters should be the ones making decisions about the schools children can attend, not lawmakers, particularly after a recent failed legislative attempt to make charter schools more accountable and transparent.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t believe that one-size-fits-all for parents and families, so we should be able to choose what\u2019s the best school for our kids,\u201d Fields said. \u201c(Amendment 80) would just lock in the rights that we already have.\u201d<\/p>\n

Could Amendment 80 lay the groundwork for a statewide voucher program?<\/div>\n

Education policy experts like Kevin Welner, director of the National Education Policy Center and a professor in the University of Colorado School of Education, say Amendment 80 is \u201ca step along the way\u201d toward a statewide voucher program, especially when looking at how voucher programs have emerged in other states.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe clear pattern in other states is that vouchers start off very limited and small and then increase in size and scope over time,\u201d Welner said.<\/p>\n

He sees the potential for Amendment 80 to spur a variety of lawsuits, including among parents who can\u2019t afford private school tuition and argue that under the measure the state owes them a subsidy. Welner said he would not be surprised to see that kind of lawsuit, but he would be surprised if a court went along with it.<\/p>\n

Still, should Amendment 80 pass, what comes next is up in the air, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody \u2013 not me, not the people who wrote the language, not the state\u2019s voters \u2013 can say with any confidence what inserting this language in the state\u2019s constitution will eventually lead to,\u201d Welner said. \u201cThe wording is intentionally \u2013 and I think mischievously \u2013 vague.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fields disagrees that Amendment 80 is a precursor to a statewide voucher program. He said the measure is not structured in a way that would open the possibility of a voucher program.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there would have to be future legislation or ballot measures that passed (to create a voucher program),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Who is opposing Amendment 80 and why?<\/div>\n

The measure has significant opposition from public schoolteachers and their advocates, including the state\u2019s largest teachers union, the Colorado Education Association. Those fighting the measure argue it is unnecessary and would lead to a system that would divert funding from public schools to private schools.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe right to school choice is already well enshrined in our Colorado law and has been for over 30 years,\u201d CEA President Kevin Vick said during a rally earlier this year at a Denver middle school. \u201cThe only reason this would be needed is if people want to further the funding of private schools.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vick worries about inflicting significant harm on rural schools, saying the measure could result in a system that pulls money from public schools all over the state to fund private school tuition for a small number of students primarily in metro Denver and Boulder.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pie (of public school funding) is only so big to begin with and whether you\u2019re talking about money for traditional public schools or charter schools or even home schooling, I think parents that are in those programs already know the pie is too small and that the challenge to get resources that are needed for their kids parents realize is very difficult already,\u201d Vick said. \u201cAnd so this would just exacerbate that if this incremental approach is allowed to take hold in Colorado.\u201d<\/p>\n

Money being spent in support and opposition to Amendment 80<\/div>\n

School Choice for Every Child is the issue committee supporting Amendment 80. It hadn\u2019t reported any fundraising or spending through Sept. 25 in support of the measure.<\/p>\n

Advance Colorado may be spending directly in support of the measure, activity that wouldn\u2019t show up in the state\u2019s campaign finance system. The nonprofit doesn\u2019t disclose its donors.<\/p>\n

Public Schools Strong is the issue committee opposing the measure. It had raised $750,000 through Sept. 25 and spent just $71,000.<\/p>\n

The committee\u2019s major donors include the Colorado Fund for Children and Public Education, Stand for Children, the Colorado Education Association and Educators for Equity. The Colorado Fund for Children and Public Education, Stand for Children and Educators for Equity are all nonprofits that don\u2019t disclose their donors.<\/p>\n

More resources<\/div>\n

Nonpartisan legislative staff creates a guide for each initiative on the statewide ballot. You can find their analysis of Amendment 80 here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

You can read the full text of the ballot measure here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Colorado Sun is a reader-supported, nonpartisan news organization dedicated to covering Colorado issues. To learn more, go to coloradosun.com<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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